tamale pot

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imabulldogg

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Hey Gents,

I have been reading about using alum pots for brewing and I have one minor question; there is a pot at target for 20 bucks that has indentations on the side for a steamer, do any of you think that might cause issues? Thanks for the great info; it has helped a lot in my return to the brew..

Bill
 
nope , I used one for a while from HEB. Its just cheap aluminum steam pot. I think i got my 34 qt one for like 30 bucks.
 
I have the target pot (the IMUSA tamale steamer) one and it works fine. Its a bit tight for a full boil (foam control drops are your friend), but it works. Just be really careful, the aluminum is really thin and it dents easily. I closed my pantry door with it not on the shelf all the way, and the little wire shelf on the back of my pantry door creased it. That's really just a cosmetic issue though, you'd have to do something really stupid to crush the pot to an unusable state.
 
When I saw the thread title, I was thinking we were sharing a similar concern. A couple of weeks ago, my wife rigged a rack about 6" off the bottom of my keggle and used it to make about 120 tamales! I am still trying to figure out what to do to make sure my next batch doesn't taste like tamales....
 
When I saw the thread title, I was thinking we were sharing a similar concern. A couple of weeks ago, my wife rigged a rack about 6" off the bottom of my keggle and used it to make about 120 tamales! I am still trying to figure out what to do to make sure my next batch doesn't taste like tamales....

Oxyclean is your friend.

I was thinking about getting one of those tamale pots and making a false bottom that would fit on that shoulder. Even if I don't put a spigot, it would keep things off the bottom of the kettle while I boiled.
 
When I saw the thread title, I was thinking we were sharing a similar concern. A couple of weeks ago, my wife rigged a rack about 6" off the bottom of my keggle and used it to make about 120 tamales! I am still trying to figure out what to do to make sure my next batch doesn't taste like tamales....

Who cares. I'd drink tamale beer any day of the week.

I loves me some tamales.
 
tamales and beer. hmmmmmmmmmm tamale beer even better HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM i have been eyeing a 60qt steamer at the mexican grocer in town. 60 bucks.
 
I got a 50 qt tamale steamer and my turkey fryer would not maintain a boil. I tried for an hour. I dumped the batch in my turkey fryer pot and had a boil in 5 minutes. I don't know if it is because it was too thin or just too big. It is in the classifieds now.
 
They sell tamale pots outside of the southwest?

AWESOME!!!!
There are definitely some fine traditions in the hispanic culture that everyone should indulge in.

I too used one of those pots when I first started brewing. Actually I still use it to heat my strike and sparge water.
 
My brew pot is fine....but....so I can get one of these at Target?;)

I'll pass on tamale flavored beer, and bacon beer for that matter, but I'll drink some beer while eating tamales and bacon!
 
Just saw a tamale steamer in a cheap grocery store the other day. I thought the same thing, that it could be used as a kettle. But it looks a little thin and I was worried that it would be too easy for it to tip over because of its low weight.
 
i bought an aluminium tamale pot at walmart for 19.97 and have used it for 5 gallon full boils. just keep an eye on it, it likes to boil over.
 
My brew pot is fine....but....so I can get one of these at Target?;)

I'll pass on tamale flavored beer, and bacon beer for that matter, but I'll drink some beer while eating tamales and bacon!

Both the Walmart and Menards near me have 32-36 qt aluminum steamer pots (marked as tamale steamers or not) for less than $25.


Then again, I'm one of like 7 non-hispanic people in this part of chicago.
 
In any case, weight is largely irrelevant in determining whether something is likely to fall over. It has more to do with the inherent stability of the system.

not necessarily. In two inherently similar systems (a pot on a burner), the heavier one will need more of an outside stimulus to fall over (IE, its easier to knock an empty pot off a burner than a full one)

But the weight differences of the pots are insignificant compared to the liquid in this case.
 
not necessarily. In two inherently similar systems (a pot on a burner), the heavier one will need more of an outside stimulus to fall over (IE, its easier to knock an empty pot off a burner than a full one)

But the weight differences of the pots are insignificant compared to the liquid in this case.

The ability to knock a pot off of the burner, is insignificant next to the power of THE FORCE.















;)
 
Oxyclean is your friend.

I was thinking about getting one of those tamale pots and making a false bottom that would fit on that shoulder. Even if I don't put a spigot, it would keep things off the bottom of the kettle while I boiled.

Never use Oxyclean on an aluminum kettle
 
Oxyclean is your friend.

I was thinking about getting one of those tamale pots and making a false bottom that would fit on that shoulder. Even if I don't put a spigot, it would keep things off the bottom of the kettle while I boiled.
If you get the really big tamale pot(46 qt $25.99), at say Foodmax, It already has a ridge for a false bottom, and comes with a steam plate. It could be modified to keep fine particles off the bottom, or large ones as is. I think if you are careful to stir it, you would be ok.
 
The Pot will come with one however it will sit much to high, you can build your own false bottom using a perforated pizza tin and 1" long SS screws for legs. make sure you oxidize your pot & false bottom buy boiling water in it first and NEVER use anything other than soap and water to clean it. I speak from experience with all things mentioned.
 
I have said pot and tried converting the steamer tray by drilling several more larger holes in it then attaching a semi-fine mesh to it, was trying to get it to filter hops while boiling, chilling, and draining. No good though, the boil kept pushing it up and allowing the hops to get under it. Otherwise though the pot works great, drilled it and added a 3 piece ball-valve, have nearly a hundred full volume 5 gal batches on it.
 
If you get the really big tamale pot(46 qt $25.99), at say Foodmax, It already has a ridge for a false bottom, and comes with a steam plate. It could be modified to keep fine particles off the bottom, or large ones as is. I think if you are careful to stir it, you would be ok.

That's what I was referring to when I said "shoulder".
 
Oh I wasn't confused. Sorry, I just got excited to see other people trying out the Tamale steamer and wanted to add my two cents. I should correct myself and add that the steamer is actually only 40 quarts. I will post after its maiden boil.
 
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