Louisiana Cajun Style Hot Tamales

Source: Chefs Joe and Adam Broussard

Meat Preparation:
10 pounds beef shoulder meat
2 onions, quartered
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
Salt
Pepper
Water

Cornmeal Mush:
2 pounds shortening
3 pounds cornmeal
Salt
Pepper

Meat:
3 large onions
2 garlic buttons
2 bottles chili powder
1 small bottle red pepper
Salt
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

The night before you make your tamales, wash each corn shuck and place in water to soak overnight.

Boil meat until done and falling off bone, about 1 1/2 hours.

While meat is cooking, make mush in heavy skillet. Get shortening hot and add salted cornmeal. Stir meat until golden in color. Make a paste by adding soup off the meat and stirring until smooth.

Take meat off bone and grind together with onion and garlic. Add chili powder, red pepper and salt.

Put shortening in skillet and fry until onion is cooked, stirring constantly. Add tomato paste and soup from meat making it soft. DO NOT GET IT TOO SOFT.

Spread meal mush on shucks about 1/4 inch thick with a flat knife. Then put meat on top and roll into tamale shape.

DO NOT UNDER-SALT THIS DISH. Cornmeal requires a lot of salt.

This recipe makes approximately 25 dozen tamales.