Corn Tortillas


 
R

r benash

TVWBB Emerald Member
Ok, so I give up. I need someone (Kevin?) to tell me how to make really good home made white corn tortillas. If I said something wrong it's because I have always bought them. So I'll leave it up to the experts to tell me how to do it right. I promise that once I know I will totally move away from flour tortillas.
 
Are you able to (or do you wish to) make your own masa? (This requires getting field or dent corn, dried, then simmering with lime, removing the skins, then grinding with a metate or a corn grinder.) Or are you looking to make tortillas from dried masa meal? Do you have a tortilla press?
 
OK so time to revitalize this one. I have also tried to make corn tortillas a couple of times and have had limited success. No since the grocery store in town stopped selling them last week it's time to get a little more serious about it.

I do have a tortilla press and both times I have tried I use Masaa Harina. Now I can get them to press out, although they are very flemsy and don't look great but as soon as they go on a hot ungreased skillet they fall apart.

Any advice or just keep trying until I figure out the right consistency?

Clark
 
2 C Masa
1 1/4 C Water

Mix it up let sit for 30 mintues, press out on tortilla press (covered in plastic) throw on a hot skillet 30 seconds on one side and 60 seconds on the next

Clark
 
Okay, don't mix the water in all at once. The problem is likely too moist a dough.

Here's my flow:

1.75 c masa harina
1 c plus 2 Tbls HOT tap water

Mix well using your hand till well combined. Cover and let stand 15 min.

Meanwhile, heat your comal or griddle over med heat.

Squeeze the dough to check for texture. It will likely be dry. Add water--just 1 or 2 teaspoons at a time--till the dough feels like soft cookie dough--not stiff, but with no trace of stickiness.

Divide into 15 pieces, roll into balls and cover.

Press with your press using wax paper, plastic or parchment. Homemade tortillas are not as thin as commercial, about 1/8-inch is all you can do, a good thing.

Flip the tortilla onto the comal and cook till the edges just start to dry, about 30 secs. (Meanwhile, press another.) The tortilla won't release till its ready so don't push it. It should be very lightly browned underneath. Cook on the second side about 30 secs. It should puff in places--press with your figers or spatula to encourage this. Remove to a towel and wrap. Repeat.
 
I've made masa harina tortillas a few times, the recipe on the bag worked out for me.

I flatten the balls between wax paper in the tortilla press. I remove wax paper off one side and put on medium - medium high lightly oiled stainless steel skillet (I wipe a little oil on it with a piece of paper towel just before putting the tortilla on). I cook for perhaps a minute. The other piece of wax paper will now let go easily, remove it and flip for about another minute.

Perhaps cooking a little lower and longer would prevent your tortillas from falling apart Clark.

I might try parchment paper and leave it on instead of the wax paper and use no oil next time and see how it goes.
 
I made chuck cooked low n slow in a seasoned tomatoe sauce then shredded: burritos with masa harina tortillas and fresh guacamole for supper tonight

I used no oil in the skillet, hot tap water for mixing, held back some water for the tortillas and they came out fantastic! The dough really worked well.

I used parchment paper for pressing this time and the parchment paper was so much better than wax paper ... when I've used wax paper I could only do a couple tortillas. I used 3 squares of parchment for 36 tortillas this time and the dough worked out so well it just peeled right off, I didn't need to cook them in it.

fresh lime in the hand mashed guacamole

I think that's 6 tips from you I used in one cook!

thanks for your all great advice Kevin
 
You're welcome!

Last night's din:

I split a small free-ranger and made a marinade out of 5 rehydrated NM medium chilies pureed with scallion tops, a few garlic cloves, a good splash of grapefruit juice, a little pineapple vinegar, thyme, Mex oregano, allspice, cumin, salt and pepper, and a little evoo. I vac-sealed the marinade and chicken and left it on the counter to marinate for about 1.5 hours.

I cooked the chicken on the kettle, indirect, at temps somewhere in the 300s (the lid said 350 when I went out to remove it-never looked at it during the cook).

The skin was wonderfully crisp and, obviously, nicely colored from the very red marinade. Flavorful too!



I removed the skin (it was all I could do not to eat it all right then) and chopped it up, then let the chicken cool a little.

While the chicken was cooking I made an enchilada sauce out of a 50-50 min of hot and medium NM chilies, rehydrated, chicken stock, and the same aromatics and spicing I used for the marinade (I did not use the grapefruit but did use a little pineapple vin). I 'fried' the sauce in a little oil and added some sugar to round out the flavors.

I made tortillas while the sauce cooked, added a little of the sauce (and a splash of evoo) to the chicken while I shredded it, then simmered the tortillas in the sauce, a couple at a time, till slightly more pliable, then filled the tortillas with the chicken and got them into the pan. Thinned the sauce with a little water, poured it over, them topped with a little crumbled farmers cheese. Baked at 350 just to warm through then served, topped with shredded white cabbage, chopped tomato, chopped white onion, a mince of cilantro, a little more cheese, and a side of sliced avocado. Very tasty.

 
Thanks. It was approaching 9pm so it was pretty much thrown together--but that, imo, works well with baked enchiladas! Breakfast tacos coming up in a few minutes...need to get bellies in to cure and finish a ruby red version of limoncello before I do anything else.
 
The night before last I grilled tri-tip steaks and served topped with a quick salsa fresca, with grilled corn (smoked paprika/Pepperdoux/mayo slather), roasted fingerling potatoes, and steamed broccoli (turned in warmed Aleppo oil) on the side.

Gratuitous pic:



With the limoncello now made and the bellies in the cure (a regular mix plus crushed bay leaves, crushed juniper berries, cracked white and black peppercorns, Aleppo, granulated garlic), breakfast tacos, a few minutes ago, of egg scrambled with leftover tri-tip and Aleppo, topped with diced tomato, white onion and farmers cheese (a somewhat salty cheese with a crumbly texture that falls between feta and goat):

 
Some reason I lost track of this post. Catching up now.

Thanks for all the additional detail.

My intent at some point will be to make my own masa using white corn. But in the meantime this has helped a lot.

Still looking for a good cast iron press. Had one on order but it got cancelled.
 
Yes i like the wood way better than either the cast iron or the aluminium model's ...but to each his own.
 
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