Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

abuela's tamal en cazuela - grandma's tamale casserole

(5 ratings)
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
Jennie Pagano
Chesterfield, VA

Growing up I absolutely loved my Cuban grandmother's tamal en cazuela, I couldn't wait for it to be ready to eat! I have fond memories of her reminding me to scoop from the edges so I wouldn't burn myself. She made some changes to it as the years passed and some things came canned etc. I never noticed a flavor change though.

Blue Ribbon Recipe

OH MY! Everyone on the Crew LOVED this dish when we prepared it. The recipe has just the right amount of meat for our liking, however you could definitely omit it entirely and turn this into a delicious vegan recipe as well. We substituted juice from a navel orange in place of the sour orange and it turned out great. YUM!

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(5 ratings)
yield 8 ish
prep time 30 Min
cook time 1 Hr
method Stove Top

Ingredients For abuela's tamal en cazuela - grandma's tamale casserole

  • 2 lb
    lean pork cut in cubes
  • 1 Tbsp
    salt
  • 1 tsp
    ground pepper
  • 1 tsp
    dry oregano
  • 1 pinch
    ground cumin
  • 6
    peeled and mashed garlic cloves
  • 1/4 c
    sour orange juice
  • IF YOU CAN'T FIND SOUR ORANGES OR EVEN BOTTLED SOUR ORANGE IN YOUR AREA YOU COULD SUBSTITUTE FOR A REGULAR ORANGE OR CITRUS OF YOUR LIKING
  • 1
    lime, juiced
  • 4 c
    ground corn meal
  • 1 lg
    yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1 lg
    green bell pepper, finely chopped and seeded
  • 1 can
    tomato sauce (8oz.)
  • 1/2 c
    dry cooking wine
  • 1/2 c
    cooking oil of your preference
  • 6 c
    warm water

How To Make abuela's tamal en cazuela - grandma's tamale casserole

  • 1
    Mix garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, sour orange and lime juices.
  • 2
    Pour over pork and let it stand for 10 minutes.
  • 3
    Heat oil in a large pot and add the pork, reserve the marinade. Brown the pork and then remove from the pan.
  • 4
    In same pan, cook the onion and bell pepper until the onion is translucent (a couple of minutes).
  • 5
    Stir in tomato sauce, wine, marinade, pork, corn meal and warm water.
  • 6
    Reduce heat, cover the pan and let it simmer for about an hour. Stir occasionally.
  • 7
    **If it's too thick you can add some more water while it simmers.**
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