Carnitas Tamale Pie

Pork has good natural moisture making it a good filling for tamales. This recipe provides a very easy method of making shredded pork carnitas in a tamale pie.

Ingredients

• Pork Shoulder, cut into 1"pieces  ·  1 1/2 pound 
• Vegetable Oil  ·  1 tablespoon 
• Herbie's Mexican Spice Blend  ·  4 tablespoons 
• Salt  ·   
• Chicken Stock  ·  2 cups 
• Garlic, minced  ·  6 cloves 
• Yellow Onion, diced  ·  1 
•  ·   
• Frozen Corn, thawed out  ·  1 1/2 cup 
• Masa Harina  ·  1/3 cup 
• Cornmeal  ·  1/4 cup 
• Butter, softened  ·  1/2 cup 
• Baking Powder  ·  1/2 teaspoon 
• Heavy Cream  ·  2 tablespoons 
• Water  ·  1/4 cup 
• Sugar  ·  1/3 cup 
• Salt  ·  1 teaspoon 
• Guacamole Spice Mix  ·  1 tablespoon 

Instructions

Pre heat your oven to 375 degrees

Start by placing the pork in a large bowl and tossing in the Herbie's Mexican Spice Blend and a few pinches of salt. Once the meat is seasoned start the cooking process by heating 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer add the cubed pork to the pan. Sear on all sides until the meat has a nice deep brown crust. Turn the heat off and add the pork to a large heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven. Put the large saute pan back on over medium heat with the pork fat in the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic, onion, and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 2 minutes then add to the pot with the pork.

Pour the chicken stock over the pork and turn the heat up to high. Once the liquid comes to a boil, secure the lid and turn the heat back down to a simmer and cook for 2 hours.

While the carnitas is cooking you can prepare the corn tamale portion of the pie. Start by processing the thawed out corn kernels in a food processor. Pulse the food processor a few times (its okay if they are still chunky). Add the processed corn to a large bowl with the all of the other ingredients remaining. The easiest way to mix is to get in there with your hands and really press the ingredients together until they are well incorporated. Once the mixture is combined pour it into a 9"X13" baking dish. Press the corn mixture down evenly and cover with aluminum foil. Place in your pre heated oven and cook for 40min. Once the corn mixture is cooked remove it from the oven and let it cool.

After the 2 hours is up, remove the pork from the liquid with tongs and lay it out on a cutting board while saving to cooking liquid. Shred each piece of pork until it is fully shredded. Then add the shredded pork back to the pot with the liquid and toss until the meat has absorbed all the liquid.

To assemble to pie: Arrange the shredded pork from the pot on top of the corn in the baking dish forming 2 layers. Serve immediately or cover and place in the refrigerator to be re heated the following day. Enjoy with Williamson Wines Perky Petit Verdot!