Flautas

Rolled the full length of the tortilla and fried floating, so they stay straight instead of bowing.

Beef. Not vegetarian — contains beef, cheese whose rennet the source does not name.

Ingredients

• 12 corn tortillas, as on their own page, large
• 500 g beef brisket, braised and shredded
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 chipotles in adobo, chopped
• oil, for deep frying, about 6 cm depth
• shredded lettuce
• 2 avocados, sliced
• 150 g crumbly white cheese
• soured cream, to drizzle
• salsa, as on its own page, to serve

Method

1. THEY ARE ROLLED THE FULL LENGTH OF THE TORTILLA AND FRIED FLOATING, so they stay straight instead of bowing. Both halves matter. A large tortilla is rolled from one SIDE across its whole diameter, giving a long thin tube twenty-odd centimetres long -- the shape the name refers to -- rather than the short fat roll of a taquito. And a tube that long will not sit flat in shallow fat: the middle rests on the base of the pan, cooks faster there, contracts, and the whole thing bows into a curve. In six centimetres of oil it floats clear of the base, cooks evenly all round, and comes out straight.
2. THE OIL IS DEEPER THAN FOR MOST FRYING AND THAT IS THE REASON. Six centimetres, in a deep pan. It is more oil than feels reasonable for twelve flautas and it is what the shape requires; the alternative is shallow-frying and turning constantly, which bows them anyway.
3. THEY ARE ROLLED AROUND A THIN LINE OF FILLING. Two tablespoons spread in a narrow strip along the full width of the tortilla, not heaped in the middle. A thick lump of filling makes a bulge that the tortilla cannot roll tightly around, and a loose roll takes up oil.
4. THEY ARE HELD WITH TONGS FOR THE FIRST TEN SECONDS AND NOT STICKED. The length means a cocktail stick does not hold the whole seam. Instead each one is lowered in and gripped lightly with tongs across the seam for the first ten seconds until it sets, and then let go. Released too early, it unrolls in the oil.
5. THE FILLING IS BRAISED BEEF AND IT IS DRAINED HARD. Shredded brisket squeezed against the side of its pan so it carries flavour and not liquid. In a sealed tube floating in hot oil, any moisture flashes to steam and the flauta splits lengthways -- which at this length ruins the whole thing rather than leaking a little.
6. The brisket braised until it shreds, pulled apart and mixed with the onion and chipotle. DRAINED hard against the side of the pan.
7. The tortillas warmed 20 SECONDS a side on a dry griddle and kept in a cloth.
8. One large tortilla laid flat and 2 tablespoons of filling spread in a THIN LINE across its full width, near one side.
9. ROLLED from that side across the WHOLE diameter into a long thin tube about 20 cm long.
10. All twelve rolled and laid seam down before frying.
11. The oil heated in a DEEP pan to 6 cm, over a medium-high heat, until a scrap of tortilla bubbles hard.
12. One flauta lowered in and GRIPPED LIGHTLY WITH TONGS across the seam for the first 10 SECONDS, then released.
13. Three or four at a time, FLOATING clear of the base.
14. Fried 2 to 3 MINUTES, turned once, until golden and crisp all over.
15. TESTED: they should come out STRAIGHT. A bowed flauta means the oil was too shallow.
16. Drained on a rack and served on lettuce with avocado, cheese, cream and salsa.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Mexico · All recipes