Had privilege of visiting their masa factory in Boyle Heights and bought some masa they just made from Pink heirloom Michoacán purepecha corn they got from Mexico. It’s such a bargain at $2 a lb. these guys (Rick, the ,co founder are unreal—they live and breath masa and dedication can you can really taste in their organic masa/ tortillas. It’s Such in interesting delimna they have—they want organic tortillas for everyone but risk alienating the community as sell outs to white pple—so their prices are so low for the quality.
Anyhow—we made some tacos and tamales out of the masa. you’re first hit with the smell of real corn, the aroma is amazing, you taste it and theirs no hint of any acidic tasting preservatives and texture is just so soft.
They have such a small distribution network too—partly because they want to control quality—and due to short shelf life as a result of having no preservatives.
You can find them at cookbook market, Sara’s market, Mercado Los Angeles, and Sunday HOllywood farmers market. Highly recommend you guys seek them out.
i wish you could have! but man, they work in some harsh conditions. they only work throughout the night when it’s cool enough–factory has no AC, the equipment gives tons of heat in addition to the ones that cook the tortillas on the line. As glorious as it was to see IRL, can’t imagine working there for full day…then having to making deliveries in the morning…
unfortunately we had to keep the tour small, they have a tiny factory space…but we were fortunate to have Javier Cabral and his wife, Paolo (recipe developer/writer for food and wine recipe above) guide us…it was like Taco Chronicals in real life with such knowledgable hosts on mexican cuisine.
i just got the bag of organic masa ($2/ lb yellow or blue corn). To make tortillas, I didn’t really do anything to it other than ball it up and press on tortilla press. Some argue you can knead a bit of salt in the dough which you can do. Cooking tortillas can be tricky–we’re not experts by any means, but we had a griddle over two burners one on medium high, other medium. We placed the tortilla first on medium for 30 seconds, then flip to high side, and press down with the spatula. That helps it puff up from the steam.
for the tamale, we used 1 cup rendered lard for 1 kg masa above. whip with 1 tbs baking powder in stand mixer with paddle until it’s fluffy. Then add the masa and 1 cup of chicken stock and mix to combine. Season with salt…you can take a bit and microwave to cook to taste. Then make your tamale with your favorite filling.
Interesting. I’ve seen various recipes, often including a mix of salt, water, and then sometimes lard or oil. Looks like you went the basic route. Maybe that is the simplest and best way!
Fresh masa already contains the right proportions of water and salt. Tortillas made from it typically have no other ingredients. Were you maybe reading recipes for making tortillas from masa de harina?
I’d seen the Gusiado’s recipe online and was thrown by the addition of lettuce. It did not look like what we get at Guisado’s at all. Now that I’ve seen the video, I’ll give it a shot. Thank you again!
