1918 Tamale Pie
The World War I version of America's tamale casserole: seasoned ground beef, onion and tomatoes baked between two layers of plain cornmeal mush, with no wrapper, no steamer and, in 1918, no chile.
By the 1890s tamales were a popular American street food, sold as exotic Mexican fare, and the tamale pie followed: a casserole that skipped forming and steaming. Wikipedia lists an 1899 Austin, Texas, cookbook (The Capitol Cook Book) with a similar pot pie under a wheat crust, a 1905 Los Angeles Times cookbook with "cornmeal crusts above and below", and, according to Mark H. Zanger in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, the first recipe actually called "tamale pie" in 1911. During World War I it was sold as patriotic: the 1918 "Win the War" Cook Book said it saved wheat (Wikipedia). This recipe is from The Progressive Farmer of April 27, 1918, introduced as "a meal in itself"; NC State University Libraries reprinted it and file it as a wheatless wartime meal (Todd Kosmerick, April 13, 2018:). It has no chile at all. Zanger notes that tamale pie never became popular in Mexican American cooking (Wikipedia).
🇺🇸 This one is American
The World War I version of America's tamale casserole: seasoned ground beef, onion and tomatoes baked between two layers of plain cornmeal mush, with no wrapper, no steamer and, in 1918, no chile.
🇲🇽 The original
The Mexican original is fresh masa beaten with lard, spread on soaked corn husks around pork in red chile sauce, folded and steamed until the masa pulls away from the husk. See the Red Chile Pork Tamales (Tamales Rojos de Puerco) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Mush as the masa
Long-cooked cornmeal sets firm as it cools, so it behaves like the tamal's dough, a corn layer that holds the filling.
One dish, no wheat
The whole tamale idea, corn around meat, becomes a casserole that bakes in 30 minutes, which is exactly why wartime cookbooks liked it.
Step by step
- Step 1
Bring the water to a boil in a heavy pot. Whisk in the cornmeal in a slow stream with the salt, lower the heat to low, cover and cook 45 minutes, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes, until thick and smooth.
- Step 2
Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 2-quart baking dish.
- Step 3
Brown the onion in the fat in a skillet over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up, 5 to 7 minutes, until no longer pink (160°F). Season with salt and pepper, add the tomatoes (and pepper, if using) and simmer 10 minutes, until thick.
- Step 4
Spread half the hot mush over the bottom of the dish, spoon in the meat, and cover it with the rest of the mush.
- Step 5
Bake 30 minutes, until the edges bubble and the top is set (165°F in the center).
- Step 6
Rest 10 minutes, then cut into squares.
1918 Tamale Pie
Serves 6 · one 2-quart casserole · 1 hr 40 min total
Mush
- 6 cups water
- 2 cups cornmeal
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
Filling
- 1 tbsp lard, bacon fat or butter, plus a little for the dish
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 lb ground beef ("hamburger steak")
- Salt and pepper
- 2 cups canned tomatoes
- Optional (the 1918 recipe's extra): 1 sweet green pepper, chopped
Method
- Bring the water to a boil in a heavy pot. Whisk in the cornmeal in a slow stream with the salt, lower the heat to low, cover and cook 45 minutes, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes, until thick and smooth.
- Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 2-quart baking dish.
- Brown the onion in the fat in a skillet over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up, 5 to 7 minutes, until no longer pink (160°F). Season with salt and pepper, add the tomatoes (and pepper, if using) and simmer 10 minutes, until thick.
- Spread half the hot mush over the bottom of the dish, spoon in the meat, and cover it with the rest of the mush.
- Bake 30 minutes, until the edges bubble and the top is set (165°F in the center).
- Rest 10 minutes, then cut into squares.
Adapted from "Tamale Pie", The Progressive Farmer, April 27, 1918, page 15, as reprinted by NC State University Libraries. Its amounts for six, its 45 minute mush and 30 minute bake are its own. It gives no oven temperature, dish size or meat fat; the 350°F oven, the 2-quart dish, 80% lean beef, the 10 minute tomato simmer and the rest are ours. NC State University Libraries. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- The 1918 cook was told the sweet pepper was optional; NCSU's note suggests it was frowned on.
- A spoonful of chili powder in the meat makes it taste like a later tamale pie, but it is not in the 1918 recipe.
- Cook the mush in a heavy pot and keep the lid on; it spits as it thickens.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- The first tamale pie recipe was 1911. Disputed: Zanger (via Wikipedia) dates the first recipe by that name to 1911, but the 1899 Austin pot pie and the 1905 Los Angeles casserole came first under other names, and a food blog claims a 1908 newspaper recipe we could not verify.
- Tamale pie was invented in Texas. Disputed: Wikipedia says it may have originated there (the 1899 Austin cookbook), but the 1905 cornmeal-crust version is from Los Angeles.
- Tamale pie was a World War I wheat saver. Documented (Wikipedia, citing the 1918 "Win the War" Cook Book; NCSU).
- Tamale pie is Mexican. Folklore: it is an American dish; Zanger says it is not popular in Mexican American culture.
Every other tamale
Red Chile Pork Tamales (Tamales Rojos de Puerco)
Pork shoulder simmered down in a smooth guajillo chile sauce, wrapped in light, fluffy lard-beaten masa and steamed upright in corn husks, the central Mexican way.
Green Chicken Tamales (Tamales Verdes de Pollo)
Shredded chicken in a tangy tomatillo and serrano salsa verde, tucked into masa beaten fluffy with lard and chicken broth and steamed in corn husks.
Oaxacan Black Mole Tamales in Banana Leaves
Smooth lard-beaten masa, shredded pork and chicken and a spoonful of glossy mole negro, folded into square banana-leaf packets and steamed for an hour and a half.
Pink Sweet Tamales (Tamales de Dulce)
Sweet masa beaten with whipped lard and sugar, tinted pale pink and studded with raisins, steamed in corn husks and eaten with hot atole or champurrado.
Rajas con Queso Tamales (Poblano and Cheese)
Strips of roasted poblano chile and melting cheese tucked into lard-beaten masa and steamed in corn husks, the vegetarian tamal at every tamalada.
Uchepos (Michoacán Fresh Corn Tamales)
Sweet fresh corn blended with milk, butter and piloncillo, wrapped in fresh green husks from the same ears and steamed until just set, served with crema, cheese and salsa.
Venezuelan Hallacas
Venezuela's Christmas tamal: achiote-gold corn dough around a beef and pork stew with olives, raisins, capers, peppers and chicken, wrapped in banana leaves like a gift and boiled.
San Antonio Christmas Tamales
Long, thin San Antonio tamales with more filling than masa: lean pork simmered with raisins, then cooked in a tomato, green chile and oregano sauce, rolled in husks like cigars for the Christmas tamalada.
Mississippi Delta Hot Tamales
Small, spicy beef tamales with a gritty cornmeal dough, tied in bundles and simmered upright in a pot of seasoned water, then served with the juice thickened into a sauce.
New Mexico Red Chile Pork Tamales
Slow-roasted pork shoulder in a New Mexico red chile sauce, with a little of the same sauce beaten into the masa, rolled in corn husks, steamed and served under more red chile.
Skillet Tamale Pie
Chili-spiced ground sirloin, black beans, tomatoes and cheddar under a quick cornbread batter, baked right in the skillet in about 15 minutes.
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