Tucson Tamale Company

The holiday season means one thing here in the Southwest...tamales. Yes, I do make my own, but it's a giant pain in the butt, and probably better to be left to professionals or groups of dedicated people. Enter the Tucson Tamale Company. They hand make the BEST tamales I have ever eaten, and oh...their menu is  gluten free, down to the sides and brownies. They also make killer salsa verde, which I am a huge fan of. And they mail order. I'd love to send tamales to everyone I know in New England!

So here is a link. Try not drool too much on your keyboard, and order the Vegan Blue Corn Calabacita tamales, and for the love of all that is right in the world, order some DOGMALES. Dogmales are gluten free Sonoran hot dogs. If you watched Man VS Food, Tucson, then you saw him go get a Sonoran hot dog. Your mouth watered as he bit into the soft bakery roll, stuffed with a bacon wrapped all beef hot dog, covered in green salsa, pinto beans, and condimentia...I know it did. I know mine did, just as I know I had 2 favorite street vendors for these delights until the sick years and becoming gluten free. Their Dogmales are all of the goodness, wrapped in masa, not bread! I know that this is the closest I will ever have to a Sonoran hot dog again and I am really ok with this. Yes, they are that good!

I'm not being paid to write this, but I would take a case of Dogmales if offered ;)

Homemade Corn Tortillas

Last night was going to be pasta night. It was almost 90 degrees out, so, I decided on flat iron steak marinated in lime juice, garlic, and cumin for the grill. Picked up lump mesquite charcoal w/ no additives or yuck in them. Plan came together for grilled carne asada and zucchini tacos w/guacamole. I live as close to Mexico... as once once lived in distance to Boston. I can easily purchase fresh today tortillas at a number of Mexican bakeries, street vendors, markets and shops but I had lots of Maseca and some energy...so fresh it was...for the first time ever. I sat with my iced latte and watched YouTube videos on tortilla making. I've seen it happening before in local restaurants but the practiced hands and quiet mouths of the woman making them left allot to imagination.

 I started thinking about how many millions of years people have ground corn, mixed it water, and cooked it on a hot stone. They sure didn't have YouTube... though they managed to hand down a portable form of sustenance to countless generations. When I am working in my garden, I am often overcome by the feeling of connectedness to every woman who ever squatted and pushed a seed into soft earth...or a baby into soft hands. I know, I know...the food blog...but it is all connected to me. (Circle of Life, from the Lion King, plays softly in the back ground) Same thing happened with the tortillas. I felt part of the Circle. That, and Alton Brown's Tortilla episode's zip top bag trick for lining the press kept playing on a loop in my head. A very 2010 blend of tradition and technology. Mmm, blend and balance.

This takes less time than you think, a bit more skill than you might imagine, and a gentle touch. Once you make one, you'll be freed of fear, and it will become second nature really quickly. The guy prefers soft wheat flour tortillas unless I'm making him enchiladas. Corn is his second choice for tacos. We spilt a dozen of these last night. We found that if we ate then warm...they tasted like the best soft flour tortilla ever made and were incredibly soft and flexible. When we were down to the last two, they had cooled and become the familiar 'tender, prone to cracking when you take them out of the bag' corn tortillas...but still really good.

I think you may also be able to find a tortilla press locally. Check for restaurant supply stores or a Latin American market. They cost about $10.00. Obviously...multiple online sources exist as well but why not keep the money in your own community,  if you can? I did a sample run and realized the dough needed to be wetter than I thought. I simply added more water. I used 2 pie plates to test press a few tortillas. It works, but not as simply as the press. I realized the press was so simple that I was doing to much to it. Don't mess with it. Place the dough ball, close the lid and press with the handle. Don't press it down on top or muck with it. It's simple genius.

Preheat a large ungreased cast iron skillet or griddle to medium high. 
Set up a landing pad of a clean (not scented from laundry products) kitchen dish towel lined bowl or basket.

The Dry Mix
1 cup of Maseca Instant Masa per 6-8 tortillas, depending on the size of your pressing device.
One pinch of sea salt per 1 cup of Maseca, about 1/8 teaspoon

The Wet
2/3 cup of warm, not hot, water per 1 cup of Maseca

The Mixing
In a large bowl, add the Maseca and salt. Whisk together. Add the water a bit at a time and mix with your hands into a loose ball. If the ball is crumbly, add more water. If it's really wet, add a bit more Maseca. Using your hands, knead in the bowl for 2 minutes. Mix and squish well. Form a ball. It should feel like a mix between damp, not wet, classic Play Dough and spackle.

The Shaping
For my press, a '12', 2 heaping tablespoons rolled into a ball was perfect for a taco sized tortilla. Just break pieces off and roll into like sized balls. Cover them with a cloth to keep damp (but not wet).

The Pressing
Take a large zip top bag. Cut off the zip top and split the sides so you have a rectangular flap. Open the bag up and line the press with the crease of the baggie against the hinge of the press. Place a masa ball on the plastic lined press about 2/3's of the way up towards the hinge of the press or just past the middle. A masa ball in the middle makes an egg shaped tortilla. Cover with top piece of plastic. Close the top of the lid and use the lever the press down once.

The Peeling
Gently lift the whole tortilla off the press, in the plastic. Open and gently peel the soft tortilla off of the plastic. Once you do it once or twice, you'll get the feel of it and this stage will move more quickly. If the dough is too dry, it will crack and crumble. If the dough is too wet, it will stick to the plastic. Simply add more masa or water and knead again. It's OK to play with your food.

The Cooking
Cook on each side for about one minute. It may puff. You want that. If they seem to be cracking, you need to add more water to your dough. They should have lightly brown speckles. Don't worry if they seem unfamiliarly textured. They'll be amazing after they rest and steam in the towel.