Homestyle Hot Tamales - New Orleans Style - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Tamale Filling
3 1/2 - 4 lbs ground beef
2 large onions, pureed
3 ounces chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
4 teaspoons salt
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce (Hunt's)
1 cup water
2/3 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons black pepper
cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
Cornmeal Dough
1 (1 lb) package quaker yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt, to taste
5 tablespoons shortening, plus more if needed
Sauce
3 ounces chili powder
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce (Hunt's)
water, to cover

Preparation

Put 150 to 180 tamale papers in water. Put in one at a time, sink it and add another until all are submerged. Set aside.
Thoroughly combine all ingredients for meat mixture. Roll into finger-sized logs (approximately 150 to 180). Set aside.
Combine cornmeal and salt with shortening, blending well with your hands. (The dough should be dark yellow and adhere easily to the outside of a meat log; if not, add more shortening.) Enclose each meat log in the cornmeal dough; place on a paper and roll halfway up; then tuck in one side of the paper and finish rolling.
Cover the bottom of a large pot with chili powder. Add a row of tamales and sprinkle top with chili powder; then add another row, facing in the opposite direction, and sprinkle top with chili powder. Continue in this fashion until all of the tamales are layered in the pot.
Pour cans of tomato sauce on top; then add water until all tamales are covered. Wait a few minutes (because water will soak into the layers) and pour in additional water until tamales are covered again. Bring to a boil and cook on high for 5 minutes; then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.