So....I tried to make corn tortillas with some of masa harina I've got sitting around, mocking me...

M

marilynfl

Moderator
I had two recipes that were exactly the same: one was on the bag and the another one was in the box of my "tortilla smoosher".

I mixed, I waited, I rolled into balls, I pressed between two pieces of heavy plastic (then pressed between wax paper when that failed) and every single one of them STUCK. Too damp. I added some regular flour. Still stuck. I added a sprinkling of dry masa harina to each ball and was finally able to lift them off the paper. I browned them slightly in a hot pan, but they still tasted raw. So I fried them and they puffed up into...what, corn sopapillas? I have no clue what I just made...all that work and they tasted like corn chips. Did I just make tortilla chips?

When all is said and done, what did I do wrong? I mean, all I wanted was a few simple corn tortillas. Three ingredients, folks, that's it...and two of them were salt and water. People without indoor plumbing have been making these for centuries...way before Rick Bayes figured it out.

 
Masa Harina is just like flour. The moisture content changes by humidity & storage.

It's just like making bread where sometimes it requires more of the additional flour than other times.

 
How did you fry them? When I make tostadas I fry them very slowly

in a low temperature oil. To hot makes them puff, to cool makes them just absorb the oil.

 
You made totopos!

By frying a corn tortilla you make totopos or corn chips! You also make a tostada, which is the base for a yummy dish, topped with shredded chicken and lettuce, chiles, avocado, etc...

By gently frying a corn tortilla, you also get a softer version which is used as a base for huevos rancheros.

You need to play around with the texture of the dough until it's crumbly, sort of like dry pate brisee more than bread dough - and then press it between the plastic like you did, in mexico we use the bag that bread comes in, you know, just plain Wonder Bread bags split open...

Also get yourself pan you can superheat without it warping or smokin, the piece used in Mexico is a comal, a very flat round griddle, usually heavy aluminium...

And please, please... erase from your head anything that that Rick Bayless has to say about making tortillas, I cannot bear to read his instructions that want you to measure each tortilla - imagine if the people in mexico making them started measuring each and every one to make sure it was 5 inches across - please, the country is slow enough as it is!! Honestly, that man...

Having said all of this, most people in mexico would not make their own tortillas at home if you paid them, they buy them - it's done in restuarnt buffets, for example, for a show, but mostly buy fresh or packaged.

 
Sandra, could you define "chilaquiles" for me. I get conflicting information

I've seen some that are like "super nachos" with tortilla chips topped with everything, and others that are just fried tortillas tossed in chile sauce.

Thanks!

 
Totopos? Who knew? Actually, we ate them exactly as you described...

Shredded chicken, olives, salsa, lettuce, cilantro, dab of sour cream and lime juice.

They were very tasty and I would have enjoyed them even more if I wasn't so frustrated, feeling like a 3-ingredient idiot.

 
Chilaquiles

The way I make them is to layer everything in a baking dish, sort of like lasagna -

totopos
chile sauce (green or red or mole)
shredded chiken or pork, or no meat)
sour cream
top the whole thing with cheese (cheddar or feta or both)

then bake

I like them quite wet, so i use a lot of sauce and a lot of cream (of ocurse!)

then I serve them with a runny fried egg or two on top -

they are typically served for b'fast or as a late snack, like 2-3 am if there is a party, etc...

 
That sounds really nice

don't get frustrated, just buy them, they're a pain to make - try your hand at making flour tortillas, they're a lot more forgiving, if you don't want to use lard, you can use crisco and still get good results

 
I can't tell you how many times I had the same thing happen...

and then one day I got the hang of the feel of the masa...Listen to Joe! *giggle* It should feel dryish, like Play-doh. I used to press mine between sheets of heavy plastic on the floor between 1" thick pavers so I could really put everything I had behind it to get a thin tortilla.

As for flour...I'd rather work from scratch than use Masa Trigo! I've got a great recipe that may not be 100% authentic, but it makes great flour tortillas!

 
Would love to see your recipe, my flour tortillas usually resemble the state

of Texas more than a flour tortilla, but they sure taste good. I've noticed a lot of variations in flour tortillas. Some have baking powder, some don't and the amount of fat and heat of the water can really vary.

 
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