Every time a person takes a corn tortilla straight from the package and begins to build a taco, a baby deer sheds a single tear. Or an ice cream cone is dropped. Or a public school loses its arts program. You get it. Something unfortunate happens. Choosing not to warm a corn tortilla before making the trip to Taco Town is a crime.
But what’s the strategy? You can’t just throw it in the microwave, right? Right. That’s not a good look. Mostly because it robs the corn tortilla of texture and color, as well as increasing the chance of rips and crumbles. You want the opposite. Here's how to warm corn tortillas at home so that they're the best they can be.
Dry heat is the secret to warming a corn tortilla so that it becomes the best version of itself. That means no oil. No butter. No fat. Just heat. We’re not trying to fry these guys—although we obvs love a fried tortilla under other circumstances—and we definitely don’t want to steam them (like you’ve probably see anyone at a burrito shop do to a flour tortilla, pre-filling). We just want to warm them and develop a little color.
You, the home cook, have two options. Both of these are easier with tongs, which allow you to turn and flip your tortillas quickly and easily without scorching your fingers. You can throw your tortillas in a cast iron skillet, warmed over medium-high heat, for about 15 to 30-ish seconds on each side. If the tortillas smell toasty, with a few browned or darkened spots, you're doing it right. If you don’t have a cast iron, you can also turn your gas burner to medium-low and place the tortillas one at a time directly over the flame—they'll take on color more quickly, so you want to watch them like a hawk and have your tongs ready. As soon as they start to brown, give them a quick flip to color the other side and then pull them off.
And the other thing you need to know about how to warm a corn tortilla? Do them one at a time. You’ll be able to pay more attention to each one, making sure it gets warm immediately before you build the taco. (If you're doing more than a couple, put them in a bowl or on a plate lined with a clean kitchen towel and wrap them up so they'll stay warm.) Because if you’re like us, and we’re pretty sure you are, you care about tacos. And if you care about tacos, you should care about tortillas. That’s how the world gets better.
And now that your mind is on tacos, we'll just leave these here: