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.
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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.
