Flour Tortillas Made With Bacon Fat

In addition to queries about Mexican oregano, one of the most common questions I get on the site involves the universally loved bacon:

Can I use the leftover bacon drippings to make flour tortillas?  

Up until last week my response was always a bit cautious, as if those tortillas would be second rate to our other Flour Tortillas recipe that uses home rendered lard as the cooking fat.   And also a little concerned they might taste too much like bacon.

But after getting another question about it a couple weeks ago I finally set aside some time to try it -- and I'm glad I did!

How To Make Flour Tortillas Using Bacon Drippings

For reference, traditional flour tortillas are made using lard.  And in particular, lard rendered from pork back fat.

And since I'm not a fan of hydrogenated, shelf-safe lard I will usually render my own at home.  You can see how to do that here.

Flour tortillas made with home-rendered lard are incredibly satisfying and that's probably why I'm skeptical about flour tortillas made with leftover bacon fat.  I mean...will that even work?

So for the past week I've been eating lots of bacon and straining the drippings into a Mason jar.

I usually put a small strainer on top and pour the drippings directly into the jar.  The above pic is the leftover grease from a single pound of bacon (accumulated over a few days) that I've been keeping in the fridge.

I'll be using our original flour tortilla recipe but with the addition of a bit more fat because I feel like bacon drippings are less concentrated than home-rendered lard.

To make the tortillas, we'll start by adding 1.5 teaspoons of salt to 3 cups of all-purpose flour and combining well.

Then add 4 tablespoons of the bacon fat (1/4 cup).

I usually just use my hands to incorporate the fat into the flour, crumbling it into bits and coating it with the flour.

Then we'll add a single cup of warm water and use a spoon or spatula to combine it as much as you can.

Dump the shaggy mixture onto a cutting board or work surface.

Use your hands to knead this into a cohesive ball.

Note:   sometimes it can be tricky to get the right consistency but don't sweat it too much because you are closer than you think!  If it's sticking to your hands then there is a bit too much water  -- simply add some more pinches of flour to dry it out.  Conversely, if it's not combining into a cohesive ball then it's too dry and you need to add another splash of water.

I usually let this rest anywhere from 30-60 minutes, depending on how hungry I am.  This makes it easier to roll out the dough balls.

Once rested, simply pull off a golfball sized chunk and give it a quick roll between your hands.

This will make a tortilla that is approximately 5-6" in diameter.

I like homemade tortillas best when they are super thin, so I usually roll these out to the point of being transparent.

If you're getting snapback and it's difficult to roll them out then most likely they need to rest a bit more.  And if the dough is sticking to the rolling pin then add a light dusting of flour.

And don't worry about making them into perfect circles -- they will taste better if they have unique shapes!

Each side will need about 45-60 seconds in a dry skillet to fully cook.  I usually cook one at a time and roll out the next one in the meantime.

Once you've got bubbles forming you know there will be light brown spots on the other side, i.e. it's time to flip it!

Perfect!

You might have to offer up a couple sacrifices before you get the temp right on your stove.  The ideal setting on my stove is halfway between medium and medium-high.  This creates brown spots in about 45 seconds.

If it's taking significantly longer to get brown spots then your heat is too low.  If you're getting black spots quickly then your heat is too high.

Every stove and pan combo has a sweet spot so don't worry if it takes a couple tries to find the right settings for your combo.

And don't forget, it's always best to do some taste testing along the way!

If you've got a thin, light, delicious tortilla on your hands then you'll know you've found the sweet spot.

And the official result?

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.

Maybe bacon drippings aren't as different from home-rendered lard as I had assumed?  Either way I found these to be incredibly rewarding and I'll give a definite thumbs up the next time someone asks.

These tortillas are the perfect size for tacos, but you could also just spread some refried beans and cheese on top for an impromptu meal.

Homemade, cooked tortillas won't last too long so I decided to only make half of this batch and store the rest of the dough in the fridge.

I've been cooking the tortillas on the fly for the past few days with no downgrade in quality yet.  Simply pull off a chunk of dough, let it come to room temp for a few minutes, then roll it out and add it to your pre-heated pan.  Awesomeness.

To summarize....

Save your bacon drippings!  You can make a killer batch of flour tortillas and I think they are on par with tortillas made from home-rendered lard.   And let me know if you have any questions about the flour tortilla process -- it's remarkably easy and will instantly upgrade your home kitchen.

Buen Provecho.

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Our latest recipe is a batch of Mexican Shredded Beef.