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La Piña en la Cocina

Embracing my Mexican heritage and sharing all the wonderful flavors, colors and foods I grew up with. Join me on this journey as I also learn new foods and cooking techniques. Dedicated to my parents Ramiro and Blanca.

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Home » Flour Tortillas » Bacon Fat Flour Tortillas

Bacon Fat Flour Tortillas

March 27, 20217 Comments

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Bacon fat flour tortillas! And to think all those years I was discarding the leftover bacon fat left in my skillet! Why? Lol! Mom rarely cooked bacon, so leftover bacon grease was not part of my life! Lol!

Yes, there was pork fat!

Mom cooked carnitas and chicharrones and there was pork manteca, but not from bacon. Natural rendered pork fat from chicharron is delicious in tortillas, tamales and refried beans. Use it for frying tacos dorados or for frying your rustic salsa recipes. Sooo delicious! Once in a while is good to treat yourself.

Get Them While They’re Fresh!

Tortillas, fresh made tortillas are best the first day you prepare them. The key to reheating them is to apply quick, high heat and return them to the tortilla warmer to create a little steam. I remember dad misting the store bought corn tortillas to add a little moisture to them. it would help soften them.

bacon grease in the bowl with spatula
Skim the leftover bacon grease out of your skillet. To store, use a glass jar with a tight lid and refrigerate! Got that tip from a nice follower.
mixing bacon grease with hot water
This method of mixing the dough I learned from my mom. She would place a large stainless steel bowl over the gas burner and melt the manteca before adding the rest of the ingredients. It works for me.
bowl with bacon grease, hot water, baking powder and salt
Mom’s original recipe did not include baking powder. The tortillas still puff, but sometimes not as much.
dough balls for flour tortillas
Did you know you could freeze the dough balls? Did you know you could freeze the cooked tortillas? Yes and yes!
holding dough in my hand
I instruct you to let the dough rest for 30 minutes. if you let the dough rest overnight on the counter, it makes for a softer dough. The dough relaxes and is easier to roll out.
rolled out flour tortilla on cutting board with rolling pin
Don’t worry if the tortillas are not always round. That comes with patience and practice. I still roll out square tortillas now and then, Lol!
https://animoto.com/play/nDZKSSEtAaUcnod65Nieeg

Beef and Potato With Green Chile!

One of my top three favorite ways to enjoy homemade flour tortillas is with Beef and Potato With Green Chile! Chile Colorado and Frijoles Con Chorizo too!

beef and potato with green chile, beans and a flour tortilla
Bacon Fat Flour Tortillas close up folded

Bacon Fat Flour Tortillas

Why bacon fat? Why not! It's delicious!
4.41 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Bread, Tortillas
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 35 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Let Dough Rest: 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes
Servings: 12 Tortillas

Equipment

  • Cast iron or nonstick griddle, comal

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup bacon fat at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup very hot water
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 1/2-3 cups all purpose flour, sifted

Instructions

  • Add the bacon fat to a medium bowl. Pour in the very hot water and stir to combine.
  • Mix in the baking powder and salt. First mix in 1 cup of flour and stir well to combine.
  • Gradually mix in 1 more cup of flour. Knead the dough. At this point the dough will still be slightly sticky. One tablespoon at a time, mix a little more flour in until the dough is smooth. slightly moist, but not dry.
  • Shape and roll 12 equal size dough balls, or 6 larger ones. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside on counter for at least 30 minutes. If you can let the dough rest longer it's better.
  • When ready, preheat your griddle at medium heat for 5 minutes.
  • On a lightly floured flat surface, roll out the dough balls to about 6 inches. Cook on hot surface for a total of 40-50 seconds, turning as needed. Turn when it forms a lot of bubbles. if the spots on tortillas are too dark, adjust the heat to a lower setting. The first couple of tortillas are usually testers, lol! With practice you will get the hang of it.
  • Store cooked tortillas in a kitchen towel lined tortilla warmer with a lid or a pot with a lid. The steam created with yield soft tortillas. I let them cool right in the warmer then store leftover tortillas in a plastic storage bag refrigerated. To reheat, warm on preheated comal(griddle) at high heat for a few seconds per side. If you leave them on too long, they will get hard.

Notes

No bacon fat, no problem. You can use melted pork lard, vegetable shortening, butter or your choice of oil.
Tried this recipe?Mention @pinaenlacocina or tag #pinaenlacocina!
flour tortilla filled with beans and beef and potatoes
rolled burrito with beef and potatoes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. bkhuna

    March 28, 2021 at 8:11 am

    This has inspired me to finally try making flour tortillas.

    Reply
    • Sonia

      March 28, 2021 at 10:43 am

      Awesome! I love to hear that!

      Reply
  2. Ninfa DePalma

    March 28, 2021 at 10:01 am

    Isn’t bacon grease just amazing? It has been a Southern staple for as long as bacon has been around.
    When I lived in Bixoli, Mississippi my neighbor taught me about the secret of bacon grease when I asked if she really kept it in the container by her stove. She told that was just a prized possession she had inherited from her Granny. She kept all the bacon grease in a jar in the refrigerator. She went on to tell me that she added to Corn Bread, Biscuits, to fry her eggs and to so many recipes.
    As we learned from our abuelas or mamis about lard, we never learned about bacon grease. Thank you for reminding me to include it next time I make tortillas.

    Reply
    • Sonia

      March 28, 2021 at 10:44 am

      You are right Ninfa! Mama and abuela never taught us about wonderful bacon grease! Thank you for the tip on keeping chilled. I always save it now, lol!

      Reply
  3. Farid Healey

    September 2, 2021 at 7:33 pm

    Making these tomorrow! So excited!

    Reply
  4. Rachel

    October 11, 2024 at 12:29 pm

    This is the best tortilla recipe online ! 👍😁

    Reply
    • Sonia

      October 11, 2024 at 2:45 pm

      Wow! Thank you so much Rachel!

      Reply

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Welcome!

Hi, my name is Sonia Mendez Garcia. My parents Ramiro and Blanca Mendez moved to the United States from Monterrey, Mexico in 1963. I am first generation Mexican American born in Los Angeles, California. Cooking has always been one of my passions in life. This is my journey and I can't wait to see what the future holds. Read More…

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