Tamale Casserole

Hey folks! I’m Mark Dixon, Diana’s brother.  Nice to meet you all!  I’m older than her, but she’s the smart one in the family.  I’m very happy to be invited to participate on this blog and hope you will try some of this awesome food!  I mainly cook in cast iron cookware…that’s my passion!  Outdoor BBQ in the wood burning smoker, grilling over charcoal, and cooking over the open fire, I love them all!!.  Almost anything you can cook can be cooked in cast iron as I hope to demonstrate.  I hope you’ll enjoy hearing about the cast iron cookware, as well as the food.  Stay tuned!

A month or so ago I was out for a visit and Diana and I made a huge batch of tamales….about 10 dozen I think.  Diana had one dozen left in the freezer, so we decided to make a Tamale Casserole.   We used my Birmingham Stove and Range 3052D, 2nd Generation Fish Cooker, circa 1960’s-1970’s.  But you can easily use a 9×13 casserole dish or something similar.

We started by removing the husks from the tamales and arranging them down the center of the pan. Scraping any of the remaining masa off the husks and adding to the top of the tamales.

Next, drain the black beans, pinto beans, gandules and corn and keep separate.  Spread the black beans along side the tamales and a few over of the top, and do the same with the pinto beans, gandules, and corn.  Pour the entire can of enchilada sauce over the top of the tamales, corn and beans and spread with the back of a spoon to evenly distribute.

Spread  the cheese evenly over the entire top of the dish.  Cut the chipotle peppers in half and place down the center on top of the cheese, and add a little of the adobo sauce on top of each pepper.  Slice the jalapeno peppers in quarters, long ways and remove the stems and seeds and arrange along the center of the dish.

Bake at 350⁰ for 30 to 40 minutes, until warmed through and the cheese is bubbly and browned.

Here is that delicious Tamale Casserole along side a pair of vintage cast iron chicken cookers.  Diana’s is a Lodge, circa 1930’s.  She used it to make some homemade refried beans.  Mine is a BSR (Birmingham Stove and Range) that dates pre-1960 and it’s holding some Goya Mexican Rice.  You can also see Diana’s Homemade Salsa hiding in the corner!  Needless to say we had a great dinner and an even better time cooking up all of the delicious food.  We hope you’ll give it a try and enjoy it as much as we did!!

Print Recipe

Tamale Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 dozen tamales
• 1 15 oz can black beans
• 1 15 oz. can pinto beans
• 1 15 oz. gandules (Pigeon Peas)
• 1 15 oz. can Del Monte southwestern style corn
• 1 30 oz. can enchilada sauce
• 3-4 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese (We used cheddar and Chihuahua)
• 3 Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 2 to 3 Jalapeno peppers

Instructions

• Remove the husks from the tamales and arrange down the center of the pan. Scrape any of the remaining masa off the husks and add to the top of the tamales.
• Drain the pinto beans and put along the sides and few on top of the tamales.   Do the same with the black beans, gandules, and corn.
• Pour the entire can of enchilada sauce over the tamales, beans, and corn and spread with the back of a spoon until evenly distributed.
• Spread the cheese evenly over the entire top of the dish.
• Cut the chipotle peppers in half and place down the center of the dish, on top of the cheese, and add a little of the adobe sauce on top of each pepper.
• Slice the jalapeno peppers in quarters long ways and remove the stems and seeds and arrange in the center of the dish.
• Bake at 350⁰ for 30 to 40 minutes until warmed through and the cheese is bubbly and browned.