Making Homemade Corn Tortillas

We had made some homemade corn tortillas in the past with some corn that we soaked and put in the food processor to make the corn masa.  While they were good, the dough was hard to work with and the consistency just wasn't right.  I don't know if maybe the food processor didn't get the corn ground up as fine as it needed to be.

Anyway, Tricia wanted to try again, so she ordered some organic corn masa from Azure Standard Co-op.  It came in the delivery last week in a 5 pound bag.  She added some warm water and salt to some of the masa and let it sit for an hour. Then she kneaded it with her hands, making a nice dough.

Ready to Roll!

She grabbed a nice-sized amount in her hand and rolled it into a ball slightly larger than a ping pong ball.

We have a cast iron tortilla press that we use to press out fresh corn tortillas.  Just place the ball in the center between two pieces of plastic (so it doesn't stick).

Applying some pressure

When you open the press up, you have a perfectly round corn tortilla, ready to put on the griddle or comal or skillet.

Tricia placed the corn tortilla on the heated comal for a little while.

Then she flipped it over once it had risen a bit.  The fragrance of the corn tortillas cooking filled the kitchen!

Fresh Corn Tortilla ready to eat...

Tricia had deboned one of our chickens and seasoned it with cumin and other spices.  She also made some Mexican rice.  Another side dish was refried black beans.  She soaked her beans and then cooked them.  When done, she used an immersion blender to puree them.  Then she added a tablespoon of oil to a skillet and added the black beans.  Over time the water will steam off of the beans and the process of stirring them makes for great, flavorful refried black beans.  Not appetizing to look at, mind you, but delicious.

What a meal!  Stay tuned as we'll now make homemade tamales with the masa.  This ought to be fun to make and even more fun to eat!!