Tortillas Yucatecas Hechas a Mano

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy non-reactive pot, stainless steel or unglazed clay (never aluminum, which reacts with cal)
• •Hand-crank corn mill (molino de mano) or heavy-duty food processor
• •Cast iron or wooden tortilla press, 6 inches or smaller
• •Comal de barro, ideally, or a cast iron comal
• •Thin metal spatula or simply clean fingertips
• •Basket lined with an embroidered servilleta yucateca for stacking

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the corn

   Spread the dried corn on a sheet pan and pick through it. Pull out broken kernels, pebbles, stems, anything that is not a clean kernel. The corn vendors in the Mercado Lucas de Galvez in Merida will sell you Nal-Tel by the kilo and they will tell you to do this before anything else. Skip it and you will bite down on a stone in the middle of a tortilla.

2. 2

   Nixtamalize the corn

   Pour the 8 cups of cold water into a heavy non-reactive pot, stainless steel or unglazed clay, never aluminum. Stir in the cal until it dissolves into a chalky cloud. Add the corn. Bring to a low simmer over medium heat, then lower the flame until the surface barely moves. Cook uncovered for 30 to 45 minutes. The kernels should soften but still hold their shape. When you can rub a kernel between two fingers and the skin slips off cleanly, the corn is done. This is the nixtamal. Without cal, the corn is just boiled corn. With cal, the niacin and the amino acids become available and the flavor changes entirely. La cocina no es decoracion, es trabajo.

   Cal is calcium hydroxide, sold in Latin grocery stores as cal mexicana or cal for nixtamal. It is not the same as garden lime or pickling lime in every brand, so look for the food-grade label. A small bag lasts for years.
3. 3

   Rest overnight

   Pull the pot off the heat and leave the corn to sit in its cooking liquid for 8 to 12 hours, covered, at room temperature. This rest is non-negotiable. The cal continues to work on the kernels overnight and the flavor deepens into the toasted, almost floral quality that makes a Yucatecan tortilla taste like a Yucatecan tortilla and not like a generic disc of starch. No me vengas con atajos.

4. 4

   Rinse the nixtamal

   Drain the corn in a colander. Rinse it under cold running water, rubbing the kernels between your hands. The loose skins, called the pericarp, will slip off. Rinse until the water runs clear and the kernels look clean and slightly yellow or white depending on your landrace. Some cooks keep more of the skin for a heartier masa. The senoras in Tizimin leave more on. The cooks in Merida rinse more off. Decide which side you are on.

5. 5

   Grind the masa

   Pass the wet nixtamal through a hand-crank corn mill (molino de mano) twice, or grind it in a heavy-duty food processor with the metal blade in batches, scraping down often. You want a smooth, slightly tacky dough. If you have access to a molino electrico at a neighborhood tortilleria, take your nixtamal and have them grind it for you. That is how most Yucatecan home cooks do it. The masa should hold together when you press it but not stick to your palm. If it crumbles, add warm water a tablespoon at a time. If it sticks, let it rest uncovered for a few minutes.

6. 6

   Test the masa

   Roll a small ball, about the size of a walnut, and flatten it gently between your palms. The edges should be smooth, not cracked. If the edges crack, the masa needs more water. Work it in a tablespoon at a time, kneading on the counter until the masa is supple and a little glossy. This is the test the women in the Yucatan markets use and it never fails.

7. 7

   Heat the comal

   Place a comal de barro over medium-high heat. Let it heat for a full 10 minutes. A clay comal needs time to come up to temperature evenly and a cold comal makes a bad tortilla. If you do not have a clay comal, a cast iron one will do. Flick a drop of water on the surface. It should dance and evaporate fast. You want hot, not smoking.

8. 8

   Press the tortillas

   Cut two squares of plastic from a clean produce bag, about 6 inches each. Open a tortilla press and lay one square on the bottom plate. Roll a piece of masa about the size of a small lime between your palms. Place it slightly off-center toward the hinge. Cover with the second plastic square. Close the press and push the lever down firmly. Open and peel the top plastic off. Flip the tortilla onto your hand, plastic side up, and peel the second sheet away. Yucatecan tortillas are pressed thin. Thinner than central Mexico's. They should be almost translucent at the edges.

   If you do not have a tortilla press, lay the masa ball between two plastic squares on a flat surface and press it down with the flat bottom of a heavy skillet. It works. The senoras did it with a piece of broken plate for generations.
9. 9

   Cook on the comal

   Lay the pressed tortilla on the hot comal in one motion, smoothing it flat with your fingertips. Cook for about 30 seconds. The edges will start to lift and the surface will dry. Flip with your fingers or a thin spatula. Cook for 45 seconds on the second side. Flip a third time. On this last flip, the tortilla should puff. The steam trapped inside has nowhere to go and it lifts the tortilla like a balloon. That puff is the signal. A tortilla that puffs is fully cooked, properly hydrated, and pressed at the right thickness. Asi se hace y punto.

   If the tortilla does not puff, the masa is too dry, the comal is too cool, or the tortilla was pressed unevenly. Adjust and keep going. The first three tortillas of any batch are practice. The next seventeen are dinner.
10. 10

    Stack and wrap

    Transfer each finished tortilla to a basket lined with an embroidered servilleta yucateca, the cotton cloths from Valladolid or Mani with hand-stitched flowers. Stack them as you go and fold the cloth over the top. The tortillas steam each other gently and stay soft. A Yucatecan tortilla is meant to be eaten warm, the same hour it is made, with cochinita pibil or frijol con puerco or simply a smear of manteca and salt. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.

Chef Tips

• •If you cannot find Nal-Tel or Dzit-Bacal corn outside Mexico, look for a Latin grocery selling non-GMO heirloom maize from Masienda or a similar importer. Bolita, olotillo, or any landrace from southern Mexico will give you a more honest tortilla than commodity field corn. Maseca masa harina is a last resort and the flavor is not the same. Tell the truth to yourself about what you are making.
• •A comal de barro changes the flavor of the tortilla. The unglazed clay holds heat differently than cast iron and gives a faint earthen taste that no metal pan reproduces. Season a new clay comal by rubbing it with lime juice and water, drying it, and heating it slowly over a low flame for the first few uses.
• •Tortillas reheat well on the comal the next day, but they will never be as good as fresh. Wrap leftovers in a damp cotton cloth and store in a sealed bag in the refrigerator for up to two days. Reheat on a dry hot comal for 15 seconds per side.

Advance Preparation

• •The nixtamal must rest overnight after cooking, so start the corn the day before you want to make tortillas. Plan accordingly.
• •Fresh masa can be made one day ahead, wrapped tightly in plastic, and refrigerated. Bring back to room temperature and knead briefly with a splash of warm water before pressing.
• •Pressed-and-cooked tortillas keep for two days wrapped in a cotton cloth inside a sealed bag in the refrigerator. They are best the hour they are made.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 30g)