664944 Thu Nov 05 11:25:03 -0800 2009 23 31 Home Cooking 0 5158552 For my daughters 2nd birthday I'm having a sort of taco bar. For fillings I'm making beef barbacoa, a pork chili verde, and maybe some chicken. My question is, what's the best way to keep a large number of tortillas warm, without them going hard? BTW, I'm using flour tortillas. I know, the purists are going to scold me, but I don't care for corn tortillas, and neither do most of the people coming. Thu Nov 05 11:25:03 -0800 2009 200301 JBethell 1 5158744 I like flour too. You can warm a moist towel in the Micro and have the torts rapped in the hot towel. If you live near a mexican market they will have tortilla warmers. Some have a disk that you warm in the oven and then place under the tortillas. Thu Nov 05 12:18:07 -0800 2009 5158552 21396 normalheightsfoodie 1 5158869 I've tried a lot of tortilla warmers and the only one that really works well is La Tortilla Loco. I ordered a couple of them online and am very happy with them. They go in the microwave (the time for the number of tortillas, corn or flour, is printed on the outside) and they're inexpensive and cute. I know they hold at least a dozen and keep them warm for at least an hour. http://www.latortillaloca.com/ Thu Nov 05 12:56:09 -0800 2009 5158552 61763 hoosfoos 1 5159127 I bought a tortilla warmer on eBay years ago. It works pretty well _ for either flour or corn tortillas. Thu Nov 05 14:22:59 -0800 2009 5158552 126235 NYCkaren 1 5160323 I wrap in a damp towel and put it in my 5Qt crockpot set on low. Fri Nov 06 05:08:21 -0800 2009 5158552 1121009 Bryan Pepperseed 1 5160474 I wrap corn tortillas in a damp cloth and then wrap that in foil and stick it in a low heat oven. Don't know if this would work for flour...might stick to the cloth? Fri Nov 06 06:32:51 -0800 2009 5158552 130788 yannie 1 5160596 I place an electric heating pad on low inside a bath towel and place a platter of flour tortillas on the towel. Placed on the table, lightly covered in paper towel. The stay moist and warm for hours. Fri Nov 06 07:19:22 -0800 2009 5158552 36312 HillJ 2 5160623 great idea for the buffet, hill j! Fri Nov 06 07:27:47 -0800 2009 5160596 105717 alkapal 2 5163895 Do you put warm tortillas on the towel or does the electric heating pad heat them up? Sat Nov 07 15:31:46 -0800 2009 5160596 39874 chowser 3 5164041 I plug in the electric heating pad and wrap it top to bottom in a kitchen towel. The warmth of the pad comes through the towel. Then I place a large platter on the towel. I then place a dozen tortillas on the warm platter and cover with a paper towel. The tortillas remain moist & warm. I add tortillas as needed during the party. My setup is done on a large table that has an electrical outlet behind it. Typically, I set up a tex-mex bar that includes all the fixins for tacos. Sat Nov 07 16:58:28 -0800 2009 5163895 36312 HillJ 4 5164050 Thanks, I love the idea. Are the tortillas warm to begin with? Sat Nov 07 17:05:42 -0800 2009 5164041 39874 chowser 5 5164071 Room temp to start. Cold would take longer and I'm not always that ahead of schedule :) Sat Nov 07 17:15:54 -0800 2009 5164050 36312 HillJ 6 5164077 This is great to know--thanks! Sat Nov 07 17:20:51 -0800 2009 5164071 39874 chowser 7 5164212 chowser, I use the same warming method for brunch buffet. The warm towel is great for keeping premade waffles, french toast, toast, pancakes and fudge warm. Lots of uses, actually. Sat Nov 07 18:43:08 -0800 2009 5164077 36312 HillJ 8 5164673 a clean kitchen towel or napkin would do equally well to cover? Sun Nov 08 05:15:24 -0800 2009 5164212 105717 alkapal 9 5164676 Of course. Sun Nov 08 05:16:31 -0800 2009 5164673 36312 HillJ 10 5164678 i didn't know if you used the paper towel because it would hold less moisture in.... Sun Nov 08 05:18:16 -0800 2009 5164676 105717 alkapal 11 5164680 No, my thought was the paper towel gets handled alot by guests. Sun Nov 08 05:19:19 -0800 2009 5164678 36312 HillJ 8 5165168 Much better than a chafing dish where they can get damp from the steam. Clever! Sun Nov 08 11:06:23 -0800 2009 5164212 39874 chowser 1 5161217 I was inspired to try this out. I wrapped the corn tortillas in a damp tea towel and let them warm in the oven. they were in a corning type tart pan, they stayed warm for a moderate amount of time, but they did not get hot. The oven was set at 175. Fri Nov 06 10:35:11 -0800 2009 5158552 21396 normalheightsfoodie 1 5177600 Many thanks to everyone for all the ideas, but due to a number of things that added a bit too much to my plate, I decided to scaled back the party to just snacks and cupcakes. I appreciate all the responses though, and hey, if nothing else, I learned something!!! Thu Nov 12 20:09:16 -0800 2009 5158552 200301 JBethell 1 5178294 you have had many decent replies but I did not see anyone addressing corn tortillas appropriately. you say you don't care for corn tortillas. does this apply to crispy tacos as well as soft tacos? if you like crispy tacos but do not care for soft tacos made with corn tortillas, you belong to a portion of the community who are sensitive to the taste of unfried corn tortillas. frying the corn tortilla changes the taste significantly for many people (I suspect that it is genetic). deep frying is usually done for crispy tacos. for any other "plain" use, I simply spritz both sides of the corn tortilla lightly with oil and heat them slightly on a flat griddle (they will reduce slightly in size). enchillada and other baked sauce covered corn tortilla dishes do ot seem to keep the unpleasant taste. once griddle fried, the corn tortillas may be kept warm as described by the other replies. Fri Nov 13 06:43:56 -0800 2009 5158552 161890 dmreed 2 5178329 i love the white corn tortillas for making quesadillas. Fri Nov 13 07:03:13 -0800 2009 5178294 105717 alkapal 2 5180387 i do like hard tacos, and I also like tamales, gorditas(both of which i know are not exactly corn "tortillas"), and enchiladas. To me it's texture more than taste. When used for a soft taco, they're a bit dry, and even gritty sometimes, in my opinion. Fri Nov 13 19:33:41 -0800 2009 5178294 200301 JBethell