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contest BEGIN! Tortilla Throwdown
- Thread starter The Hot Pepper
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Whole chicken in the slow cooker tonight. My place smells delicious.
Maybe this TD stumbled out of the gates, but I'm anticipating fireworks Sunday afternoon.
Maybe this TD stumbled out of the gates, but I'm anticipating fireworks Sunday afternoon.
The participation not your entry.
Hey y'all que pasa! My alter ego Johnny Chingas got down brown in The Blues Kitchen San Antonio style while also embracing the Japanese influenced tempura style of Baja Fish Taco's.
Puffy Taco's ~ Unique to San Antonio, TX, and relatively unknown outside of Texas, this style of taco is made from masa. The fresh masa is rolled into balls, pressed into a tortilla, and then goes into the deep fryer and pressed with a spatula or similar tool to create a notch around which the whole taco puffs up. After frying, they are immediately filled with beef or chicken and other toppings. The tacos are more lighter and airy than a typical tostada style taco and have a nice crunch. Henry's Puffy Taco's in San Antonio is credited with being one of, if not the first, taco joint to serve up the puffy goodness and is recognized as the standard for the style.
Baja Fish Taco's ~ I love fish and shrimp tacos! Tempura fried fish or shrimp on corn tortilla's with shredded cabbage, cilantro, fresh limes and Baja Sauce. Japanese fisherman who immigrated to Baja many years ago brought this style of cooking fish and was taken up with open arms by the locals and taco joints and stands up and down Baja, especially around Ensenada. Surfers from California really took a like to be liking this style of taco and many brought the concept back to Cali. Rubio's is considered one of the first to serve them up in the good ole' you esay. One of the more popular fish taco stand's is in Los Angeles, Ricky's Fish Taco's. Ricky serves up these crispy snacks the way his mama taught him and only serves fish or shrimp and once in a while lobster. Having never had one I felt compelled to clone Ricky's style for myself and the result is pure AWESOMETOWN!
Echele Chingaso vato's and ruka's! Lets roll!
Note the .38 cents on the stainless steel recessed comal, like a reversed hubcap, used to fry the tortilla's and seafood. The comal is often used for frying this style. The wide lip is great for draining the fried foods and keeping them warm. This comal is a fantastic tool and reckon it cook just about anything. Its like a Mexican wok. Chingalo!
I used about an inch and a half of canola oil for frying.
I got some Texas gulf U20 shrimps, peeled and cleaned, and some Alaskan halibut for the fish. A lot of restaurants use tilapia but I consider that trash fish and overall a not so healthy fish due to levels of bad cholesterol it contains.
I mixed the masa with warm water, some of JayT's Fatalli Peach Vidalia Onion puree, and Fiesta Chile Powder. Rolled into a ball between sheets of wax paper and ready to be pressed on the cast iron press.
Ejole'! Look at that color. LOOK AT IT!!!
Into the hot oil it went. I used a spatula to make the groove to hold the yum yum's. Looks like a little swollen catcher's mitt. Anyone want to play "toss the shrimp"?
More hot blue and righteousnessessess coming up...
Poofter!
I neglected to take a shot of the tempura batter which is flour, ice cold water, ground Mexican oregano, a pinch of baking powder and the secret ingredient, MUSTARD. Gives a great yellowish color and just a hint of mustard flavor. The taste is killin'!!
Halibut feesh's.
Shrimps!
Hecho en el cocino azules!
Still more to come y'all...
Puffy Taco's ~ Unique to San Antonio, TX, and relatively unknown outside of Texas, this style of taco is made from masa. The fresh masa is rolled into balls, pressed into a tortilla, and then goes into the deep fryer and pressed with a spatula or similar tool to create a notch around which the whole taco puffs up. After frying, they are immediately filled with beef or chicken and other toppings. The tacos are more lighter and airy than a typical tostada style taco and have a nice crunch. Henry's Puffy Taco's in San Antonio is credited with being one of, if not the first, taco joint to serve up the puffy goodness and is recognized as the standard for the style.
Baja Fish Taco's ~ I love fish and shrimp tacos! Tempura fried fish or shrimp on corn tortilla's with shredded cabbage, cilantro, fresh limes and Baja Sauce. Japanese fisherman who immigrated to Baja many years ago brought this style of cooking fish and was taken up with open arms by the locals and taco joints and stands up and down Baja, especially around Ensenada. Surfers from California really took a like to be liking this style of taco and many brought the concept back to Cali. Rubio's is considered one of the first to serve them up in the good ole' you esay. One of the more popular fish taco stand's is in Los Angeles, Ricky's Fish Taco's. Ricky serves up these crispy snacks the way his mama taught him and only serves fish or shrimp and once in a while lobster. Having never had one I felt compelled to clone Ricky's style for myself and the result is pure AWESOMETOWN!
Echele Chingaso vato's and ruka's! Lets roll!
Note the .38 cents on the stainless steel recessed comal, like a reversed hubcap, used to fry the tortilla's and seafood. The comal is often used for frying this style. The wide lip is great for draining the fried foods and keeping them warm. This comal is a fantastic tool and reckon it cook just about anything. Its like a Mexican wok. Chingalo!
I used about an inch and a half of canola oil for frying.
I got some Texas gulf U20 shrimps, peeled and cleaned, and some Alaskan halibut for the fish. A lot of restaurants use tilapia but I consider that trash fish and overall a not so healthy fish due to levels of bad cholesterol it contains.
I mixed the masa with warm water, some of JayT's Fatalli Peach Vidalia Onion puree, and Fiesta Chile Powder. Rolled into a ball between sheets of wax paper and ready to be pressed on the cast iron press.
Ejole'! Look at that color. LOOK AT IT!!!
Into the hot oil it went. I used a spatula to make the groove to hold the yum yum's. Looks like a little swollen catcher's mitt. Anyone want to play "toss the shrimp"?
More hot blue and righteousnessessess coming up...
Poofter!
I neglected to take a shot of the tempura batter which is flour, ice cold water, ground Mexican oregano, a pinch of baking powder and the secret ingredient, MUSTARD. Gives a great yellowish color and just a hint of mustard flavor. The taste is killin'!!
Halibut feesh's.
Shrimps!
Hecho en el cocino azules!
Still more to come y'all...
You like to be liking this?
Pescado en izquireda, camarones en dereche.
Mixed cabbages, cilantro, limes, and spooged with Baja Sauce. (recipe in the final plate pics)
Also some dooches of salsa ranchero on the plate for even more spiceenescxt!
Y'all knew I was going to do fish taco's. (sorry meat, not racist). Hope I didn't disappoint.
Andele guay!
Pescado en izquireda, camarones en dereche.
Mixed cabbages, cilantro, limes, and spooged with Baja Sauce. (recipe in the final plate pics)
Also some dooches of salsa ranchero on the plate for even more spiceenescxt!
Y'all knew I was going to do fish taco's. (sorry meat, not racist). Hope I didn't disappoint.
Andele guay!
Nice TB! Great colors in those photos. And you get an A+ in foo application.
Where in the sam hail is teh wheebz at? All that smack about Peruvian secreto ingredients and barley tortilla's. You dare to post it not while your fans await? Miss the deadline and we WILL be talking big smack about 'choo. Right now with your MIA status in this t-down we are losing vicariously through you.
There's more?
Is this really going to be a 3 horse race? I'm workin' on mine. Got the dough resting. Anyone else?
Echo.....echo.... echo..... echo
Echo.....echo.... echo..... echo
Right on catchetone's! Siga mi to San Antonio style...
Puffy Baja Fish & Shrimp Tacos
The tortilla's ~ Whitewing brand corn masa hand mixed with JayT's Fatalli Peach Vidalia Onion Puree, Fiesta brand chile powder and warm water. Hand rolled into balls and pressed between wax paper sheets in a cast iron press, then fried in canola oil in a stainless steel recessed comal until puffy.
The pescado y camarones ~ Fresh Alaskan Halibut & Texas gulf shrimp, dredged in Baja fish batter and then fried in canola oil ala recessed comal. (el hubcap)
The Baja batter ~ AP flour, ice cold water, crushed ground Mexican oregano, yellow mustard and baking powder. Whisked all the ingredients together in a bowl to make a light batter.
The Baja Sauce ~ About a cup of mayonnaise, to 1/3 cup of half & half, zest of fresh lime and fresh squeezed lime juice. This sauce is el chingon!!
Garnish's ~ Lime wedges, fresh cilantro, red & green shredded cabbage, Herdez brand salsa ranchera (this stuff rocks hard. Ignore the urge to try and make it better. You can't.)
La Plata
Light and airy, crispy, Baja fish & shrimp style goodness! I've made Baja style fish tacos for peeps that don't even like fish and rocked their world and you can too! Fryem' up in a regular ol' pan, just as good. If you dig on tacos, you gotta' try these. Feesh on the left, shrimps on the right.
Go ahead, take a bite. I did and it was like manna from heaven y'all. Heaven I sez!
You don't have to be a snooty award winning chef to make these y'all. A drunk patcheye broke legged sumofa pera can do it so easy. Fryem' up outside with a propane burner and every cat and neighbor within 5 miles will be climbing your backyard fence to get at 'em.
Hasta la proxima compadre's!
Puffy Baja Fish & Shrimp Tacos
The tortilla's ~ Whitewing brand corn masa hand mixed with JayT's Fatalli Peach Vidalia Onion Puree, Fiesta brand chile powder and warm water. Hand rolled into balls and pressed between wax paper sheets in a cast iron press, then fried in canola oil in a stainless steel recessed comal until puffy.
The pescado y camarones ~ Fresh Alaskan Halibut & Texas gulf shrimp, dredged in Baja fish batter and then fried in canola oil ala recessed comal. (el hubcap)
The Baja batter ~ AP flour, ice cold water, crushed ground Mexican oregano, yellow mustard and baking powder. Whisked all the ingredients together in a bowl to make a light batter.
The Baja Sauce ~ About a cup of mayonnaise, to 1/3 cup of half & half, zest of fresh lime and fresh squeezed lime juice. This sauce is el chingon!!
Garnish's ~ Lime wedges, fresh cilantro, red & green shredded cabbage, Herdez brand salsa ranchera (this stuff rocks hard. Ignore the urge to try and make it better. You can't.)
La Plata
Light and airy, crispy, Baja fish & shrimp style goodness! I've made Baja style fish tacos for peeps that don't even like fish and rocked their world and you can too! Fryem' up in a regular ol' pan, just as good. If you dig on tacos, you gotta' try these. Feesh on the left, shrimps on the right.
Go ahead, take a bite. I did and it was like manna from heaven y'all. Heaven I sez!
You don't have to be a snooty award winning chef to make these y'all. A drunk patcheye broke legged sumofa pera can do it so easy. Fryem' up outside with a propane burner and every cat and neighbor within 5 miles will be climbing your backyard fence to get at 'em.
Hasta la proxima compadre's!
Beautiful, beautiful Puffies TB!!!! You did not disappoint!!!!!! 
Looks good TB! Looks like the puffy taco has a crispy exterior and a slightly softer interior? And tastes like a flavored Frito chip? Love me fish tacos, never had them like this.
That's okay. The brave are stepping up and delivering!
That's okay. The brave are stepping up and delivering!
Ah not quite like a frito, more like tostito's. Crispy/soft is close but the "soft" I would call not quite as crisp but firm. While the textures lean in that direction there is something interesting going on I reckon with the way Jay's peach puree reacted in the mix. Unlike store bought pre cooked tortilla's, when biting into them they didn't crumble into multiple pieces and the taco falling apart. Possibly the fruit added just a touch of elasticity to hold them together. I used a good 2 tablespoons of the puree to 2 cups of masa and while it added a slight sweetness, the heat barely came through.
I've made the puffy's before actually by accident and found them to be very addictive. I've seen some joints that list puffy taco's on their menu's but too often they get it wrong. A tortilla cooked on a comal and then fried just won't puff up enough. For not a heap of time and labor but big on the fun factor, you can take a good taco and make it fantastic.
Just rolled out and cooked up 8 10inch (roughly) flour tortillas. It was fun, but I TOTALLY get what a tortilla press is for.
Nice work TB. The close-up of the bite shot is money.
Nice work TB. The close-up of the bite shot is money.
Much obliged Sum. If 'member correctly I paid $16 bucks for my press. Definitely less than 20. It works great for other stuff too. Thin crust mini pizza's? Go from dough ball to pizza pan in the time you can say bada bing. Dock it and rock it. Too lazy to use a knife blade to crush garlic? Crush a dozen cloves at a time. Boom! Got roaches? No problem. Trip wire toothpick to hold the lid open. Bait the press with donut crumbs. Turn off the kitchen lights after running the trip wire to your lazy-boy. Crack open your hosky, watch the game and wait an hour. They will come. Cast iron hulk SMASH!
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