Making Corn Tortillas

This post is a little picture heavy, but I wanted to show you how we transform whole corn into corn tortillas. We start off with 4 quarts of organic, non-GMO corn and some pickling lime.

First, we rinse the corn to wash it.

Then we add 2 tablespoons lime to 2 quarts of water in a dutch oven on the stove top.

Dissolve the lime in the water by stirring, add the rinsed corn and bring to a boil.

Let the corn and lime water mixture boil for five minutes.

Pull the pot off of the burner and let sit overnight in the lime water.  In the morning pour the corn into a colander to drain the lime water off.

Then rinse the corn to wash off the excess lime.

Then start rubbing the corn with your hands while rinsing.

This process removes the skin from the outside of the corn.  Continue rubbing and rinsing to remove all the skin from the corn.

Pour the corn into a food processor with a chopping blade on it.  It is best to do this in small batches.  Turn on the food processor and grind up the corn.

This picture shows the corn all ground up.

Next add just a little water and pulse it to transform it into a dough-like consistency.

Now you take the corn dough and shape it into balls.

Here you go.  Ready to press.

Place the corn meal dough ball on a sheet of wax paper on a tortilla press.  This is a nifty little cast iron gadget that Tricia picked up.

Put another sheet of wax paper on top.

Fold the tortilla press over and push down.

And here we go!  Fresh corn tortilla ready to put on the griddle and cook.

We make a big stack of these and eat them while they're still warm.  Delicious!