Truth be told, my husband was slightly scandalized that I would take our pulled pork leftovers and do ANYTHING to them. He could eat pulled pork sandwiches all week, perhaps all month – however, we had house guests, so I felt compelled to dress it up a little. A better compromise probably would have been to make more pulled pork to begin with…
This recipe is adapted from an article on one dish dinners in the March 2010 issue of Bon Appetite. It turned out great, and you can make parts of it ahead of time. My only suggestion is that if you make the filling the day before (like I did), it’s probably worth heating it up before you add the cornbread topping and bake. It’s always a little difficult to get the bottom of a biscuit-topping to cook thoroughly, but starting with cold filling makes it more challenging.
Pulled Pork Tamale Pie, adapted from March 2010 Bon Appetite
Pie Filling
3 large poblano chiles
1 green pepper
2 cups diced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 minced jalepeno
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 T oregano
salt to taste
vegetable oil for sauteeing
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup roasted tomatillos or jarred tomatillo salsa
leftover pulled pork – I had about 1 lb leftover
10 oz package of frozen corn, thawed and pureed in food processor
Cornbread Topping
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp chile powder
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
2 T honey
1 1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar, divided
1) Broil poblanos and green pepper on high heat to char skin, turning every few minutes to blacken all sides. Remove from oven, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Peel, seed, and chop.
2) Add oil to skillet, and saute onions until beginning to soften. Add garlic, jalepeno, and spices. Stir and heat until vegetables are tender.
3) Add chicken broth, tomatillo salsa, and pork to skillet. Stir, scraping bottom, until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in half of corn puree and chopped peppers.
4) Heat oven to 400 degrees. For cornbread topping: whisk together dry ingredients (flour through chile powder), and in separate bowl whisk together wet ingredients (milk through honey.) Combine, and stir in half of cheese.
5) If you cooked filling in an oven-proof skillet, you can bake it in that. Otherwise, put it in a 8×11 baking dish, or other similarly sized dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of filling. Dollop corn bread batter on filling and spread evenly.
6) Bake for 30-40 minutes until cornbread is cooked through and golden brown.Cover with foil if getting too brown.
