Home made Corn Tortilla Recipe | The Novice Chef

Splendidly clean and pliable, this genuine corn tortilla recipe might be your weeknight tacos’ new greatest pal. The key? Getting the dough excellent. After you attempt them, you’re by no means going again to store-bought once more.

The Greatest Corn Tortilla Recipe

Made with white or blue masa, this genuine corn tortilla recipe will take your Mexican meals to an entire different degree. Tremendous delicate and flexible, they’ll be like having your personal tortilla manufacturing unit at residence!

Don’t let the thought of constructing them scare you, although. So long as you get the dough excellent, you’ll be rolling, urgent, and flipping them inside minutes. If it helps, you’ll be able to cheat a bit of and spray the plastic wrap with a little bit of cooking spray.

For a pop of colour and further taste, you’ll be able to even add hibiscus or spinach to them and freeze the leftovers for later. Used to make your favourite tacos or enchiladas, your meals will now style like they’re recent out of a Mexican kitchen. With these tortillas, you’re by no means getting store-bought ones once more.

In search of flour tortillas as an alternative? Right here ya go: Home made Flour Tortillas!

What You’ll Want

With solely 3 substances on the listing, you don’t actually need any substitutes. Apart from, there, sadly, aren’t any. Verify the recipe card on the backside of the put up for full ingredient quantities.

• Masa harina – White, yellow, or blue masa harina will work.
• Salt
• Water

Recipe Variations

This genuine corn tortilla recipe might be remodeled into equally conventional however a lot “more healthy” variations with solely 2 substances.

• Add hibiscus. Seep 1/4 cup of dried hibiscus flowers in 1 cup of scorching water. Take away the hibiscus and use the water to present your tortillas a enjoyable, floral twist.
• Use spinach. Mix the water with 1-2 cups of child spinach till you get a clean combination. Pressure the liquid and use it to convey the dough collectively. It’ll make your tortillas “wholesome” and inexperienced.

How one can Make Corn Tortillas

All it takes to make this genuine corn tortilla recipe is a straightforward dough.

• Add the salt. Combine the masa harina and salt in a big bowl till nicely mixed.
• Pour the water. Use one hand to slowly pour within the water whilst you combine the substances together with your different one. Knead till a dough kinds. It must be clean to the contact, like Play-Doh. If it’s too sticky, add extra masa harina. If it’s too dry, add extra water. Cowl the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough relaxation in a heat spot for half-hour. Spray it with cooking spray if you happen to’re going to let it relaxation for longer.

• Divide the dough. Use your fingers to roll the dough into balls in regards to the dimension of two tablespoons. It is best to have the ability to make between 16-18 balls.

• Flatten them. Add a bit of plastic wrap to the underside half of the tortilla press and place one ball of dough within the middle. Cowl it with one other piece of plastic wrap. Shut the press and push down on it to make a skinny tortilla. It must be skinny like a crepe. Repeat for all of the balls of dough. Should you don’t have a tortilla press, you’ll be able to flatten them with a rolling pin in between the plastic wrap.

• Cook dinner them. Preheat a “comal” (Mexican griddle) over medium-high warmth. As soon as scorching, add as many tortillas as can match (with out having them contact each other). Cook dinner them for 20-30 seconds or till they puff up barely. Should you don’t have a comal, you need to use an everyday griddle or a non-stick pan.
• Flip them over. Use your fingers or a spatula to fastidiously flip them over. Cook dinner for one more 15-20 seconds. Take away them from the warmth. Repeat for all of the tortillas. Set them apart and serve heat.

Suggestions for Success

This genuine corn tortilla recipe is even simpler to make with the assistance of the following pointers.

• Use a rolling pin. Don’t fear if you happen to don’t have a tortilla press. You should utilize a rolling pin. They may not come out completely spherical nevertheless it received’t have an effect on the flavour.
• Keep away from chilly water. Utilizing chilly water will make your tortillas crack. It is because it doesn’t hydrate the masa harina like scorching water does.
• Go simple on the water. You don’t all the time want so as to add the complete quantity of water, so add it in little by little till the dough reaches the proper consistency.
• Calmly grease the plastic. Generally the dough could be a tiny bit too moist and it’ll follow the plastic wrap when flattening. Keep away from this by evenly spraying the plastic wrap sheets with cooking spray each 3-4 tortillas.

Why Do My Home made Corn Tortillas Fall Aside?

There are two methods to troubleshoot this difficulty: one for uncooked dough and the opposite one for cooked tortillas.

• Uncooked dough. In case your dough is tough to handle (it falls aside) once you attempt to roll it into small balls or it cracks once you press it, then it’s too dry. Take a look at this by checking the sides of your pressed uncooked tortillas. In the event that they’re jagged and crackly, the dough lacks a little bit of moisture. Add 1-2 teaspoons of water at a time to repair the dough till it’s clean and pliable like Play-Doh.
• Cooked tortillas. In the event that they crack once you attempt to fold them right into a taco, they’re undercooked or too thick. You may solely right this if you happen to’re nonetheless within the strategy of cooking your tortillas, so ensure to position them on the comal for one more 10-20 seconds or till you’ll be able to fold them. Nevertheless, they may simply be stale in the event that they’re already a number of days outdated.

What To Do With Leftover Dough

Please don’t freeze leftover masa (dough). Whilst you can technically do it, it’s all the time dry and sometimes has clear indicators of freezer burn when thawed.

Luckily, you may make a lot of yummy Mexican appetizers and dishes with the dough leftovers from this genuine corn tortilla recipe. Right here’s some inspiration:

• Make sopes. Use leftover or hardened dough to make sopes, a typical Mexican road meals that’s like a small nicely or flattened volcano. They’re deep-fried after which loaded with toppings and fillings.
• Make tlacoyos. These diamond-shaped masa packets are sometimes full of refried beans, shredded beef, or cheese. They’re additionally cooked over a comal and have a lot of toppings.
• Make huaraches. These are very flattened-out variations of tlacoyos. They’re oval-shaped and are additionally served with a lot of toppings.
• Make gorditas. Press the balls of dough till they’re 1/8″ thick circles and place them on the comal over low warmth. Cook dinner them for 4-6 minutes on all sides or till they puff up barely. Take away them from the warmth and use a small pairing knife to fastidiously lower a slit on one facet to create a pocket within the middle. Fill them with refried beans, scrambled eggs, and so forth.

How one can Serve This Genuine Corn Tortilla Recipe

In the case of corn tortillas, there are only a few methods you’ll be able to serve them incorrect— most of them involving not serving them with Mexican meals or utilizing them to make burritos (which require flour tortillas.)

You may dunk these tortillas into soupy, saucy, or stew-like dishes like Pork Pozole Verde, Mexican Rooster Adobo, and Rooster Tinga (Tinga de Pollo). They’re additionally nice for making my Vegetable Enchiladas, Chilaquiles Verdes, and Air Fryer Rooster Taquitos.

Should you’re craving tacos, you’ll be able to go the normal route with hearty Carne Asada Tacos, or use leftovers from my Chile Rellenos in Cream Sauce (Rajas Con Crema) to make wonderful tacos de guisado.

How one can Retailer

Similar to all tortillas, this genuine corn tortilla recipe must be totally cooled earlier than being refrigerated. Unfold them out over a transparent floor and convey them right down to room temperature earlier than stacking them. After that, wrap them with parchment paper. Place a clear kitchen towel round them after which pop them into an hermetic bag or container. Refrigerate them for as much as per week.

To reheat them, place them on a heat comal over medium-low warmth for 1-2 minutes on all sides or till delicate and pliable. In the event that they’re too stale, you’ll be able to sprinkle them with 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of water after which cowl them with a pot’s lid as they warmth. This can create steam and assist them soften.

My favourite cheat is heating them within the microwave, although. That is excellent for once you’re in a rush. Sprinkle them with water and warmth them in 15-second increments till heat to style.

Can I Freeze These?

Sure! Stack any cooled leftovers and wrap them in plastic wrap. Then switch them to a freezer-friendly bag or container and freeze them for as much as 6 months. Transfer them into the fridge a day earlier than you’re able to serve so that they have time to thaw. Place them at room temperature for 1-2 hours earlier than reheating as normal.

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