Taco Shells - Tex-Mex Style

[Jay Francis]

There are very few places in Texas that continue to make the crispy puffy taco shell that I remember from my youth. In Houston, only Fiesta Loma Linda on Telephone Road is still doing this. I discovered the secret of making these this week.

When I was helping Robb Walsh with recipe testing for The Tex-Mex cookbook, we tried to duplicate the taco shell using Maseca without any success.

Recently I was enjoying my tacos at Loma Linda and I asked who they bought their masa from. They told me and a week later I went by that facility and asked "I'd like to buy the masa like Loma Linda uses to make their crispy tacos." The guy told me that they "only do the yellow corn masa on Mondays". Here, I finally had my smoking gun. On the drive back down Harrisburg to my home I pulled into another tortilleria and bought 5 lbs of yellow corn fine grind masa. I pressed out some tortillas, deep fried them and they puffed up magnificently.

So, the 'secret' of crispy puffy taco shells is preserved for future generations.

Edited May 3, 2008 by Jay Francis (log)