Flour Tortillas…
You know the ones you buy in the store just really are not very good…doughy…blah tasting…plastic smelling round disks of flour filled with preservatives and dough conditioners.
Every once in a while you will eat a fresh hot tortilla in a Mexican restaurant…you know the ones they bring out before your meal and you sit there and eat the entire stack with butter and maybe a little salt before you get your food and then you’re not really that hungry?
I’ve always wanted to learn to make those…they are so much better than the grocery store brand. So about a year ago I started trying different recipes and while they were good…they were just not quite what I had in mind. Something about them was just a little too thick…a little too doughy…they made your throat hurt when you swallowed them. So I started experimenting and came up with a recipe that is more what I had in mind.
These tortillas are made with milk…warm milk…and just a very small portion of baking powder…way less than most recipes.
Warm your milk…just warm…not steaming hot…add the olive oil to the milk. Mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Pour the milk mixture into the flour and stir until flour is incorporated and a soft dough forms.
Knead this mixture right in the bowl for about 1 minute. Place in bottom of your bowl and cover with a dampened paper towel. Let the dough rest for about 20 minutes.
Cover a cutting board with waxed paper. Sprinkle with flour.
Take dough out of bowl and form it into a long cylinder shape about 2 inches X 12 inches.
Cut in half with a pastry cutter or knife and cut each half in half.
Then cut each of the four pieces in half and roll each piece in a ball and place on a plate.
You will have eight pieces of dough. Cover with a dampened paper towel and let rest 10 minutes.
Heat a cast iron skillet or Comal (round cast iron griddle used for making tortillas) over medium high heat until hot. Pour a little olive oil on a couple of folded up paper towels and rub inside of skillet.
Roll out one piece of dough of floured board or waxed paper until very thin.
Place in skillet and cook for about 30 seconds. Tortilla will start to form small bubbles. Turn over and cook for another 30 seconds and transfer to a plate. Wipe out skillet with the oiled paper towel and repeat until all tortillas are cooked.
Don’t start eating them…you can’t stop and before you know it half your tortillas are gone! They are best fresh and warm…but you can refrigerate and reheat if you have any left!
Now for the Skirt Steak…
Some of you may have tried skirt steak…and had bad results if you didn’t know the correct way to cook and serve it…others may not have tried it at all. And who knows…you may all be way ahead of me…and have it all figured out and have been enjoying it for years!
Skirt steak is wonderful…you have to marinate it for a couple of hours or overnight…cook it medium rare….slice it across the grain. That’s it in a nutshell!
I buy skirt steak at Sam’s …it comes in a large package and it’s cheaper than the grocery store. I just use what I need …wrap the steaks left individually and freeze.
But here are the complete instructions…
Marinate your skirt steak with plenty of salt, pepper, and olive oil. I like to add lime juice, fresh grated garlic, Worcestershire Sauce, ground cumin, and a little smoked chili powder. Rub it all over the steak and let marinate in refrigerator for at least a couple of hours or overnight.
Cook on your grill until medium rare…the outside should be thoroughly cooked and crusty…the inside medium rare…it doesn’t take long on a hot grill maybe 4-5 minutes per side. Then let it rest…for 5- 10 minutes…so the steak will be nice and juicy!
Slice across the grain…this is important…it breaks down the fibers in the meat and it will be tender…otherwise it’s chewy!
Serve on your fresh flour tortillas topped with Pico de Gallo, Sharp Cheddar Cheese…just fold it up and enjoy each delicious bite!
From my Mexican kitchen and grill…to yours…
Leah
Oops! Sorry…here’s your recipes!
Homemade Flour Tortillas and Grilled Skirt Steak
Homemade Flour Tortillas
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm milk
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Warm milk…not scalding hot…just warm. Add olive oil.
In bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Into dry ingredients pour milk mixture and stir well with wooden spoon until all dry ingredients are moistened and mixed. Knead over your bowl for about 1 minute…you can dust with flour if mixture seems too sticky.
Place dough on bottom of bowl and cover bowl with a dampened paper towel. Let rest 20 minutes.
Remove dough to well floured cutting board. I cover mine with waxed paper to make clean up easier. Form into 2” X 12” cylinder shape. Cut in half. Cut each half in half. Then cut each of those 4 pieces in half to form 8 pieces of dough.
Roll each piece into a ball and place on a plate. Cover with dampened paper towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
Heat cast iron skillet or Comal to medium hot. Rub inside of skillet with a paper towel and a few drops of olive oil.
Flatten and roll out 1 ball to a very thin tortilla. Place in skillet and cook on each side for approximately 30 seconds. The dough will start to bubble as you cook first side. Wipe out skillet with your oiled paper towel each time you cook a tortilla. Repeat rolling and cooking each tortilla.
Grilled Skirt Steak
Skirt steak
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Pepper
Grated Garlic
Worcestershire Sauce
Juice from fresh lime
Ground cumin
Smoked Chili Powder
Sprinkle skirt steak with remaining ingredients. Use as much as you like of each one…just be sure that you use plenty of olive oil and salt…all the others can be according to your taste.
Rub into steak and place in covered baking dish to marinate for at least 2 hours.
Cook over hot grill to medium rare or approximately 4-5 minutes per side.
Remove from grill and let rest at least 5-10 minutes. Thinly slice across grain to serve.
I am craving good Mexican food just reading this, much less seeing those pictures! Since I can’t go eat at “Leah’s Kitchen”, guess I’ll have to make do with Tamolly’s.
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Oh, I meant to add something about JR grilling for you…way to go JR! Is it because she would not build the fire to your specs? haha
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Sounds mahvelous, dahling!
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Thanks Leah ! Looks and smells great ! Ha !
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Just so you know: I’m about to cook up some of your flour tortillas and grilled skirt steak. Sounds so good! How many does this feed, do you think?
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Leah Reply:
June 19th, 2010 at 11:53 AM
That recipe makes about 8-10 tortillas…I sometimes double it and the skirt steak it just depends on how thin you slice it…and what size steak…I get mine at Sams. One skirt steak should serve 4-6 persons. Hope you like it!
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Leah, dinner was a hit last night and we almost finished it off today at lunch. Really good tortillas. I made a double batch…there’s one left. You want it? lol
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Leah Reply:
June 20th, 2010 at 5:11 PM
Yes…that would be good…I have some smoked brisket that would be good with that tortilla! Glad you liked it!
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I don’t totally agree on the recipe, but regardless a very well written post – I’ll link back from my NJ Cooking Guide site in the archives, when I get time.
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