Connoisseur Jon's Taco Shell Factory

This Christmas, I was given a fun gift that I had never thought of before.  I got a taco shell fryer and a taco shell drying rack.  Most people know that I love me some tacos, so this was especially exciting for me.  Liz and I soon planned a taco party at our house, featuring the premiere of the shell maker.  Making taco shells is really easy.  All you need is the shell maker and drying rack, a fairly deep pot, vegetable oil, and a stack of corn tortillas from the store.  Sure, you could make your own tortillas for a truly homemade experience, but we went the easier route and bought the bag of tortillas. 

All you have to do is put enough oil in the pot to cover the taco tongs and heat the oil to about 375 degrees.  After that, just fold one of the tortillas in the taco tongs and slowly dip the tortilla into the oil.  It will bubble a lot, so if your pot is too full of oil, you have to be careful not to allow the oil to bubble over in the initial dip.  Let it cook for a minute or so.  You can cook them to your own preferred level of doneness, but about a minute is fine.  Once you are done, lift the tongs and allow excess oil to drip off the shell.  Then place the shell on the drying rack and start again.  This was a fun interactive party meal, and once we had made a dozen or so shells, we sat down and constructed tacos. 

The homemade shells were nice because the tortilla gets all bubbly and crispy, and it doesn’t have that odd yellow color associated with most tacos.  They aren’t as salty, and are a bit more fragile, but homemade taco shells are definitely the way to go.  Just be sure to save your oil for future frying expeditions, as I needed at least 2 quarts of oil, and the price can get high if you don’t plan to reuse the oil.