Turkey Tamale Casserole
"An easy, delicious version of a tamale that tastes like the real thing! I cheated a little bit with the taco mix, but it was in the cupboard and I figured it couldn't hurt, and it turned out great."
photo by Heirloom
- Ready In:
- 1hr 25mins
- Ingredients:
- 22
- Serves:
-
4-6
ingredients
-
For the tamale dough
- 2 cups masa harina flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2⁄3 cup vegetable shortening
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
-
For the filling
- 1 1⁄4 lbs ground turkey breast
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1⁄2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 green chili pepper, minced
- 2 tomatillos, chopped
- 1⁄2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 3 ounces monterey jack cheese, grated
- 1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1⁄2 teaspoon paprika
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- cracked pepper
- monterey jack cheese, grated, for garnish
- cilantro, torn, for garnish
directions
- Crumble turkey into a large skillet over medium high heat and cook until almost all the pink is gone, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add green bell pepper, onion, green chili, tomatillos and cilantro and cook until softened
- Add taco seasoning mix, chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, shutting off burner after 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl beat vegetable shortening on low speed until fluffy.
- In a separate mixing bowl whisk masa harina flour, salt, sugar and baking powder.
- Add chicken broth and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined.
- Beat flour mixture into vegetable shortening until the dough is combined. It may still have a few lumps, but that's normal.
- In a round casserole dish spread half of the masa harina dough in the bottom.
- Layer turkey filling mixture on top of that and sprinkle with monterey jack cheese.
- Top with remainder of masa harina dough.
- Place casserole dish in 9 x 13 baking dish and fill with water 1/2 way up the casserole dish.
- Cover with foil and bake for 55 minutes.
- Remove foil and turn oven temperature up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 10 minutes until top of crust just starts to turn golden brown.
- Remove from oven and garnish with monterey jack cheese and torn cilantro.
Questions & Replies
-
Do I cover both dishes with foil or just the round dish?
Reviews
-
This was amazing! I will never make another tamale again. I followed the recipe exactly and would not change a thing! THANK YOU - this will be a staple at my house forever. -
I must admit, I was looking for a way to use up some masa harina, rice, beans and cooked chicken, so I followed the dough recipe exactly, but I made up my own filling using the rice, beans and cooked chicken as well as some onions, a can of tomatoes, chipotle chiles in adobo, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, etc. which I simmered for 10 minutes before assembling and baking just as directed in the recipe. It is a perfect vehicle for leftovers. The tamale dough is fantastic! I will try this again when I have more time to use the filling ingredients as posted. Thanks for a great recipe that I will use again! -
Delicious! I used a red pepper rather than a green one, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. The filling was delicious, but I would like to have it a little more juicy. Not sure how I will accomplish this. The dough is excellent. I will make it again. -
Excellent! The tamale dough is the best I have made and tasted!!! I didn't have tomatillos so used firm tomatoes. There is nothing that I could add or change to this recipe to make it any better!! I will use this dough in my corn husk tamale recipe! Thanks for posting!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I'm a newlywed recently transplanted from the Pacific Northwest to Central California. I've been cooking for as long as I can remember and am always willing to try out new things. I look forward to finding new recipes and meeting new people here on 'Zaar.
Onward to the kitchen!
