Meaty Tamal Casserole recipe photo
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Meaty Tamal Casserole

My go-to version of a tamal casserole: The masa dough is set in two thick layers that hold a rich and baroque filling, typical of the Mexican colonial era, when nuns used to combine Spanish and Mexican ingredients in their convent kitchens. The filling has a sauce made with my preferred pairing of dried chili peppers: sweet, almost chocolaty and prune-flavored ancho and mild, bright-tasting guajillo. It’s seasoned with onion, garlic, oregano, cloves, cinnamon and a pinch of cumin, then made hearty with juicy ground meat that is sprinkled with crunchy almonds, chewy raisins and salty manzanilla olives.

Prep 30m
Cook 105m
Total 135m
Yield 10 servings
Source: patijinich.com

🥄 Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups vegetable shortening or lard
  • 1 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 pounds (about 5 cups) corn masa flour for tortillas or tamales (such as Maseca brand)
  • 4 1/2 cups homemade or no-salt-added chicken broth (may substitute water)
  • 8 dried guajillo chiles (stemmed, halved and seeded)
  • 8 dried ancho chiles (stemmed, halved and seeded)
  • 2 cups hot water (or as needed)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Pinch ground cumin
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (plus more for the baking dish)
  • 1 medium white onion (chopped (about 1 cup))
  • 6 cloves garlic (chopped)
  • 2 1/2 pounds ground meat (such as veal, turkey, beef, pork or a combination)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt (or to taste)
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cups homemade or no-salt-added chicken broth (may substitute water)
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 3/4 cup slivered almonds
  • 3/4 cup pimento-stuffed manzanilla olives (chopped)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

  1. For the dough:

    For the dough:

  2. For the filling:

    For the filling: