Los Tortillas, Calgary... How do I cook these things?

[AriaDream]

To explain a little, I recently went to Los Tortillas and bought a ton of wraps thinking they were a lot like supermarket ones. Clearly this is not so! They taste really gross raw. How do I cook them? I tried frying a couple and that was nice but my parents are onto Weight Watchers and won't want to fry them. Thanks!

[sarah galvin]

I wrap corn tortillas in tin foil and put in the oven to heat. They are wonderfully soft. You can fry in oil, but I prefer to steam them in their own moisture.

[John Manzo]

For tacos or enchiladas, a BRIEF dip in hot oil (and by brief I mean 10 seconds tops) will open them up. Pat dry- you won't have absorbed much oil at all but will be left with a pliable and very delicious tortilla. This is BTW how many Mexican cooks do it.

It you want chips or tostadas or whatever your only option is deep fry.

I also so what fmed and raidar mention, just dry "fry" (toast, really) on cast iron.

[Jetgirly]

I make chips and tostadas by spritzing with oil and baking the tortillas.

[John Manzo]

Like oven fries eh? I should try it, thanks!

[sharonanne]

Cooks Illustrated does this in the enchiladas recipe. Spray both sides with oil, bake 4 mins at 300 degrees. Just softens them enough to wrap.

[AriaDream]

Thank you everyone! I've been trying all kinds of methods suggested here and they're great.

[nonlinear]

can't say I agree with John about the oil... to use corn tortillas, you first need to 'moisturize' them to make them soft and pliable. you can then prepare tacos or flautas of whatever, and then deep fry, but you don't want to just start out by dipping them in oil (i'm not from mexico, but fgrom the US and i've never heard of john's method - although maybe it's a regional method or something?)

anyhow, to prepare tortillas for tacos, etc., the traditional method is to stack two tortillas in a pan (cast iron) over med-low heat. sprinkle the top tort with water, flip and heat for 1 minute, and repeat for the other side. wrap torts in foil and transfer to a warm oven. repeat until you have as many tortillas as desired (adding them to the same foil pack, of course).

this will result in hot, soft, steamed tortillas perfect for serving at the table (for tacos) or using as "wraps" for enchiladas, deep-fried tacos, flautas, etc.

[fmed]

I use a similar method of stacking then dry fry (toast) on a cast iron pan. Instead of foil, I use a covered pyrex casserole-type thing. Works well. I also use little squares of parchment to seperate the tortillas so they don't stick together.

To soften them prior to using them in dishes such as flautas or echilada (they will crack if you try to roll them cold)...I briefly microwave them for about 15 secs...sacrilegious perhaps, but it works for me.

[sweeterpea]

I agree with the "dry" method -- that's the only one we've seen while being in Mexico.

[fmed]

I've cooked corn torillas by dry pan frying in a cast iron pan (so it cooks like a 'comal'), steaming or microwaving. If they stick together when steaming/microwaving, I separate them a bit and often use parchment paper in between. (My preference is to fry them in fat).

[raidar]

Same echo of advice from me. Simply put in a dry cast iron pan and they turn out wonderful. If they seem a bit stiff after the cooking, just let them relax in a warm towel for a few minutes and they will relax nicely. Don't use them all up..let them dry out and fry them up for homemade nachos. So many options!