22” Blue Weber Kettle with SnS insert
Kamado Joe Jr with Kick Ash Basket
Char-Broil Smartchef Tru Infrared Gasser
Anovo Hot Tub Time Machine with Custom Hot Tub
Lots of talk/SUWYC on tacos this week and about fresh made tortillas. Jim White lamented he has a difficult time finding them. Then I felt a bit guilty in that I can get them anytime I want! mnavarrebarelflytexastweeterMichael_in_TX and all the other taco masters out there….
#blessed because Gustavo is my boss’ husband (I’m always getting samples) and Evan is one of her besties!
Smokin-It 3D
Weber Kettle with an SNS
Masterbuilt kettle that I call the $30 wonder grill
Bullet by Bull Grills gasser
Anova WiFi sous vide machine
Thermoworks Thermapen and Chef Alarm
Gustavo - is the group you did the taco tasting with across last year?
and I haven’t even really looked for fresh corn tortillas here at home. I just buy Guerrero’s Corn Tortillas - as I feel they are the best from the various I’ve tried. They warm up nicely and stay together for the most part. So, sadly I can’t add what my favorite fresh tortilla is besides the ones I make. This post will spur me to see if I can find fresh in Albuquerque/Rio Rancho area though. I don’t even know if my favorite taco spot Don Choche makes their own tortillas. I’ll have to check on that.
I will say, my favorite masa is from Masienda. And those corn tortillas I make are my favorite….if that counts
Gustavo sounds like the main character in a romance novel... lol. How did he get such a good name, and I got... Adam...
I AM blessed to not only be able to make my own tortillas, but to be able to buy them from several of my employees, or my sons friends family owns a taco shop. They make bulk tortillas for me when I need them.
texastweeter his dad is the best! Very limited English…. Hola, my name is Lorenzo, father of Gustavo! I love this man. We went to TJ a few weeks ago and we hung out together.
Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Fireboard Drive, 3 DigiQs, lots of Thermapens, and too much other stuff to mention.
The best I can do is Mission Foods; their bakery/plant is about a mile away, and their product is in every grocery store here. And Wegman’s has “Organic Stoneground Yellow Corn Tortillas” which are pretty good, much better than your average fresh soft corn tortilla (and better than Mission’s).
I’ve tried my hand at making my own; it’s just too much of a pain in the ass for the way I use tortillas. I use them two at a time, and I might want two corn this morning and two wheat this evening, or one; and then I might not want any for a week, and then I might want four huge wheat tortillas for chicken cheesesteak wraps. It’s easier to just have a bag of each in the fridge.
We are so fortunate to have real tortillerias near by. You can drive up and choose from several different styles made that day. Many of the gringo tortillas in the supermarket advertise how thick and pillowy they are. That’s the exact opposite of what I want. The perfect tortilla for me is thin, slightly browned, and an able to bend not break. The very best we get now we make on the Chud press at home, it’s such a multi-tasker.
realdocBBQ Yes you should make one. There will be places where you end up using angle iron and plate where they used a break but it’s all doable. One improvement I would suggest is making the tilt toward the front adjustable so you can have it flat for grilling onions and such or tilted for smash burgers. Once you figure out all it will do you’ll be hooked. It’s only short coming is it’s size. If they made one as big as say 24 inches I would order it today.
I of course love smoked meats of all kinds, but also like quick cooks like chicken portions, pork tenderloins, steak and fish. Really into cooking of all kinds.
My outdoor kitchen has a Lone Star Grillz Adjustable and it is wonderful. There also is a Pit Boss 5 Burner Ultimate Griddle and a Pit Boss Copperhead pellet grill.
There is an outdoor fire pit that has grilling capability and limited Santa Maria-style grill raising and lowering.
I have one more local place I keep forgetting to check for fresh tortillas. I think the odds are good they will come through. If not, I see a Masienda order in my future. I get this faraway look in my eyes every time I see the ad on TV featuring the Masienda owner.
Shop Masienda for heirloom masa harina, organic corn tortillas, and Mexican cookware like tortilla presses, comales & authentic molcajetes. Chef-trusted, rooted in tradition, made for home cooks. Free shipping on orders $125+.
If you ever have the opportunity to get to an HEB when they are making them that morning in the taqueria (yes, HEB stores have a taqueria) and eat them when they are hot....they are divine.
(I've been known to eat one or two on the drive home!)
Thanks for the constant reminders of how much you hated living in Houston, Tx. Being a Texan ain’t for everyone I guess…..Like they say, if ya can’t stand the heat….
Last edited by Panhead John; June 7, 2024, 09:21 PM.
DaveD I've spent the past week in extreme West Texas and it is so nice here...no humidity...5000' above MSL....I'd like to retire here....but....but no HEB!
Panhead John I do apologize John, I hear you. If it's any consolation, I bash where *I'm* from (Los Angeles) even more! Although it's typically in the music discussion groups I'm part of. I shall endeavor to do better.
Kathy and I both were in our 20’s before we first ate a tortilla. Even now we live where there are no such things as taquerias but any store bought ones remind us of eating cardboard, and that is after heating and steaming. I guess we are snobs now because for us a proper corn tortilla is homemade using Masienda Masa Harina. Still not so picky with wheat tortillas as long as they are warm.
I have a couple of places nearby that make fresh corn tortillas, but they don't make flour. We eat corn to flour at about a 10:1 ratio. Still there are times I miss a good fresh flour tortilla. I promise that with retirement imminent I will make them.
There is only one place I know of in this entire State that makes fresh 14-inch flour tortillas; the proper size for making burritos. They are however, closer to Tampa and it's not worth the 5 hour round trip.
I would kill to find flour tortillas that are bigger than 12". Restaurants have them, but none of the stores. And all these great brands you guys are talking about don't exist.
We have several taquerias here in Chicago. El Milagro tortillas that we get from Aldi that are produced nearby are really good and really inexpensive too!
I can get tortillas all kinds of places, but my favorite come from my co-op. A lady here makes them every day, all corn, and brings them in every few days. They are minus any flour, and I have no idea if she has any actual business as they are unlabeled. One bag of 8 is $5, they are soft and a little pillowy (just a little), and about 4 inches across. I love them, as I like smaller bites, but she drops them off somewhat randomly. She has developed enough of a following that they are gone fast, and she drops very early so by the time I show up they are usually gone. This reminds me, I either need to get on the ball about getting down there when they are in, or learn to make my own.
Fresh Made Tortillas
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