"Christy Duke" > wrote in message
...
>
> I will be making Tamales with second graders does anyone know if i can
> steam them in a crockpot? It would make it so much easier than having a
> big pot of boiling water in the class.
>
> Christy Duke

Christy, YES.... you can steam cook tamales in a crock pot. A counter top
roasting pan can also be used. A rice steamer will also work and faster if
they are not too tall so to prevent the lid from closing . Put a bit of salt
and chile in the water, this is probably more myth than fact. The salt water
is supposed to keep the salt in the tamal from leeching out. A more
practical approach would be to cook them a day ahead and then put them in
the crock pot or a microwave to
reheat and stay warm. Thus accomplishing your safety in the classroom goal

The temp in a good crockpot will get up to 212F on high setting. How
long to get up to temp will depend on many things and something you will
need to time. It took about 2 hours to come to 212 today here in WA.
So I do not think It will not matter much if the tamales are in husks or
leaves but do not over crowd the container. I figure 2 hours to heat,
somewhere close to an hour to an hour and a half or so of some good moist
heat for cooking. Then the next batch goes in.

In cooking with a crockpot this way you will need something to keep the
tamales out of the liquid, some form of wire rack, basket or up on something
like a small plate. I rigged up 4 demi tasse cups in upside down and then a
narrow plate that fit inside my crock pot and allowed room around the edges
for the
steam. The problem was the plate collected and pooled the liquid. So try a
throw away aluminum roasting pan that you poke drain holes for your basket.