To enjoy tortillas, you must always adequately reheat them. The tortilla’s flavor and texture get enhanced in this way. There are other methods for reheating tortillas, but these are the ones that function the best when you need to warm multiple tortillas at once. The Mexican dish known as a tortilla is a spherical, thin flatbread prepared with unleavened cornmeal or, less frequently, wheat flour. The corn (maize) used to make tortillas was traditionally cooked with unslaked lime to soften the kernels and remove the hulls. There are many different methods for correctly reheating these tortillas. Still, the following four offer the perfect tortilla: Frying pan, flat grill, or comal, Sandwich press grill, microwave, and oven.
How to reheat tortillas on a frying pan, flat grill, or comal?
The frying pan is the most practical and straightforward method of reheating tortillas for most of you. This method is suitable and effective when camping, whether using a gas stove or a small fire. A “comal” is a flat, rounded metal surface used in Mexico to char cooking items, particularly for salsas and reheat tortillas. Comales, which resemble a flat, spherical grill pan, are composed of either a thin metal layer or iron cast. To reheat the tortillas using a hot, flat surface, follow these steps and some helpful advice:
- Use a level surface, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry; you can use a regular grill pan. The only difference is that it can take a few extra seconds on each side, and the tortillas will have a black, charred line imprinted on them from the grid of the pan.
- Turn the flame high and place your pan, or “comal,” on the stove. Make sure the surface is clean; if not, it will smoke up the whole house and possibly ruin your tortillas. You cannot overstate the importance of this step; without a very hot pan, reheating tortillas will take longer and run the risk of drying out.
- As soon as the pan is heated, take two tortillas and stack them on top. Use numerous pans to speed up the process and arrange as many piles of two tortillas as possible in your available area.
- Turn the tortillas over and warm the other side for ten more seconds after steam begins to emerge from them, which should happen after approximately 15-20 seconds. When you use two tortillas at once, you’re forming an air pocket between them that captures the steam produced as the tortillas reheat. Your tortillas will become incredibly soft and playable as a result.
- To keep the tortillas warm, place them on a tea towel and cover them. You can put the tea towel inside a tortilla warmer or use a plastic container if you don’t have one. Your tortillas will stay warm and soft for the following 10 to 20 minutes.
How can you reheat tortillas on a Sandwich press grill?
Sandwich press grills are nothing more than two electric flat grills that work together. This technique offers a reliable and practical approach to reheating tortillas. The presses with flat grills are ideal because they work well for tortillas. However, if it has grill lines, like with grilling pans, there is no issue; it will just take an extra second to reheat. When utilizing a sandwich press, the following steps are much more straightforward:
As many tortillas as you can fit in the sandwich press, but just one per layer.
- Reheat the tortillas for 10 seconds or until steam appears. The tortillas’ moisture and steam are trapped between the press’s two plates, keeping them soft.
- Repeat with the remaining tortillas in a tea towel. Alternately, you might bring the press to the table and reheat the tortillas before using them immediately. To do this, you’ll need to get a long extension cord.
Reheating tortillas using a microwave
Wrapping tortillas in a moist tea towel and putting them in the microwave is the key to successfully reheating them. While reheating meals in the microwave is quite convenient, tortillas can be challenging because they will lose a lot of moisture and become hard. The instructions below may not apply to all microwaves because they vary.
- Place one tortilla on a dish, then cover it with a lightly damped tea towel. Microwave at medium power for 15 to 20 seconds or until steam appears.
- Shake the tortillas to separate them first, then wrap the mound in a moist tea towel if there are more than 20 tortillas.
- Place the wrapped tortillas in a dish inside the microwave. Reheat in the microwave for 60 to 90 seconds, or until steam appears on the tea towel, on medium power.
- If steam comes from the tea towel when you open the microwave, check to see if the tortillas are soft; if not, microwave for a few more seconds until the timing is suitable for your microwave.
Using the oven method to reheat tortillas
If reheating is not possible due to lack of time? In a pinch, you may also use your microwave.
- At a time, arrange 3–4 tortillas on a microwave-safe plate, then cover with a gently dampened paper towel.
- When ready to serve, microwave for 30 seconds at a time and then set aside.
- If you’re in a hurry, this method can occasionally result in gummy tortillas, but it still works. Be careful not to microwave the tortilla for longer than 30 seconds as it may harden.
- Keep your tortillas warm before serving now that you’ve heated them. We advise placing them on a sizable dish and covering them with a damp tea towel until it’s ready to eat.
Can you keep your tortillas soft and warm after reheating them?
To keep the tortillas (corn or flour) warm, wrap them in a moist towel and place them in a basket, plastic container, or polystyrene warmer. The towel-wrapped stack of tortillas can be put into a little more giant bowl and covered with a plate if you don’t have an “official” tortilla warmer. Because of this, maintaining a tortilla’s original texture, which results from the components used, the method used to make it, and how long it has been since preparing the tortilla, will vary greatly.
Tips you must know to make the best of your tortillas
- Always keep tortillas airtight and in the refrigerator while keeping them.
- If your tortillas are whole corn, you don’t need to split them with layers of baking paper before freezing them. However, I advise freezing in separate batches if you want little packs.
- You may also reheat your tortillas in the oven, but keep in mind that this method loses a lot of moisture, so you’ll need an oven pot with a lid to put the tortillas and a damp tea towel inside. In my opinion, this method is inefficient unless you are already using the oven for another purpose because it will take the range at least 20 minutes to reheat.
- You can also reheat your tortillas alongside your sausages or other foods on the barbecue. To keep the tortillas from burning, stack them in groups of three to four and turn them over. 5. If you use one or two tortillas, some will likely burn before they are fully warmed up, especially if you constantly open the BBQ lid.
- Keep in mind that the key is to reheat the tortilla without losing its wetness. Since tortillas have a high moisture level (40 percent or more), reheating them for an extended period could cause them to dry out quickly.
- You can spritz some water on your tortillas to keep them moist if they start to dry up while reheating. Alternatively, you can allow them to continue cooking until they completely dry out and turn crunchy, like a tostada or totopos.
- Keep in mind that you cannot throw away corn tortillas. You can always turn them into corn chips by frying or baking them.