For $1.50 you can get 12 hard taco shells (Great Value brand) at Walmart. That's 12.5 cents each shell. I buy the large bags of corn tortillas (80 ct) for a little under $4 at WinCo (similar price at Walmart). These big bags keep for a loooong time in the fridge. A plain corn tortilla costs about 5 cents each. I use about a teaspoon of oil and a teaspoon of saved meat fat to pan fry 2 tacos at a time, or about 1.5 cents per taco. So my home fried taco in shells costs 6.5 cents per shell, compared to the pre-fried taco shells at 12.5 cents per shell. When I make 8 tacos for the four of us, I save 48 cents on the shells.
Maybe 48 cents doesn't sound like a lot of money. In the grand scheme of things, it isn't. However, I like to do the pan-fried tacos for other reasons, as well. I buy corn tortillas on a regular basis. We use them in enchiladas, oven-fried tortilla chips, mulitas (quesadillas made with corn tortillas), as well as tacos. So I almost always have corn tortillas on hand. Which means I don't have to "plan" for making tacos like I would if I used hard shells. I can decide the day of that I want tacos. In addition, I grew up eating these chewier tacos. I enjoy the chewy texture and corn tortilla taste.
So those are my "whys" on making tacos using corn tortillas. Here's my how.
Corn tortillas are less pliable than flour tortillas. They are easier to work with if warmed or at least at room temperature. To warm them, I put a stack into the microwave for about 10 seconds. This is usually enough to make them pliable enough to gently fold over.
I lay the warm tortillas out on the counter and spoon some prepared (cooked and seasoned) meat and/or beans into the center.
Meanwhile I get a skillet hot with about 2 teaspoons of fat melted. I gently fold the tortilla in half and place into the skillet. I use a small omelet pan for these, so I can do 2 at a time. In the minutes that these cook, I grate a little cheese, and I get out a sheet of draining paper (paper flour bags torn open work well).
As the next batch are cooking, I open each cooked tortilla just a little and place a some cheese and some chopped veggies (tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, avocado, green or red bell peppers) inside. I drizzle whatever dressing or sauce I want on top and close them back up.
I think I would like these better than the premade ones. However, we’re happy with soft wraps for tacos. In fact, my husband prefers them.
ReplyDeleteSoft flour tortilla tacos are tasty, too!
DeleteOops! I am on an airplane right now and forgot to log in. That’s my comment above.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful trip, Live and Learn!
DeleteI like them either way - but I do like crunch, while my husband likes the soft shells. What we are loving right now are birria tacos. We tried them at a restaurant and I need to find a good recipe to duplicate them.
ReplyDeleteHi Ruthie,
DeleteI saw birria tacos on a menu while we were in California. We didn't try them, but I remember the name. I hope you find a recipe that recreates that experience.
Your tacos look delicious to me.unfortunately my Dh prefers flour tortillas, so I don’t often use corn because it’s just easier to do all the same.
ReplyDeleteHi Diane,
DeleteI agree. It's easier to make just one type of meal rather than make two. I also like flour tortillas for tacos, like a cross between fajitas and tacos.
I actually think your tacos do look pretty! I love checking your blog everyday and finding whatever new subject you've written about. You never fail to write something fascinating or something that teaches me a new idea. I have so many corn tortillas and now have a good plan for making hard shells that my family prefers.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely weekend.
Thank you, Amanda.
DeleteGood luck making tacos this way!
Normally, I prefer crispy tacos, plus can have those as they are corn as opposed to the flour tortillas of soft tacos. I've never thought to make them the way you are describing, but in reading about you do them, I remembered having tacos from the restaurant Jack-in-the-Box, which makes a folded over fried taco similar to what you describe. My dad, now in his early 70's, worked there as a teenager and had fond memories of those tacos, so introduced us kids to them when we lived in central CA back in the late 1980's. Currently, hubby and I often eat our tacos as a salad to lower our carb count and increase veggie consumption (big plate of greens with the seasoned meat and lentil mixture atop, along with taco toppings and a few crumbled tortilla chips), but occasionally we still have crispy tacos, so I'll have to give your method a try!
ReplyDeleteHi Cat,
DeleteI had a brief work stint at a Jack-in-the-Box as a teen one summer. And yes, I remember the deep fried tacos. They're actually pretty flavorful.
Yum -- I love taco salad! I do these in late summer when we have lots of both garden lettuce and tomatoes, with or without tortilla chips. Thanks for reminding me of the good things to come from our garden in several months.