My Homemade Tortilla and Taco Shells

Here is currently snow covered Ontario I would not think twice about making dough for fresh baked bread for dinner.  In the southern US most would not think twice about whipping up a batch of homemade bisquits or corn bread for dinner.  The same applies to Mexican cuisine where taco shells and tortillas take the place of bisquits, corn bread or yeast bread.  I showed a short video of how to make homemade taco shells a few days ago. 

Rather than use store bought tortillas for wraps or pre-made taco shells I used the tortilla press to make both.  I did not do this because store bought tortillas and taco shells are expensive.  While I did end up saving on making both with 8 taco shells costing about 30¢ verses 12 store bought for $1.99 and 8 tortillas about the same verses store bought at $1.79 for 10, the primary goal of this exercise was not saving money, it was all about discovery and experimenting in the kitchen! 

Using the tortilla press was not difficult at all.  I ended up using two methods.  The first method involved using plastic wrap to sandwich the dough between for the taco shells.  The second method (pictured) used flour on the tortilla press.

To use a tortilla press you break off a piece of the dough, form it into a ball then press between your palms to flatten a bit.  Place the flattened ball in the centre of the tortilla press then close the top portion over the dough.  Pull the handle up over the top portion using enough pressure to flatten the dough.  The flattened, shaped dough is now ready for cooking on a hot griddle.

I followed the recipe that was included with my tortilla press.  The recipes was fairly straight forward but the results were not.  The tortillas were thicker than I would have like and it didn't matter how I adjusted the press the tortillas thickened up when cooking.  Now all is not lost because the tortillas I made are very similar to Greek style pocketless pitas so serendipity has given me another homemade product to do a bit of tweaking.  If I did them a bit thicker they would be just like the thin breads (Fill'ems) I was telling you about.  This really is what cooking is all about!  The recipe didn't work as I was expecting but I ended up with a result that works for another purpose.  I will be testing out more tortilla recipes in the very near future.

Making taco shells is a two step process using two cooking methods.  First the dough is formed into tortillas using a tortilla press and cooked briefly at 450ºF for 20 to 30 seconds on each side.  Next the cooked tortillas are allowed to dry then then are fried forming their shape with whatever kitchen utensil gets the job done to create the desired shape.  In the video the taco shells were fried in a pan on the stovetop first on one side then turned using spatulas to create the shape while frying.

Homemade taco shells are nothing like store bought other than shape.  Oh my the flavour is incredible!     Mine were a bit rough around the edges but considering this was my first attempt, I was rather pleased.  I used instant corn masa bought as a foodie find while at our vacation home in the fall.  This is made with 100% premium white corn.  te the shape while frying.  I decided to modify this to use my deep fryer and tongs making the whole process a bit easier and streamlined.  This method worked quite nicely.  Unlike store bought taco shells homemade ones puff a bit when frying.  I wasn't put off by this though as this just adds to the crunch.

Clearly I need to do a bit more practicing to get both the tortillas and taco shells looking closer to what I want but this really was a valuable learning experience for me.  First off a flub turned into another product that certainly will not go to waste.  It planted the seed as to how to make those new thin sandwich breads.  Homemade came in at 3¢ a piece for both taco shells and tortillas.  In perspective a family of 4 using 12  of either for one meal could save $1.56 on that meal which doesn't sound like a lot of money but consider if they had tacos twice a month for the year the overall savings would be $37.44, enough to make a difference.  The most important thing though is the whole experience has sparked the desire to explore a bit more to see how I can tweak the recipes and methods to get exactly what I want.

Chicharron de Harina (Wheat Pellets)

One of my foodie finds at Bravo during our vacation was Chicharron de Harina (wheat pellets).  I specifically focused on Mexican foods here.  I had bags of really interesting wagon wheel shaped snacks that looked a lot like a fancy cheesee at the flea market on the previous trip.  I asked what they were and the lady explained they were a fried dough like tortillas.  It wasn't practical for me to bring home a bag as we had flown that trip.  This trip I looked for the wagon wheel shape in the hopes of being able to cook the snack at home since I didn't think they would travel well.

Chicharron de Harina are wheat pellets similar to pasta.  The pellets have a unique wagon wheel shape but can also be found as strips.  The pellets have a shiney, hard candy appearance.  Each wagon wheel pellet is about 1¼ - inch diameter.  Some are made using pork fat but the ingredients in the ones I bought are: wheat flour, iodized salt, corn starch, sodium bicarbonate, vegetable oil, colorant yellow #5, #6 cert and red #40.  I would imagine using pork fat would give a rather nice flaver similar to pork rinds.  Those not made with pork or fried in lard are a favourite vegetarian Mexican snack.

The chicharron de harina were quite easy to prepare.  I heated vegetable oil to 190ºC (375ºF) in the deep fryer.  When the oil was heated I dropped 5 - 6 of the hard wheat pellets into the hot oil.  They initially sink then within a couple of seconds puff up to about double size and rise to the top of the oil.  I gave quick stir to ensure they were cooked through then drained on a paper towel.  The total cooking time for each batch was about 20 seconds.  We enjoyed the chicharron de harina plain but you can sprinkle with salt, chili powder or sugar and cinnamon if desired.  An alternative serving suggestion is to sprinkle with lime juice or a dash or two of hot sauce.

Our grandchildren thought they were quite tasty so I sent some of the uncooked chicharron de harina home with them.  The pellets do go a long way!  I fried about 25 pellets when the grandchildren were here then later that night I fried up about half of the bag for entertaining and I still have almost a full 500 ml jar of the pellets left.  As snacks go this is a very frugal choice at only $1.69 with enough pellets to make several batches of the tasty snack.  I popped the leftover fried chicharron de harina into a storage container just to see how well this snack keeps.  The following day they were still crispy so this is a snack that could be made ahead for entertain, school lunches or picnics.