Hot Tamales

These can be made of either lean beef or chicken. Boil the meat until quite tender, and if chicken is used, remove all bones and gristle, and discard all fat and skin; run the meat through a meat grinder, grinding it fine. Seed and parboil a pint of chili peppers and let cool; add half a clove of garlic and chop both fine and add to the meat. Scald a pint of corn meal with a cupful of the water the meat has been boiled in, barely wetting it all through, and if a cupful is not enough for this, use a little more, but the meal must not be mushy. There should he two pounds of the prepared meat. Cut some clean, soft corn shucks into pieces four by six inches, shaping with the scissors; soak in warm water for an hour until soft and pliable; spread a layer of the wet meal on the shuck, then a layer of the prepared meat – a tablespoonful of each will be about right. Roll the shuck, making three turns, fold in the ends and tie carefully, and steam for two hours.