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 The best corn tortillas, of course, are those that still retain the heat of their original griddle-baking: they’re supple, toasty smelling and earthy tasting with an almost meaty texture. These (almost) whole grain goodies have no added fat, which makes them very healthy. Once they cool, though, they dry out rather quickly and turn stale (like real French bread).
Making tortillas for every meal isn’t practical for most of us, however; neither is running to the local tortilla shop just before sitting down to dine, as many do in Mexico. That leaves reheating packages of lifeless, factory-made corn tortillas. There is a difference between ones that come from small factories and the mass-produced tortillas you find in the refrigerated food cases. (Some of the latter are not made from masa and won’t ever be very good.) Cold, any corn tortilla is like dry meal in your mouth, but steam heating is an effective way of bringing back tender suppleness. Following are my favorite ways of rejuvenating corn tortillas:
Steam-heating a Small Amount of Tortillas: Set up a vegetable steamer in a pot filled with about 1/2 inch of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Wrap 1 dozen tortillas (you can push it to 15, but no more) in a heavy (preferably terrycloth) kitchen towel. Place over the boiling water in the steamer, cover with a tight lid,time 1 minute, turn off the heat, let stand without opening the lid for 15 minutes and they’re ready to eat. If you place the whole contraption in a low oven (not over 200 degrees), you can keep them warm for an hour or so.
Steam-heating a Large Amount of Tortillas: Set up a rack in a large roasting pan, pour in about 1/2 inch of water and cover the rack with a heavy (preferably terrycloth) kitchen towel (it shouldn’t touch the water or it will act as a wick, soaking the bottom layer of tortillas). Divide your tortillas into stacks of 10 or 12 over the cloth, cover with a second cloth, cover the pot tightly and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Time 1 minute, turn off the heat and let stand 15 minutes without opening the lid. You may put the roasting pan in a low oven (not hotter than 200 degrees) and keep the tortillas warm for about an hour or so. Plan to heat a few extra tortillas that you’ll need, since the top and bottom ones reheated by this method tend to get so soft they fall apart.
Other Reheating Methods: Factory-made tortillas packaged in the paper wrappers (they may have a thin plastic-like coating inside) may be successfully reheated in a microwave oven: make a tiny hole in the package (to let steam escape), then microwave in the package for 30 to 60 seconds (depending on the power of your oven) on high. Wrap in a heavy cloth and let stand a few minutes before serving.
When you’re just reheating a few tortillas (or if you’re in a hurry), moisten your hands with water, rub those damp hands across the tortillas you’re going to reheat, then lay a stack of 4 on a griddle heated over medium. Flip them every few seconds, shuffling the deck from time to time, until all four are soft and hot (the water helps create a little steam, the stacked effect ensures that they will heat more slowly without letting the internal steam evaporate quickly.) Wrap in a heavy cloth and serve.
If your tortillas are relatively fresh, you can either heat them one at a time on a hot griddle or over a medium open flame, such as a gas burner, turning them every few seconds until hot and a little toasty (total time on the griddle or flame is about 15 seconds). This adds a hint of crispness to the tortilla, unless its stale and dry to start with, in which case the tortilla will become even more inedible.
Keeping Tortillas Warm for Serving: Tradition dictates a (usually uncovered) basket (chiquihuite is the word for the proper basket in Mexican Spanish) lined with a cloth for holding just-made tortillas. When they come off the griddle, those little corn cakes are so hot that a stack of 20 can stay warm for nearly an hour if the cloths are heavy and the basket tightly woven. A styrofoam-like, covered “tortilla warmer” is environmentally a bad idea, though practically it does a great job; they keep tortillas warm for more than an hour, as will several other insulated or thermal containers that have hit the market.
A small basket lined with a cloth is the nicest way to keep tortillas warm at the table, though there are many small modern insulated containers (we use a little red plastic one at Frontera) that do the job nicely.
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