Don't touch that giant pot filled with hot and bubbling oil. Tacos are just a pop away with this genius hack that uses a toaster (yes, a standard toaster you use to toast your bagels in the morning rather than a toaster oven). While the Nuni toaster (a tortilla toaster ) is a pretty cool gadget for Mexican food night, it only warms your tortillas up. Rather a conventional toaster will not only toast and crisp up your tortillas, but it'll also shape it into the perfect taco shape, making this the ideal taco shells in toaster hack.
Whether you like corn tortillas or flour tortillas, this taco hack works for you. Taco Tuesday and Cinco de Mayo just got a little bit easier to celebrate without the need for crazy special kitchen appliances. Plus this trick is actually a healthy alternative to oil-fried hard shell tacos, and you don't have to wash a frying pan.
According to Delish, simply heat up your corn tortillas, covered with a damp paper towel, in the microwave for 15 seconds to soften them. Place the heated soft tortillas in the toaster folded into a taco and press down the button for crunchy taco shells. Easy enough, right?
The Kitchn tends to disagree. While the recipe seems pretty foolproof (you stick the tortilla in a bread toaster, what's so hard about that?) there are a few flaws in the recipe.
The first flaw would be the issue of sizing. Since toasters are usually only big enough for a slice of bread, it's crucial to buy the right size tortilla at the grocery store before bringing it home. Go for a fajita size or smaller if they have. Depending on your toaster you still might have to squeeze it in.
Secondly, do not set your toaster ablaze. Tortillas toast at a different temperature and speed than bread, and depending on the wattage of the toaster this might be pretty quick. So don't walk away for a second! Your tacos might get stuck and set your toaster a-blazin'.
However, if you are careful, this taco toaster hack is a total game-changer for taco night. Plus it makes it possible to make crispy taco shells at 2 am, thank you very much.
This post was originally published on April 19, 2019.
