The hardest kitchen tool on the planet to find.

[Trekker4747]

I made tacos the other day, tired of the pre-made shells in a box that taste like stale, dry, tortillia chips I decided to make my own taco shells. But how would I do it? How would I get the tacos into the classic taco shape?

I needed a taco bender! I knew they exsisted as my parents had one when I grew up it was a special pair of tongs you put the shell in and it would hold the shell in the classic taco-shape as you held it in the hot oil. So I go to Bed, Bath & Beyond. Surely the nirvana of kitchen-supplies would have such a device? Nope.

Defeated, I made my taco shells the hard way in a skillet of hot oil. But I was not detered. A couple of days later I'm defeated. I've been to three different BB&B's. a couple of restaurant-supply shops (could only find large ones that made six at a time that wouldn't fit in my fryer) a couple of other kitchen-utinsel stores and even some Hispanic grocery stores downtown. No. Such. Luck.

Even more defeated than before I went to the internet to find my Excalibur.

I should have it in 3-5 business days.

 

[Ward Fowler]

I salute you for cooking the semi-old-fashioned way.

 

[doubleohfive]

The hardest kitchen tool on the planet to find.

My ex's new boyfriend?
On topic: I bet there's one down the street at Smart & Final.

 

[Trekker4747]

The hardest kitchen tool on the planet to find.

My ex's new boyfriend?
On topic: I bet there's one down the street at Smart & Final.

Smart and Final?

 

[doubleohfive]

It's a chain of grocery stores ... aimed more at larger business like restaurants etc. Production offices out here shop there a lot. Think of it as half-way between your local Vons/Safeway/Ralphs/Pavilions/Albertsons and Costco.

EDIT: In looking at their site, they only have locations in California, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Mexico. My bad.

 

[ed629]

I have a decent sized deep fryer.... I put skewers through the holes on the basket, 2 an inch apart, 6 skewers total. So I can make 3 tacos at a time.

 

[Kestra]

Hard shell tacos are overrated.

 

[Starbreaker]

Just go buy them in the Taco Bell box at Walmart like the rest of us lazies.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Hard shell tacos are overrated.

While that's a bit harsh, I do agree that soft shells are vastly superior

 

[Trekker4747]

Just go buy them in the Taco Bell box at Walmart like the rest of us lazies.

As I said in the OP, I'm tired of the pre-made taco shells that taste like, and have the texture of, old tortilla chips. Freshly-fried taco shells have a certain quality and texture to them (not to mention greasiness) that just makes them devine. I'll never go back to the box ones. Frying these in hot oil takes only seconds and it's well worth any "trouble" or "mess" to make them. (Of which there's little of either.) Not to mention I can "par-cook" them making them a bit more floppy and chewy, more like a gordita or chalupa shell than a chip-shell.

I highly reccomend frying your own shells whenever possible, and it can be done without the tool. Just heat some oil in a non-stick skillet (the oil shouldn't be much deeper than the thickness of the shell itself) on medium-high heat (it's the third setting on my stove) flipping the shell constantly for about 30 seconds. Done. Now, it won't quite hold it's form (it will sorta when it cools but the texture will still be more "soft" than "hard", to get it hard you kind-of have to fold the shell with the tongs holding half of each side in the oil for another few seconds on each side. It's a little more work and "mess" than the tool and deep-fry method but, again, well worth it.

 

[chardman]

Are there no Mexican groceries in Kansas?

 

[Trekker4747]

Are there no Mexican groceries in Kansas?

I went to some, no taco-bender tools.

 

[Kirby]

You can achieve the same result with a big spoon and a pair of tongs. I used to do it all the time before I stopped deep frying stuff.

 

[marillion]

Ok.. Here in Albuquerque, they aren't hard to find, but back in my college days on the east side of the side (might as well be Texas), there were none.

So I took a piece of cardboard box, bent it in half and covered it with tin foil. Just remember to pat them with a paper towel for the excess oil.

Worked like a charm every time!

 

[Mr. B]

I learned something today. I didn't know this existed before.

 

[gturner]

I guess you could take a pair of tin-snips and a piece of copper or stainless and make your own improvised taco device.

I wonder if you could make them with ridges like a Ruffles potato chip?

 

[Vanyel]

Just go buy them in the Taco Bell box at Walmart like the rest of us lazies.

I highly reccomend frying your own shells whenever possible, and it can be done without the tool. Just heat some oil in a non-stick skillet (the oil shouldn't be much deeper than the thickness of the shell itself) on medium-high heat (it's the third setting on my stove) flipping the shell constantly for about 30 seconds. Done. Now, it won't quite hold it's form (it will sorta when it cools but the texture will still be more "soft" than "hard", to get it hard you kind-of have to fold the shell with the tongs holding half of each side in the oil for another few seconds on each side. It's a little more work and "mess" than the tool and deep-fry method but, again, well worth it.

That's how mom makes them. They come out crispy every time. And the don't really make too much of a mess. Just cover the unused parts of the stove with foil or, if your stove is electric like ours is, paper towels, and it really eliminates any mess beyond the spot your using. We Mexicans really know our tacos and that you don't put shrimp in them.

We really need a barfing smilie.

 

[Trekker4747]

I like making myself some nice shredded beef tacos Good stuff.

 

[Marten]

I had no idea that tool existed. I'm somewhat tempted to buy one, but I'd never use it. Hard to find here, as well.

 

[nevermore]

So I go to Bed, Bath & Beyond. Surely the nirvana of kitchen-supplies would have such a device?

Whoa there, buddy. I'm pretty sure Williams-Sonoma is the nirvana of kitchen supplies.