Tamales :-D (#Tres)

Hola! After a Thanksgiving, Christmas and a Cinco de Mayo of bailing on making tamales - an 8th grader's Spanish project can get me to do it. :-D So after an early day at work, I rushed home to relax with the kids and hubby for a little bit before heading to my My MIL's to get to the daunting task of tamale making. (I now see why my grandmother NEVER did this alone.) While waiting for these sample size tamales to steam, I began to wonder...

CAN YOU STEAM YOUR TAMALES TO PERFECTION IN YOUR HANDY DANDY CROCKPOT?

The answer is YES you can! YAY! Now I make my meat in a regular stove top pan, because I was not thinking of making tamales in the crockpot. But, your preparation of the meat can (and should be done) in your CP. Toss skinless boneless chicken breasts into your CP, add garlic and onion to the pot, and cover chicken with water. Cook until fall apart tender. Shred the chicken. This whole time you are going to be want to be soaking your dried corn husks in warm water for easier handling. (About an hour or two)

Next you are going to want to de-seed and de-vain your Chile pods. (Another time saver is to buy the canned ones of your liking. They taste just as yummy!) Rinse them off, and toss them into you blender blend until smooth. Strain for any missed seeds. Add a cup, or so, to your shredded chicken. And there is your filling.

Onto the dough. YUM. The kind I used this time was instant, only add water. It is really your preference. My grandmother uses lard, baking soda, etc. Follow the instructions accordingly, and ta-da, you have the dough. I will add some red chili sauce to give the dough some extra flavor. Again, individual preference.

Next, you are gonna take a corn husk, and spread the dough in the center about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Then in the center of your dough, add the filling. You are going to roll the husk up like a burrito, and then tuck the edges under. Now, you are going to want to place them in your CP seam down.

You are going to want to layer them until your CP is full, or you are done making them. I fit about 16 larger size tamales in my CP. Place the lid on, set your CP on high, and steam away for 4-6 hours. Check every now and then, to see if they are done. Depending on your CP, the cooking times will vary. **My CP took about 3 hours til they reached perfection... and below is the result, this was my "tester" tamale of the pot, the one that I checked for completion. Kids enjoyed, as did the hubby. And it sure did help the homesickness some!