Best Feliciano Tamale Casserole Recipes

MEATY TAMAL CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Place the vegetable shortening or lard in the bowl of a stand mixer; beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until it is light and airy. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Add the salt and baking powder; on low speed, gradually add the corn masa flour and the broth in alternating additions, making sure each time that the addition is well incorporated. Beat for about 10 minutes to form a masa dough that is homogeneous and fluffy. Let the dough sit at room temperature while you make the filling.
• Heat a comal (tortilla griddle) or skillet over medium heat. Add the guajillo and ancho peppers; toast them for about 15 seconds per side, until they become more pliable, lightly toasted and fragrant and their inner skin turns opaque. Transfer to a medium saucepan and cover with at least 2 cups of hot water. Cook over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, or until the peppers have rehydrated, plumped up and softened.
• Transfer the peppers and 2 cups of the liquid to a blender and add the oregano, cloves, cinnamon and cumin. Remove the center knob from the blender lid and cover the opening with a dish towel to contain splash-ups. Puree to form a smooth sauce. The yield is 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups.
• Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring continuously, until the onions are cooked through and beginning to brown at the edges. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, less than a minute, then add the ground meat, salt and black pepper. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and using a spoon to break up the meat, until it has lightly browned. Add the sauce, the broth, raisins, almonds and olives, stirring to combine; reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the skillet and cook for 20 minutes. Uncover, stir and cook uncovered for 5 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Use a little vegetable oil to grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or the equivalent.
• Spoon half of the prepared masa dough into the dish, forming a bit of a lip on the sides and gently leveling it out; don't press hard. Spoon all of the meat filling on top. Cover evenly with the remaining dough. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour or until the masa is completely cooked and the top appears to be firm. Remove from the oven and let it sit, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

FELICIANO TAMALE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• 1. In a heavy skillet, brown ground beef and crumble well. Pour off fat.
• 2. Stir in Ro-Tel and chili powder (and Sazón Azafran if using). Simmer mixture for 5 minutes; set aside and cool to room temperature.
• 3. Optional: Stir in 1 can corn or beans, drained well.
• 4. In medium bowl, stir masa harina and salt SLOWLY into the cool water. (If boiling water and cornbread mix was used, stir and set pan in large bowl of ice water.) Beat until it reaches room temperature (this will be thick) and mixture is smooth. When corn batter has cooled, beat in eggs, melted butter or oil, and enough milk or buttermilk to make a thick batter like cake batter. It should drop from the spoon in dollops, not pour. If too thin, you can stir in a couple tablespoons flour or masa harina to get the thick batter.
• 5. In a 2-3 quart greased baking dish, spread half the masa harina mixture evenly over bottom. Spoon meat filling evenly over. Top with the shredded cheese.
• 6. Finally, spoon remaining masa harina evenly over top of all and smooth out with back of spoon.
• 7. Bake at 375° for about 30 minutes, until masa harina is cooked and lightly browned. Allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing.
• 8. LEFTOVERS: If you have about half of the casserole left over: Place leftover casserole in a baking dish that fits. Top with one can of chili, 1 cup crushed Fritos corn chips, and 1 cup shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes until very hot and cheese is melted. So good!
• 9. NEW NOTE On the Masa Harina: I had to buy a new brand of Masa Harina because my store stopped carrying the old one. This one was labeled INSTANT Masa (corn) flour for tortillas, tamales, etc. It uses COLD water, not hot. I used the boiling like I always do with regular cornmeal, and got a very thick lump. I had to beat and beat to get it smooth enough to spread. So watch what type of Masa flour you get. Boiling water works fine with cornmeal, but use cold water on the instant masa harina.

EASY TAMALE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; drain and discard grease. Season beef with salt and pepper.
• Stir onion into the ground beef; cook and stir for 1 minute and immediately remove skillet from heat.
• Stir pinto beans and crushed tomatoes into the beef mixture.
• Beat cream-style corn, cornbread mix, and egg together in a bowl until smooth; spread over the top of the ground beef mixture in the skillet. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese over the corn mixture.
• Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is melted and the cornbread is set in the middle, about 25 minutes.

TAMALE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Cut tamales into 3/4-in. slices. Place in a greased shallow 1-qt. baking dish. Top with half of the chili and onion. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup corn chips and shredded cheese. Top with remaining chili and onion., Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with the remaining corn chips. Arrange cheese slices over top. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until chips are crisp and cheese is melted.

TAMALE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Unwrap tamales and cut into thick chunks. Place a portion of the chopped tamales in the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Then layer the onions, cheese, tortilla chips and chili without beans.
• Repeat this until all ingredients are used, topping off with cheese and chips. Then sprinkle with the water.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 to 45 minutes.

TAMALE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Sauté the onion, green pepper and garlic in the oil until just tender. Crumble the ground beef into the skillet and brown. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and chili powder. Cook over med-low heat for about 20 minutes.
• While the meat mixture is simmering, bring 3 cups of the water to a boil. Slowly pour the corn meal into the remaining 1 cup of cold water, stirring until smooth. Add the salt and chili powder to the boiling water, and then, stirring constantly, add the cold corn meal mixture to the boiling water. Cook and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cover.
• Spray a casserole or baking dish with vegetable cooking spray. Using half of the cornmeal mixture, fill the bottom and sides of the dish. Fill with the meat mixture. You can sprinkle some black olives over the meat, if preferred. Using the remaining half of the cornmeal mixture, cover the top of the pie.
• Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until nicely browned. Or until knife inserted in top crust portion comes out clean.