Tamal en Cazuela (Cuban Tamal Casserole)
Have you ever had tamales? Of course, you have! Well, tamal en cazuela [pronounced tah-mahl en kah-sweh-lah] is essentially a Cuban tamal with none of the tedious work.
Cuban tamales are made with cornmeal dough and juicy Cuban roast pork all wrapped up in corn husks. Just picture tender, braised mojo-marinated pork chunks cooked in sweet and savory cornmeal and tomato-based stew. Que rico!
This traditional stew is similar to porridge and has a polenta-like consistency, but don’t mistake it for sweet majarete. This cornmeal stew is savory, thick, and smooth but not gritty. Let me show you how to make it!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Boneless pork shoulder. I like boneless so it’s easier to cut into pieces. You can also use leftover lechon asado (Cuban roast pork). I wouldn’t recommend pork butt since it has more fat than pork shoulder.
Mojo marinade. This citrus marinade is made of orange, lemon, and lime juice, amongst other ingredients, and it gives the pork that classic Cuban citrus flavor. You can use the store-bought kind or make your own using my easy mojo criollo recipe.
Finely ground yellow corn meal + Cream-style sweet corn. The traditional way to make this recipe is to use real corn kernels and fresh ground corn however, my goal is always to make recipes that are approachable and accessible to anyone in the country. After testing a few variations, I found that using a mixture of finely ground yellow cornmeal with creamy canned sweet corn provided a great consistency and delicious flavor.
Sofrito. Green peppers, onions, and garlic. The base of most Cuban dishes is Cuban sofrito and it’s what gets this party going!
5-Star Recipe
“It was so easy and it tasted just like a tamal without the hard work!”
—Sylvia
Recommended For This Recipe
Dutch Oven
I use a 6-quart Dutch Oven often when I’m making soups and stews and even when I’m cooking other recipes that require long hours of cooking.
Instructions
Don’t let this recipe intimidate you! This recipe cooks low and slow and the result will be well worth the wait.
Brown the pork. In a large pan or Dutch oven, heat olive oil at medium-high heat. Remove pork from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Brown the pieces of pork on all sides, in batches, for about 8-10 minutes. Remove the cooked pork pieces with a slotted spoon. Set aside.
Sauté the sofrito. In the same Dutch oven with the pork drippings, add the onions and green peppers. Sauté at medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes, then add the minced garlic. Sauté for 1 minute.
Add the rest of the ingredients. Next, stir in corn mixture from the food processor, cooked pork pieces, dry cooking wine, tomato sauce, and water. Reduce heat to low.
Consistency
The consistency should be smooth and thick like porridge or polenta rather than runny or gritty.
If the stew is not thick, stir in cornmeal in 1/4 cup increments (or less) until thickened.
If it’s too thick, add water in 1/4 cup increments (or less) until smooth. Eyeball it until you get a perfectly thick consistency.
Storage Tips
You can transfer any leftovers to an airtight container and place them in the fridge for up to 4 days. I would not recommend freezing this dish as it will not freeze well.
Tamal en Cazuela (Cuban Tamal Casserole)
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1/2-inch pieces or shredded
- 1/2 cup mojo marinade
- 2 cups finely ground yellow cornmeal
- 2 cans cream-style sweet corn, (14-ounce each)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 small white onion, finely diced
- 1 small green pepper, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup Spanish cooking wine
- 4 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 cups water
- Chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse the cornmeal, cream-style sweet corn, salt, cumin, and black pepper until you get a thick consistency. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat olive oil at medium heat. Remove pork from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Brown the pieces of pork on all sides, in batches, for about 8-10 minutes. Remove the cooked pork pieces with a slotted spoon. Set aside.
- In the same Dutch oven with the pork drippings, add the onions and green peppers. Sauté at medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes, then add the minced garlic. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Next, stir in corn mixture from the food processor, cooked pork pieces, dry cooking wine, tomato sauce, and water. Reduce heat to low.
- Simmer for 30-35 minutes, until the mixture has thickened, stirring continuously to keep the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the Dutch oven. This mixture can burn very quickly so be sure to keep stirring!
- The consistency should be smooth and thick like porridge or polenta rather than runny or gritty. If it’s not thick, stir in cornmeal in 1/4 cup increments until thickened. If it’s too thick, add water in 1/4 cup increments until smooth.
- When your wooden spoon can stand up straight in the Dutch oven, it’s ready! Taste and adjust salt again. Serve immediately and garnish with chopped parsley. Enjoy!
Hola, I’m cuban, I have been cooking and married for 48 years, my parents have passed away, just wanted the recipe for cunan tamales my mom made the best, bet that en casuela is fantastic I will try, Gracias
This was amazing! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
My mom used to make this dish fo
r us when I was growing up in Miami also.
This morning all of a sudden I started craving for tamal en casuela. Came across your recipe and cooked. Out of this world!
Thank you so much
Making this weekend! Do you use the red or white Edmundo wine?
Hi! I use vino dorado, the golden one! If you can’t find it, a dry white wine works too.
I never leave comments but this recipe is fantastic. I live in Miami and I’ve had lots of tamale and cause whales, but you’ve got it me. Love it and so did my family.
Thanks for the recipe. What kind of wine do you use when you say Spanish cooking wine, anything in particular?
Hi! Any cooking wine would work however our go-to is typically Edmundo.
Interesting! Never heard of it. Walmart.com was out of stock with it… I’m making it right now using Chardonnay, I think it might be similar enough.
Update: Turned out decently with the Chardonnay. I found the overall flavor of this dish to be really… plain, however. I understand this is an authentic recipe and sometimes they’re like that, but I thought it needed more flavor.
I added some coriander and chili powder and some more cumin and salt. Also a bit of Calabrian chili oil for some heat.
I’m far from being Cuban so I’m sure I just committed Cuban blasphemy, but this is just my taste. Thank you again for the foundation!
Hi Jamie,
I was looking for a recipe and came across your website. I yet have not tried any of your recipes, but I am planning on trying them. While I was visiting my sons in Florida, they took me to a Cuban restaurant called Columbia. The food was so delicious and bursting with flavor! Is Cuban cooking the same as Puerto Rican cooking?
Hi! It’s similar but Cuban food is not the same as Puerto Rican food. You can learn more: https://asassyspoon.com/what-is-cuban-food/
Hi. Love your recipes. a friend says his mother makes Tamal en Cazuela using beef. I’ve never heard of that. Do you think it would work with your recipe? If so, beef shoulder?
Thanks.
I’ve never used beef for tamal en cazuela but try it out and report back! :)
Tremendo!! I’ve been looking for a recipe that was easy but still tasted traditional. Can’t wait to make it! Thank you for this!!
I’m trying to make it but I don’t understand wwhat you do with the marinating. Do you throw that away?😳. Why can’t you use that as part of the sofrito? Do you mean to use a new onion, new garlic? Why can’t you just add the green peppers to marinate and use that as your base?
Hi Maria, yes, I personally recommend you discard the marinade because of the raw meat that was marinating in it. When marinade comes into contact with raw meat, it can pick up harmful bacteria that can make you very sick. You, however, can do whatever you’d like. :)
IT WAS SO EASY AND IT TASTED JUST LIKE A TAMAL WITHOUT THE HARD WORK.
So happy you enjoyed it!!
What kind of pepper? Jalapeño?
Green bell peppers!
I would really love to make this and I just wanted to ask if I can use the instant Masa meal in place of the corn meal? I bought a bunch of it and I figured I’d ask if it would work here. Thank you so much!!
Hi! I’ve never used instant masa meal so I can’t say that it will work for this recipe.
I think I called it by the wrong name. It’s the masa harina mix and the ingredients are corn and hydrated lime? I think it’s actually called Masa Harina? Thank you!
You can try it but like I said, I’ve never used it before so I can’t really predict how it will turn out. Good luck! :)
YOU ARE THE BEST
Thank you!
Hi, I’d love to make this Tamal en Cazuela recipe, however, I don’t eat any kind of meat, have you any suggestions to incorporate the flavor I’d be missing by not using pork?
Thank you in advance,
Sylvia B
Hi! All you will be missing is pork flavor by not adding pork. It will still taste like a corn tamal by itself. Enjoy!