In this article
Tamale pie belongs to the years when every magazine had a casserole page and every mother in our town cut it out. Somebody decided that ground beef with chili powder under a lid of cornmeal was close enough to a tamale to borrow the name, and for thirty years that was supper every other Wednesday in houses where nobody had ever seen a corn husk. There is no masa in it and nothing is steamed.
What it is, honestly, is a very good beef and corn filling with a cornbread top baked right onto it. The filling is cooked down until it is thick, because a wet filling swallows the batter. The batter is stiff, closer to spoon bread than pancake batter, and it goes on in spoonfuls and gets smoothed right to the edges of the dish with the back of a spoon so the filling cannot climb the sides and burn. In our house the cheese went under the cornbread, where it melted into the meat. At my aunt’s it went on top, where it burned. The recipe follows my mother.
Why this tamale pie works
- A dry, thick filling. Ten minutes of simmering cooks off the tomato juice, so the batter sits on top of the meat instead of sinking into it.
- Cheese under the lid. Between the filling and the cornbread, the cheddar melts into the beef and stays soft. On top it would scorch in a 400°F oven.
- A stiff cornmeal batter. Three quarters of a cup of milk to a cup of cornmeal makes a batter that holds a shape on the spoon. It bakes into a real cornbread lid, not a crust of crumbs.
- Smoothed to the edges. Sealing the batter against the sides of the dish keeps the filling from bubbling up the sides and burning on the rim.
Ingredients
Makes one 9 by 13 inch dish, 8 good squares. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
For the filling
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (680g), 80 to 85 percent lean
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces, 411g), with their juice
- 1 can tomato sauce (8 ounces, 227g)
- 1 1/2 cups corn kernels (225g), canned and drained, or frozen
- 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar (170g)
For the cornbread top
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal (140g)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (63g)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup milk (180ml)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (30ml)
Plain cornmeal, not a self-rising mix, or the lid puffs and cracks apart. Grate the cheese yourself; the pre-grated kind is coated and does not melt as smoothly into the meat.
How to make tamale pie
- Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, onion and bell pepper and break the meat up with a wooden spoon. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until the liquid has cooked off and the beef is well browned. Add the garlic for the last 2 minutes. Spoon off most of the fat.
- Stir in the chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute, until the spices smell toasted.
- Add the diced tomatoes with their juice, the tomato sauce and the corn. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until the filling is thick and a spoon dragged through it leaves a trail. Taste for salt. Spread the filling in the baking dish and scatter the cheese over it.
- Make the batter. Whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Beat the egg with the milk and oil, pour it in and stir just until no dry cornmeal remains. The batter should be stiff, like spoon bread, and hold a soft shape on the spoon. If it pours like pancake batter, stir in another tablespoon of cornmeal.
- Drop the batter in spoonfuls all over the filling, then smooth it with the back of the spoon into an even lid, pushing it right to the edges and against the sides of the dish so the filling is sealed underneath.
- Bake at 400°F for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cornbread lid is gold, a toothpick pushed into the cornbread comes out clean, and the filling is bubbling up through the cracks and around the edges.
- Let it stand for 10 minutes so the filling settles, then cut it into squares and serve it in shallow bowls, because the juices run.
Tips that make the difference
- Cook the filling until it is truly thick. If it looks like chili, give it 5 more minutes. Wet filling makes the cornbread sink.
- Do not beat the batter smooth. Stir until the dry cornmeal is gone and stop.
- If the top is gold at 20 minutes but the toothpick is still wet, lay foil loosely over the dish and finish the bake.
- The 10 minutes of standing time matters. Cut it straight from the oven and the squares slide apart.
Variations
- Cheese on top. My aunt’s way: leave the cheese out of the filling, bake the pie for 20 minutes, then scatter the cheese over the cornbread and return it to the oven for 5 to 8 minutes, watching it.
- Black olives. A very common 1950s touch: stir 1/2 cup sliced black olives (65g) into the filling with the corn.
- More heat. Add 1 or 2 chopped jalapeños with the bell pepper, or 1/2 teaspoon cayenne with the chili powder.
- Ground turkey. Use 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (680g) in place of the beef and add an extra tablespoon of oil to the skillet.
Storage and make-ahead
Leftovers keep, covered, in the refrigerator for 4 days. Reheat squares in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes, covered with foil.
The filling can be made up to 2 days ahead. Reheat it in the skillet until bubbling before it goes into the dish, and mix the batter fresh; baking powder does not wait.
The whole baked pie freezes for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and reheat, covered, at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Why is there no tamale in tamale pie?
Because it was never a tamale recipe. It is a 1950s American casserole that borrowed the name for the cornmeal and the chili powder. There is no masa, no corn husk and nothing steamed.
Why did my cornbread sink into the meat?
Either the filling was too wet or the batter was too thin. Cook the filling until it holds a trail, and keep the batter stiff. Three quarters of a cup of milk to a cup of cornmeal is the right amount.
Can I use a boxed cornbread mix for the top?
You can, and plenty of families did. Mix it with a little less liquid than the box says so it stays thick, and spread it the same way, right to the edges.
Does the cheese go under or on top?
Under, in this recipe, so it melts into the meat and does not burn in the hot oven. If your family put it on top, see the variation.
Cook the filling thick, keep the batter stiff, smooth it to the edges, and let it stand ten minutes. There is no tamale in it, and there never was.
Tamale Pie (The 1950s Casserole With the Cornbread Lid)
Old-fashioned 1950s tamale pie: ground beef cooked down with onion, bell pepper, corn, tomatoes and chili powder in a 9 by 13 inch dish, cheese over the top, then a stiff cornmeal batter smoothed to the edges and baked until the lid is gold. Cups and grams, oven temperature and time.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (680g), 80 to 85 percent lean
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces, 411g), with their juice
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1 1/2 cups corn kernels (225g), canned and drained, or frozen
- 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, onion and bell pepper and break the meat up with a wooden spoon. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until the liquid has cooked off and the beef is well browned. Add the garlic for the last 2 minutes. Spoon off most of the fat.
- Stir in the chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute, until the spices smell toasted.
- Add the diced tomatoes with their juice, the tomato sauce and the corn. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until the filling is thick and a spoon dragged through it leaves a trail. Taste for salt. Spread the filling in the baking dish and scatter the cheese over it.
- Make the batter. Whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Beat the egg with the milk and oil, pour it in and stir just until no dry cornmeal remains. The batter should be stiff, like spoon bread, and hold a soft shape on the spoon. If it pours like pancake batter, stir in another tablespoon of cornmeal.
- Drop the batter in spoonfuls all over the filling, then smooth it with the back of the spoon into an even lid, pushing it right to the edges and against the sides of the dish so the filling is sealed underneath.
- Bake at 400°F for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cornbread lid is gold, a toothpick pushed into the cornbread comes out clean, and the filling is bubbling up through the cracks and around the edges.
- Let it stand for 10 minutes so the filling settles, then cut it into squares and serve it in shallow bowls, because the juices run.
