Reddit reviews My Victoria Cast Iron Tortilla Press Cookbook: 101 Surprisingly Delicious Homemade Tortilla Recipes with Instructions (Victoria Cast Iron Tortilla Press Recipes Book 1)

Today's your lucky day! My nickname is Mister Taco. What's UP! Let's get this Master Class on homemade tacos started! The first thing to learn is that there are two basic kinds of tacos:

1. Hard tacos
   
2. Soft tacos
   
   Hard tacos are more Tex-Mex, whereas soft tacos are more Mexican. They come from two basic sources:
   
   
3. Wheat (flour)
   
4. Corn
   
   Before we get into the taco shells, it's important to learn the difference between a taco & variations like fajitas, burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, taquitos, etc. Here's a basic primer: (although there is a lot of overlap in the United States!)
   
   
5. Fajitas are similar to tacos; traditionally, they are made from skirt steak (beef) & are served with grilled peppers & onions. If you're at a sit-down restaurant, you'd typically assemble it yourself.
   
6. Burritos are a flour tortilla wrapped around the food.
   
7. Enchiladas are burritos covered in salsa.
   
8. Quesadillas are pan-fried in a little bit of oil. Here's the proper way to make them (and make them amazing! Not just kid food!)
   
9. Taquitos are like mini fried burritos, typically made from corn tortillas.
   
   Tacos, on the other hand, are folded in half & eaten with fillings. They can be hard (fried - typically just the yellow corn ones) or soft (just a warm tortilla - either flour or white corn). Size-wise, they are typically much smaller than a burrito wrap; there are tiny street tacos & then regular-sized tacos, maybe 6" long (give or take a few inches). I should note that how amazing your tacos are depends entirely upon you. So let's get started!
   
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   Homemade flour tortillas:
   
   There are basically 3 levels of flour tortillas:
   
   
10. Packaged kind (Mission brand, for example)
    
11. Locally-made (like if you have a Latin shop or stand or food truck nearby that sells fresh ones)
    
12. Homemade (oh man)
    
    The packaged kind are fine, if that's all you have. They serve their job as a container for the ingredients in the taco. At minimum, you'll want to warm them up (microwave or oven) & then keep them warm. I recommend this microwavable tortilla warmer pouch, which will keep the tortillas warm for up to an hour. No one likes cold flour tortillas:
    
    https://www.amazon.com/MEXI-10007-Sunburst-Tortilla-Warmer-12-Inch/dp/B00HWF4E7G
    
    If you're fortunate enough to live in an area where you can buy a pack of hand-made tortillas, then you've got it made! These are typically awesome & fit the bill perfectly. If not, or if you're into DIY, then you can also make them pretty easily. There are a variety of ways to do it, which you can find on Youtube & Pinterest, but I'll share with you my recommended secrets for making great tortillas at home!
    
    If you're going to bother making them (they are pretty easy, just takes some time is all), then I say go big or go home! First ingredient you'll need is lard. Not just any lard, either - leaf lard! I get mine here:
    
    https://fannieandflo.net/products/1-pound-leaf-lard
    
    Lard is the secret to delicious, flaky tortillas that are so good you can eat them plain. Ever had good naan bread at an Indian restaurant? Yeah, like that. Here is an excellent starter recipe with step-by-step photos:
    
    https://www.mexicanplease.com/homemade-flour-tortillas-done-right/
    
    Next, you'll need a tortilla press. Rolling pins are for wimps; get yourself this bad boy here:
    
    https://www.amazon.com/Victoria-TOR-003-FBA_TOR-003-Tortilla-Press/dp/B00HWEIKZO/
    
    Note that this is NOT for cooking! This is for SMOOSHING! Don't buy an electric tortilla maker, that's sacrilege! If you do pick up a Victoria cast-iron tortilla press, get this book to go along with it:
    
    https://www.amazon.com/Victoria-Cast-Tortilla-Press-Cookbook-ebook/dp/B01MXPY937
    
    Also note that you should use some sort of liner between the iron plates, like parchment sheets or a split-open ziploc bag or plastic wrap. The goal is to smash it flat in a nice round shape!
    
    Next, you'll need to throw it on a hot pan to cook, about a minute per side. This can be done on a non-stick skillet, a cast-iron skillet, or in my case, a piping-hot, high-heat retention Baking Steel: (hey, go big or go home!)
    
    https://www.bakingsteel.com/
    
    You can freeze cooked or uncooked tortillas, which is handy if you're in a tortilla-making mood & want to pop out a few dozen for an hour or so's worth of work.
    
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