DIY Authentic Corn Tortillas and Gorditas Made Easy, sort of...
"Excuse me. What aisle is powdered lime on?" The grocery store clerk either directs you towards lime flavored Kool Aid or looks at you bewildered. "How about dried corn kernels?" After he tells you where to find the Orville Redenbacher you politely explain that you are trying to make corn tortillas from scratch. He scratches his head and informs you that tortillas of every kind can be acquired over on the International Foods aisle. You open your mouth to explain your intentions yet again, and it comes to mind that maybe this poor clerk and his employer only stock things that the average gringo would buy.
You immediately head to the other side of town. We all know that side of town; heavily populated with immigrants and lined with carnicerias and pho shops. You ask the clerk for help and get that very same befuddled look from before. This is when you regret skipping half of your Spanish classes back in tenth grade and throw in the proverbial toalla. El Milagro and La Banderita offer a halfway decent packaged corn tortilla, but you know you can do better.
The hardest part of the whole at home "nixtamalization" process (at least in the US) is finding quality raw ingredients. And once you've acquired a non-GMO, heirloom corn as well as powdered lime, you must slake the lime and cook the corn all with out corroding the corneas straight off of your eyeballs. Lime is one of the most dangerous substances you could ever use in food preparation and I don't particularly recommend attempting this most authentic of approaches. There has to be an easier, less caustic way to make your own masa.
Lucky for you and other devoted lovers of authentic cuisine, nixtamalized corn is readily available throughout the US, however; it goes by a different name. Hominy is corn that has been cooked in slaked lime and water to release the outer skin and puff the starchy innards. Buy a big can of this at your local carniceria or Mexican market. Strain and rinse with cold water several times. Place the rinsed hominy in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring this to a simmer and take off of the heat.
Oh, did I mention you will need either a meat grinder, a Mexican corn mill, or a Kitchen Aid mixer with a meat grinder attachment? I used the latter of the three and highly recommend you have your own, whether or not you ever intend to make tortillas it. Strain the hominy and start grinding while it is still warm. Grind once for tamales, twice for gorditas, three times for tortillas. Let the ground corn drop directly into an open pastry bag so that you can quickly and cleanly pipe the masa right back into the grinder.
Once you've reached the desired consistency, use a 2 oz ice cream scoop to portion out the masa to be pressed. Each should be roughly the size of a golf ball. Press to desired thickness.A tortilla press can also be purchased at any Mexican market. Cut open a large plastic baggy to line the press and keep the raw tortillas from sticking to the sides. The raw tortillas can sit out uncovered on wax or parchment paper while you prepare the comal.
Heat off your comal. This is another inexpensive purchase from your local mercado. Heat it on a high flame until any dirty bits burn and turn white. Rub coursely gound salt into the comal with a thickly folded kitchen towel until the surface is smooth. Brush off any excess salt and put back on a high flame. Basically, your comal cannot be too hot.
"The tortilla would puff up as if alive, as if it wished to fly," once said Mexican writer and chronicler Salvador Novo. Let the tortillas sear until they start puffing and are lightly speckled with black and brown spots. After cooling a bit, you can reheat later for tacos or use a knife to hollow out a cavity for gorgitas and stuffed with your favorite fixins.
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