Mom's Tamal en Cazuela

When you think of tamales you tend to picture the ones you might buy at a Mexican or Latin shop, typically made with masa (corn dough) and cooked wrapped up in a banana leaf of corn husk.

The tamale is stuffed with meat, cheese, chilies or vegetables depending on the taste preference,

But Cubans invented a variation of the dish known as tamal en cazuela, basically consisting of tamale masa with the meat, typically pork, stirred into the masa, and then cooked in a pot on the stove to form a kind of hearty cornmeal porridge.

Mom and I took a pound of pork chunks and marinated them in some Mojo, cut onions, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Using a deep casserole pan we cooked the pork and onions in Olive Oil. Once cooked we set the pork aside.

In the same casserole pan we added 1 and a half cups of finely ground corn meal and three cups of water, one seasoning pack of Sazon, some cumin, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.

Now is when the fun begins. This is almost the same as making grits or polenta, meaning you need to keep stirring and stirring and, if needed add more water, over medium to medium high heat. 

The final consistency is like a porridge. Once you get to that thickness add the pork and onions back in. Also add in one 8 ounce can of cream of corn.

Cook on low for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently.

It is a bowl of comfort food that even Goldilocks would approve of.