Tamale Pie Recipe

If you have read the other recipes on this website, you know we usually focus on Southern dishes. Tamale Pie, of course, is not a Southern dish but it is so good we had to include it.

I cook my Tamale Pie in a large (12") cast iron skillet but you can use a 12"x8" glass baking dish if you do not have cast iron. I don't recommend aluminum since it does not seem to cook this dish evenly. The Tamale Pie is made in two stages: the filling and the crust.

FILLING Ingredients
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 cup whole kernel corn (I prefer white corn but you can use yellow, which is generally more available)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 cups (16 oz can) enchilada sauce
1 tsp sugar

FILLING Directions
Cook beef until browned, adding onion and garlic the last 1 minute of cooking. Drain off oil. Stir in enchilada sauce, corn and salt. Cook until sauce begins to boil. Remove from heat. Set aside.

Note: If you do not have enchilada sauce, you can make a reasonable substitute as follows:
In a small sauce pan, combine; 1 1/2 cups water, 8 oz can tomato sauce, 3 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/3 tsp ground red pepper. Bring to a boil stirring frequently. Remove from heat and place immediately in filling mixture. If you use this, omit the chili powder in the recipe above.

CRUST Ingredients

2 1/2 cups white cornmeal (you may want to try the "blue" cornmeal)
2 cups water
12 oz (can) evaporated milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup sliced jalapenos peppers (optional)

CRUST Directions

Combine corn meal, water, milk and salt in saucepan and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens (about 5-7 minutes) Stir constantly and watch carefully. You should watch for a paste-like consistency. Set aside 2 cups of the crust mixture and spread the remainder on the bottom and up sides of a well greased skillet (or cooking dish).

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place skillet (with bottom crust) in preheated oven for 10 minutes, Remove and allow to cool 5 minutes.

Place beef filling mix into the skillet on top of the bottom crust. Spread the remainder of the crust mix on top of the beef filling.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Center of crust should be cooked and the top golden brown. If not, continue cooking and watch closely for brown crust. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of crust the last 5 or 10 minutes until melted. Garnish with jalapenos if desired and serve hot.