Best Crisp Taco Shells Recipes

HARD TACO SHELLS

Steps:

• Heat about 1 inch of oil in a heavy skillet over medium to medium-high heat to 365 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• Use tongs to place one tortilla at a time into the oil. It should start to sizzle right away. Cook for about 15 seconds, then flip over and fold the shell in half, holding in place with the tongs until crispy, about 15 seconds. You may need a little practice at first. Drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with salt while still hot. Use for tacos right away, or they may become chewy. Leftovers may be heated in the oven for crisping.

OVEN BAKED TACO SHELLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spread out the tortillas and microwave until extremely soft and pliable. Depending on your microwave this can take between 1-3 minutes. They should be hot and really pliable when you take them out.
• You can wrap them in a moist paper towel to make them even softer. Immediately wrap in a towel or place in a ziploc bag to keep them warm. Keeping them soft is the key to not having them break in the oven.
• Then carefully spray each tortilla with cooking spray on both sides. Sprinkle with lime juice and seasoning if using. Gently drape over the oven grates, pressing down ever so lightly. I press mine over two grates so that the taco shells stand up nicely and have lots of room to press things in.
• Repeat with remaining shells and then bake for 8-10 minutes until brown and crispy. These can go from perfect to burnt quickly so be sure to keep an eye on them.

CRISPY BASKET BURRITOS (BAKED TORTILLA BOWLS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Brush both sides of tortilla with oil.
• Invert ramekin on a work surface; center tortilla on the bottom of the ramekin. Gently shape the tortilla down around the sides. Place a double layer of aluminum foil over the tortilla and press to form the bowl around the ramekin. Place right side up on a baking sheet and leave about 1/2 inch of the edge of the tortilla above the foil so it gets browned and crispy when you bake it. Repeat with the second tortilla.
• Place baking sheet in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and use tongs to carefully remove the ramekins from inside the shells. Transfer sheet back to the oven. Bake shells until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven.
• Carefully remove foil from around the shells; reserve the foil. Flatten foil sheets and invert shells on them. Bring foil up just around the bottom of the shells to protect the top edge.
• Transfer sheet back to the oven. Bake until browned and crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and invert the shells once again so they are right side up. Place on foil and transfer sheet back to oven for the final crisping, 3 to 5 minutes. Watch them carefully so they don't burn.
• Remove sheet from oven; transfer basket burritos to a rack to cool completely.

CRISPY CORN TACO SHELLS

Steps:

• To make U-shaped taco shells from 5 1/2-inch corn tortillas, a wire taco fry basket with slots that form multiple shells (anywhere from 4 to 8) at a time is the easiest way to shape and fry them. They're available at restaurant supply stores or online. Or, to create shells from 5 1/2-inch corn tortillas, or wonton skins or egg roll wrappers cut into 5 1/2-inch rounds, make a mold from a 5 1/2-inch diameter metal can lid. Remove the lid from the can (preferably with a can opener that leaves a rounded dull edge on the lid). Fold the lid over a slim dowel-like a sharpening steel for knives-creating a slightly rounded (not sharply pinched) fold and a 1 1/2-inch gap at the top.
• For frying, in a deep fryer or large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat about 5 inches of canola oil over medium heat until it reaches 350˚F on a deep-fat thermometer (monitor the temperature carefully; any hotter, and the shells will be too dark; any cooler, and they will be greasy).
• To fry shells using a taco basket: Place a tortilla in each slot and submerge the basket in hot oil. Fry until a light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from the hot oil and transfer to paper towels to drain.
• To fry shells using a handmade mold: Wrap a taco-sized (5 1/2-inch diameter) yellow corn tortilla, wonton skin, or egg roll wrapper around the outside of the mold, hold the mold with tongs, and submerge it into the hot oil. Fry the tortilla until a light golden brown, 1 minute. Fry a wonton skin or egg roll wrapper until it puffs up and turns light golden brown, 10 to 15 seconds for wonton skins and about 15 seconds for egg roll wrappers. Remove from the hot oil and transfer to paper towels to drain.