Good Eats Hot Tamales Alton Brown 2009

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Tamales are simpler to make than you might expect. And these are delicious! We added tomato paste to the filling for added flavor as an option to alton's recipe. He says you get about 5 dozen, but we got just 3 dozen. You may also enjoy trying recipe #369851

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Steps

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Meat filling: in a small bowl , combine the chili powder , kosher salt , paprika , smoked paprika , garlic powder , onion powder , cayenne pepper , black pepper and cumin.

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Divide the mixture in half and reserve 1 half for later use.

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Cut the boston butt into 6 even pieces and place into a 6 to 8-quart saucepan.

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Add half of the spice mixture and enough water , 3 to 3 1 / 2 quarts , to completely cover the meat.

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Set over high heat , cover and bring to a boil.

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Once boiling , reduce the heat to low and simmer until the meat is very tender and falling apart , 2 to 2 1 / 2 hours.

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Remove the meat from the cooking liquid to a cutting board.

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Leave the cooking liquid in the pot.

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Both meat and liquid need to cool slightly before making dough and handling.

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Remove any large pieces of fat and shred the meat into small pieces , pulling apart with your hands or using 2 forks.

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Place a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat and add the vegetable oil.

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Once shimmering , add the onion and cook , sti.

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Ingredients

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chili powder, kosher salt, paprika, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper, ground cumin, boston butt, vegetable oil, onion, garlic cloves, jalapeno pepper, tomato paste, yellow cornmeal, baking powder, lard, corn husks