buttermilk bacon fat flour tortillas.

Tyler and I as of late seem to be playing a perpetual game of “What do we have in the fridge that we can cram into a tortilla for dinner tonight?”.  This is a rather fun game because

A – Everything tastes good in a tortilla. (True story.)

B - You get to come up with ridiculously fun combinations of things using all the leftovers in your fridge.  (A ¼ cup of beans, 1 ear of corn, some roasted poblanos, shredded monterey jack, and cherry tomatoes.  That sounds like an ideal taco filling.  I am also partial to the kale, corn, bean, and lime combination I created this past weekend.) 

This game is as fun as it is because I have developed a slight obsession with homemade flour tortillas.  It started a few months ago with these and now that I have discovered yet another recipe, I have found myself looking for just about any excuse to eat tacos (and who even needs an excuse?).  

This particular tortilla recipe is so perfect that I can't imagine I will ever need another one.  These tortillas cook up tender, almost buttery with the right mix of tang and smokiness.  The addition of bacon grease is pure genius (because how many people keep their grease never knowing what to do with it?  That would be me!).  I love them with scrambled eggs and hot sauce but let's be honest, I haven't met a filling they didn't work with.  

Buttermilk Bacon Fat Flour Tortillas
Recipe from The Homesick Texan's Family Table via Serious Eats 

This is a particularly awesome recipe for the summer because if you are anything like me, you've been eating BLT's or BLAT's at least once a week (if you haven't been, I think there is something wrong with you).  Now you can save all of that wonderful bacon flavoring and turn it into tortillas!  One meal turns into another.  

Makes 8 -10 Tortillas depending on how wide you make them.  

2 tablespoons bacon grease (see note)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

Combine the bacon grease and butter in a pot and cook over medium-low heat until bacon grease and butter have melted. Remove from heat.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Pour in the melted fat mixture and stir until the flour is crumbly. Pour in the buttermilk and stir until a soft dough forms.

Place the dough on a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes until the dough is firm and smooth.

Cover the dough and let it rest for an hour. Divide the dough into 8 or 10 pieces and roll each piece into a ball.

One at a time, place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a 4-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center out until the tortilla is thin and about 6 - 8 inches in diameter.

Keep the rolled-out tortillas covered, side by side, until you are ready to cook. (I usually have one cooking as I roll out another.)

In a dry cast iron skillet heated over medium heat, cook each tortilla for 30 seconds on one side, flip it, and then cook for 1 minute on the other side. It should start to puff up a bit. Flip it again and cook for 30 more seconds.

Cover the cooked tortilla with a cloth until you are ready to serve.

Repeat with the remaining balls of dough.

Note: Bacon grease is what's left over in the skillet after cooking bacon. To save my bacon grease, I pour it into a glass jar and store it in the refrigerator.