How To...Make Tortilla Crisps

We used these tortilla crisps in our recipe on Friday. You can use them to top any soup or salad.


You could also just buy chips, but really, where's the fun in that?




Ingredients: corn tortillas, oil and salt



Did you know that you can store unopened corn tortillas at room temperature for 3 months? It's true, I looked it up. Flour tortillas (not the refrigerator kind) can be stored unopened for 9 months! Be sure to check the date on the bag before you purchase it though.


Heat a pot with oil in over the stove top, just enough oil to cover the tortilla strips.

Frying foods is dangerous, just ask Hannah, she lit her kitchen on fire while deep fat frying egg rolls. Then ask me, she spent the rest of the week at my house while the insurance company repainted and cleaned.

So be careful, don't leave hot oil unattended. Put children outside and lock the door. Only use the minimum amount of oil that you have too. Don't pull the tortillas out with your fingers, use a fork or something. Don't turn the stove top higher than medium high heat. Use a thermometer if you have one of those fancy things.

I don't. I just wait for the oil to ripple, like Rachael Ray does. She's my hero. Right up there next to Pioneer Woman and John Wayne.



Cut the strips thinly, really thinly. Put just a few in the oil at the same time. Stir around a little while they're cooking so they all get cooked fairly evenly.

Remove from the hot oil when they are a light brown. Let them drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt.




You can also make them in the oven. Brush the top of the tortilla with oil.



Stack another tortilla on top and brush it with oil. Repeat until you have a nice stack.

Cut thinly with a sharp knife, just like if you were frying them. (You can make chips this way too, just cut them into triangles instead of strips).



Lay the strips in a single layer on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt.

Bake in a 375 degree oven, stirring occasionally, until browned.


Mountain Man thinks they both taste the same. I think he's smoking something. The fried ones are definitely better.