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[Hank D Thoreau]

I just got a new tortilla press. While tortillas are not something you cook on a pellet smoker, they are great with pulled pork and beef. I am going to show how I made corn tortillas with my new press and my Blue Rhino Razor griddle. This is my third press. My original press was the same basic design as this one and was brought back to me from Central Mexico by a chef who ran a Mexican Restaurant. It was the type of press he used. It looked like it was made from scrap wood from an old fence. My second was the metal type that you commonly find in stores. It didn't work very well. I had to press and then use a rolling pin to expand it further. This one worked great. I made nine tortillas. By the end I was getting them pretty thin. Originally I was pressing in one orientation. I discovered that if I rotated a few of times and repressed that I would get a thinner tortilla. Thick and thin were both good.

Here are some pictures. the first picture shows the ball of masa between two pieces of plastic cut from a one gallon Glad bag. You use Glad bags, or equivalent because they are thicker.

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[Hank D Thoreau]

The trick to avoid sticking when pressing is to get the right consistency. Follow the directions on the package of masa harina and add extra water slowly. I added a small about of extra water after my test press seemed a little dry. Also, use the thick plastic. Don't use Saran Wrap or press with nothing at all. You can see how easily the tortilla peeled off the press.

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[Hank D Thoreau]

The next step is to put them on the griddle. I set up a hot side and a cooler side so I could move them around. This is my first time doing them on this griddle so I was not sure what temperature would be best. If you really know what you are doing, they will balloon up when you poke the middle as they near done. I got a bit of ballooning on this one.

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[Hank D Thoreau]

And finally the finished product. I got nine large tortillas from two cups of masa harina. The recipe said 19 which means they were figuring the small tortillas that are used for street tacos.

I made some traditional American style hard shell tacos with the first batch. I smoked a chuck roast but could not get it done in time due to rain. I will be doing another soon. That will make good pulled beef for street style soft tacos.

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[Kristin Meredith]

Looks great!  Nice tutorial.

[Brushpopper]

The wooden tortilla presses are the best!  I've never used one, but have seen them in use and they are much better than the metal ones.  I love homemade corn tortillas, especially since I can't eat flour ones.  I'd have starved to death as a child without them.

[BigDave83]

After seeing the Taquito thread I got excited when my cousin called asking if I could use some corn meal. They bought some fresh ground at the antique farm show. She ordered one bag and he gave her 4. She says maybe 3 pound bags.

I went looking for Tortilla recipes, well you already know what happened then. Masa is not the same as cornmeal. Upon more investigation it is the lye soak that give it the flavor over corn meal.

So my question here to the expert tortilla maker, if I were to add baling soda to the hot water to raise the PH would that be similar in the end result or would it be a waste of time? I am not sure how fine the cornmeal is ground, is another thing. She is dropping it off tomorrow.

If it won't work or be a waste  of time, I will have to figure out what a person makes with cornmeal other than cornbread and to dip zucchini or oysters in to fry.

[02ebz06]

The wooden tortilla presses are the best!

I made one once.  Let's just say is wasn't one of my better project, and it no longer exists.

[Brushpopper]

You could try to make arepas.  They are Colombian and I have only heard of them.  The most popular masa in Colombia is Harina P.A.N.  I want to get some when I am in San Antonio at some point.  They are like a thicker version of a corn tortilla that they put different fillings in after cooking on a griddle and splitting them.  I don't know what type of bread to compare them with since I don't eat bread. 

[Brushpopper]

The wooden tortilla presses are the best!

I made one once.  Let's just say is wasn't one of my better project, and it no longer exists.

Sounds like I was there to help.    I ain't good with making things out of wood.

[Hank D Thoreau]

Big Dave,

Masa Harina is made of finely ground corn. There is nothing else added to it. Maybe the corn is pre treated. I'll have to check on that. You can grind your own but it needs to be very fine if it is to work well.

I am not sure that you can convert corn meal into Masa Harina. You can find Masa Harina in stores where I live. I am not sure it is available everywhere across the country.

I order it from a place called Masienda in Los Angeles. There is a lot of useful information about Masa on their website. They provide a lot of heirloom corn varieties for grinding, as well as a few that are pre ground.

I think the answer to your question can be found on their website. I have watched a few of their videos.

[Bentley]

This is a good tutorial thread. Not sure how I missed it.  May I move it to the "Here's how I"...Section?


You could run the meal through a coffee/spice grinder to get to the flour stage, but I though the corn was soaked in lime before it was ground too!

[Hank D Thoreau]

This is a good tutorial thread. Not sure how I missed it.  May I move it to the "Here's how I"...Section?


You could run the meal through a coffee/spice grinder to get to the flour stage, but I though the corn was soaked in lime before it was ground too!

That's fine with me. Thanks, Bently.

[Hank D Thoreau]

Let me add to the tutorial that you want a very hot griddle. I changed from using my outdoor Razor griddle to a cast iron pan on my stove so that I could get up to 500 def F.

With a hot griddle you can flip after about 30 seconds. You want to tap the center of the tortilla while it is cooking to get it to balloon. It is the ballooning process that helps cook the inside.

If you do it right, you get a nice puffy tortilla. It doesn't always go right.

[BigDave83]

From reading Corn meal is just that ground up dry corn. Masa Harina is Hominy ground up. Hominy is dried field corn that is soaked in lye it removes the outer shell of the corn and the corn kind of expands. I remember woman making it when I was young, but by the time I got old enough to want to learn she didn't do it anymore, usually bought canned hominy in the store, or if she saw it at one of the little Amish stores it was usually dried.