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Chicken Tamales

Boil two pounds of corn and a handful of lime in water enough to cover, until the skins of the corn are loosened; then wash the lime from the corn, and grind the latter very fine. Boil a large chicken (or a little more than three pounds of beef), and mix the resulting liquid with the ground corn, adding a scanty pound of firm lard, and salt to taste. Having boiled one pound of red peppers until soft, remove the seeds and skins and grind the peppers fine; add three or four pieces of garlic (chopped), a small quantity of sliced tomato, and one-half pound of ground chilis. Mix this preparation with the chicken or beef; then fry for a few minutes, and add salt to taste. Spread wet corn-husks with the prepared corn meal, put in the chicken mixture, and then boiled eggs, olives, and cucumber, if desired. Then put on another corn-husk spread with meal, and boil for from threefourths of an hour to one hour in one gallon of water. When all are half done, turn the top ones over. The above directions are calculated to make one dozen tamales.