When I announced on Twitter last night that I was going to try making my own tortillas one of the responses I received was that once I had them, I’d never go back to the packaged version.
Well, it only took one bite to prove that statement true.
I was tortilla deprived while we were in Brazil. When I visited the US I would always bring back a couple packages in my suitcase and we’d go through them in a week or two. Because this was my only option I stuck with the packaged version, but I knew I wanted to make my own.
So when my brothers asked me what I wanted for my belated birthday gift during my visit home over the holidays, I immediately said a tortilla press. There was some confusion and I had to clarify that is was not a quesadilla maker I was speaking of. Once we established that the contraption wasn’t to actually cook the tortillas, but to press them, we began looking for one at stores each time we were out finding none.
Finally at about 8:00 pm the night before I left to come back to Kentucky my brothers (two of the three) announced that they were going out for a bit. Considering strange ideas aren’t all that uncommon in my family, no one paid any attention.
About an hour later they walked in the door announcing they were home, and laid a bag on the kitchen counter with a clanging thud.
My tortilla press!
It turns out that a Mexican restaurant they favor had just opened a market next door. They went in just before closing and found the last tortilla maker. Their descriptions of the look the cashier gave them were pretty funny. He seemed surprised that two gringo men (who also ordered chips and salsa to-go, by the way) would need such an item.
I finally got some corn masa flour last week and pulled out the press last night for my first attempt at making tortillas. I opted for a half batch of eight. The instructions called for 1 cup of the flour, 1/8 tsp salt and 1/3 cup water. The label mentioned that more water could be added if the dough was dry. Mine was dry so I added about 2 tbsp more of water.
I rolled the dough into eight balls as instructed, covered the press with plastic wrap on both sides, placed the dough ball in the middle and pressed down the dough.
As you can see, not so good on my first try. It wasn’t round at all. I decided to flatten the ball out a bit before pressing to encourage it to go round and this is what I got. Success!
I popped them on a hot griddle pan for about one minute on each side and kept the cooked tortillas warm and soft by covering the plate with a wet paper towel.
I went for the standard fillings this time, but the exciting part was that I got to try my first purchase of grass fed and finished ground beef from Pike Valley Farm. Delicious! I seasoned it up with cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.
Oh, and crushed red pepper. About the crushed red pepper…be sure you check your cap before sprinkling it in. Yep, pulled the whole unscrewed-the-cap-when-it-was-a-flip-top and poured in about a ½ cup of red pepper. With my husband’s help, I spent about 10 minutes washing it off with water. Fortunately we managed to get it down to a tolerable level of spiciness.
After we saved the meat I topped the tacos with lettuce, cheddar cheese, chopped jalapenos, salsa, olives and green onion.
I was taken a bit by surprise with my husband’s reaction to the dinner. He raved about the flavor of both the tortillas and the beef saying that all the flavors came out perfectly. I have to agree. The texture of the tortillas was excellent too, soft, yet firm and they didn’t break apart.
No more packaged tortillas for us. The extra 15 minutes it took to make them myself was worth every second! 
I make my own tortillas here in Brazil, but only flour, since masa flour is non-existent. Need the tortilla press for those too and it was one of the kitchen items I brought with me when I moved! Homemade tortillas are the best!!
I need to try making tortillas! I bet they taste delicious!
what is the alternative way to make tortilla without the press… im just curious..
thanks lori!
malou
WOW! They look awesome- professional quality!! I want a press now. I bet they’re so fresh and just incredible
Corinne – I kept wanting to bring one back, but couldn’t handle it in my luggage. Ha, ha! I wonder if fuba would work for something different.
Amanda – Try them! They are so good. Just like the ones we had in SF at Foodbuzz.
Impromtu Diva – I’ve only seen it done on travel shows about Mexico. They pat them out until they are flat. It looks like a pretty refined skill though. 🙂
Erica – They are great and the presses are really cheap. The basic one is all you need, nothing fancy. They are about $15.
A tortilla press? COOL! I didn’t know there was such a thing! I make my own tortillas, too, but rolling them out is SUCH a pain.
Homemade tortillas sound wonderful, that press is a great tool!
Lori! I bet these were SO good! Warm, fresh tortillas? I might need to borrow my parents tortilla press…I think they have one?!
Home made tortillas are the best, I do go back to store bought, only for convenience sake, but there is no comparison. I learned to make them in Mexico and they made everything taste better!
Happy Friday!
I never realized how easy it was to make them! I bet they were really delicious, especially with the excellent beef you used. I’m suddenly craving tacos!
Yet another cool kitchen tool I must have! I’m trying to recall if I’ve ever tasted fresh tortillas before – it sounds delicious and with the press, rather easy to make. And it would be so much more economical to make them as I need them rather than purchase a large package that might go unfinished.
Oh I would love to do this but can’t get myself to buy a press yet
They look wonderful–I have a tortilla press but don’t make them often. I should invest the extra time. 😉
looks yummy!
Just found your blog. So excited about it! I guess I need to buy a tortilla press. My husband would die if I had homemade tortillas around.