5-6 lbs. heavy roasting hen
1-2 onions
Salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, and chili powder to taste
1 bunch celery
2-3 cloves garlic

Put the roasting hen on to simmer with the onions, garlic, celery, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook until well done or almost falling off the bones. Remove the chicken from the broth and put on platter to cool. Add enough water to the broth to make about 5-6 cups. Add seasonings, oregano, cumin and chili powder to taste. Thicken with flour and water mixture and taste again until hot enough. This will be a little hotter when reheated in the tamale. This really looks like a thick red gravy. Strain this, and cool.

Pick the chicken off the bones, separating the skin from the meat. Put the skin and giblets through the grinder. Make your cornmeal, making it quite thick, put meal on paper, then gravy, then chicken and skin. Then roll in corn husk. Make sure your gravy is thick enough, you know when it leaves quite a ridge when you life to spoon. I usually cook the chicken one day and make the gravy. Then put the tamale together the next day.