Mississippi Delta Hot Tamales - HHH

   Up until I made these for the first time, I had only enjoyed tamales when this little Hispanic woman would stop by to sell them to my mother. The masa was tender and the meat was spiced perfectly. I enjoyed those little foil packets of joy so much, that I almost lost it when I came across a base recipe for these Mississippi Delta tamales. I tweaked the spices to my liking, and the results will make your eyes roll back in your head. If you're interested in seeing me make them, here's the video!

Mississippi Delta Hot Tamales

Makes: about 2 dozen

For the filling:

• 2 to 3 lbs boneless meat (chicken, pork shoulder, chuck roast, or beef brisket
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, minced
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 Tbs paprika
• 1 Tbs ground cumin
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne (or to taste)

Husks and Dough:

• about 30 dried corn husks
• 4 cups yellow cornmeal or masa flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup lard or vegetable shortening 
• 3 to 4 cups meat broth (saved from boiling the meat)

Simmering Liquid:

• remaining meat broth, plus enough water to almost cover tamales
• 2 Tbs chili powder
• 1 Tbs ground cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne

Instructions:

1. Soak your corn husks in warm water and let them soak.
2. Trim your meat of all the large chunks of fat. If you miss some, its okay, it will liquify when we boil it.
3. In a large stock pot, boil your meat of choice, cover, and let it go for about 2 hours.
4. Remove the meat from the pot, BUT RESERVE THE LIQUID! I did this by pouring the contents into a strainer over a large bowl. Return the liquid to the pot and let it sit to the side.
5. Now take your very hot meat, and remove any leftover fat globs while shredding the meat. I then cut the shreds down across the grain so it wasn't as stringy. 
6. Add the masa flour, baking powder, lard, and salt to a bowl and mix. I used an electric mixer, though if you want to do it manually, it works better by using your hands.
7. While it is mixing, add in about 2 cups of the both. Your dough should be smooth, stick to itself, but not to you when you touch it. If what you have sticks to your finger, add a little more masa and mix. If it is too crumbly, more broth. 
8. Add the oil to another pot over medium heat, and toss in the onion. Cook about 5 minutes, or until translucent. 
9. Add the spices (garlic, chili powder, paprika, cumin, pepper, and cayenne) to the onions and stir it well. 
10. When the spices are nice and fragrant, about 2 minutes later, add the shredded meat. Stir, and let simmer until the meat is coated in the spice mixture and is warmed through.
11. Add about 2 Tbs of the masa to a corn husk, and spread it out. Leave a little room on the sides and leave a little room at the top of the tamale. 
12. Add a small amount of the meat mixture to the center of your masa.
    
13. Now roll your tamale up from side to side, then tuck the "pointy end" up. You should hopefully end up with something like this:
14. Once the first one is done, rinse and repeat. 

   15. Stack all your tamales standing up in a large stock pot like so:

   16. If you have any leftover space, crumble foil or use a heat proof bowl to take up the extra room.            Just make sure they don't fall over!

   17. Take your simmering liquid that is left over and add the chili powder, cumin, and cayenne. Stir that up, and then pour into the pot, avoiding pouring it on top of the tamales. (trust me, you don't want soggy masa!)

   18. Add enough water to the pot to ALMOST cover the top of the tamales. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour, until the masa will pull from the corn husk easily.
   19. Remove from the liquid, and enjoy with your favorite hot sauce, or saltines if you want to be authentic!