I have been using this to make tortillas ALL THE TIME. Substituting coconut oil for bacon fat works well too.
I usually let these rest a little bit after I roll them into balls too.
All credit goes to this Mexican Please website:
https://www.mexicanplease.com/flour-tortillas-made-bacon-fat/
PS: Make sure to strain and store your bacon grease properly.
Bacon Fat Tortillas
I have to admit, after all of my skepticism, these were some incredibly satisfying flour tortillas and they were easily on the same level as the ones made with home-rendered lard.
Thin, light deliciousness without any overwhelming bacon flavor. Actually there wasn’t much bacon flavor at all, just a hint of that bacon savoriness in the background.
Ingredients
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup bacon fat
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup warm water
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add 1.5 teaspoons of salt to 3 cups of all-purpose flour and combine well. Add 1/4 cup bacon fat to the flour and use your fingers to crumble the fat into the flour mixture. Add 1 cup warm water and stir as much as you can with a spoon or spatula, then dump the mixture onto a flat surface and knead into a cohesive ball using your hands. Let the dough rest for 30-60 minutes.
- Tear the dough into golfball sized chunks, rolling between your hands to shape them into smooth balls.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough balls out to approximately 5-6 inches in diameter. I usually roll them out super thin to the point of being transparent.
- Preheat a dry skillet or comal. The preferred setting on my stove is halfway between medium and medium-high heat. Add one of the rolled out tortillas and cook each side for 45-60 seconds or until light brown spots are forming.
- As one tortilla cooks, roll out the next to expedite the process.
- Serve immediately and store leftovers in the fridge. Alternatively, you can only make as many as you need and store the remaining dough in the fridge where it will keep for a few days.
Thanks Cash, love the recipe. I didn’t know how to store bacon fat so looked it up: To store bacon fat, pour the still warm (but not hot!) liquid fat into a heatproof container through a fine mesh strainer or coffee filter and place it in the fridge or freezer. (A jar with a wide mouth makes for easy pouring and gives enough room to fit a spoon in for scooping out portions of the solidified fat.) While bacon grease canisters residing on the back of the stove were once commonplace, storing it in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer is recommended to prolong quality.
Straining is important, because bits of bacon left in the fat can cause it to go rancid quicker. “If you don’t filter out the solid bits, the fat can last a couple of months in the refrigerator before it starts to go rancid,” says Simply Recipes. “If you do filter out the solid bits, the fat can last up to a year in the refrigerator.