# A very old taco shell recipe (I need help) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [January 18, 2024, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297 "2024-01-18T23:08:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2024, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/1 "2024-01-18T23:08:05Z")
Okay, here’s the story: I used to make my own taco shells from a recipe that I found in (possibly) a Betty Crocker cookbook. This would have been probably in the 70s. Now these weren’t traditional tortillas, but more like crepes. The only think I can say for sure is that they had flour, water and cornmeal. The mixture created a batter, rather than a dough. As with a crepe, the batter was poured by the 1/3 cupful into a very hot non-stick frying pan, cooked on one side, flipped and cooked on the other side. Once a quantity of these were made, a quarter inch or so of oil was heated in a pan and the the crepes were fried crisp (and folded). They were light and crunchy and worked marvelously well. I tried to recreate them today, but the result was less than desirable, probably because of either the omission of some ingredient or perhaps just the wrong ratio of flour to cornmeal to water. If anybody knows this recipe, I’d sure appreciate some help. I’ve searched online and had no luck. ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecccb3/32.png) [@Old\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Wench)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2024, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/2 "2024-01-18T23:17:46Z")
There’s one in my 1981 (5th printing) BC cookbook. Ingredients are 1-1/2 cups cold water 1 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup cornmeal 1/4 tsp salt 1 egg If this sounds right, I’ll try to post a photo of the whole recipe. Edited to correct amount of salt. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2024, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/3 "2024-01-18T23:33:41Z")
Any resting time between cooking and frying? You might need to let them dry a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecccb3/32.png) [@Old\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Wench)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/4 "2024-01-19T00:43:30Z")
@chefguy In case you want to try it, here’s the Betty Crocker recipe [[Album] Taco shells ![](https://i.imgur.com/Jdfk8WL.jpeg?fb "Taco shells") ](https://imgur.com/a/YgmrsUC) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/5 "2024-01-19T01:17:00Z")
You nailed it in one! Unreal. I don’t remember egg being an ingredient, but it makes sense. I was also light on the cornmeal quantity. I’m now a member of your fan club. ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecccb3/32.png) [@Old\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Wench)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/6 "2024-01-19T02:36:28Z")
Wow! I only have one BC cookbook & didn’t even know it had a taco recipe in it, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to look. If you want to buy a copy on-line, it’s this one: [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/lRJQlTY.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/2Ip6ydw) The color in the photo is off - it’s really a bright red binder. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/7 "2024-01-19T02:37:53Z")
What an odd thing. Must be something devised for people who can’t/couldn’t readily get tortillas. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/8 "2024-01-19T04:39:41Z")
I am so intrigued by this. I need to try them soon. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/9 "2024-01-19T04:39:57Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Must be something devised for people who can’t/couldn’t readily get tortillas. Which, in the '70s, would have been most of America outside of Texas, New Mexico, and southern California. (Was Taco Bell even nationwide at that point?) Even as recently as 2004 when I had recently moved to WA from San Diego, I recall asking the meat clerk at Albertson’s for carne asada and he had no idea what I was talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/10 "2024-01-19T07:21:01Z")
I have an old recipe book that tells how to make Nachos. It’s spelled **Natchos** I’ve laughed about that for years. Of course it’s Fritos and melted Velveeta cheese with chili powder added. ---
**Author:** ![Stana\_Claus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stana_claus/32/13874_2.png) [@Stana\_Claus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stana_Claus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/11 "2024-01-19T14:18:47Z")
Probably sold by the original Mexican Soul Food restaurant - Nacho Mama’s. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/12 "2024-01-19T14:22:22Z")
> [@Old\_Wench](#): > > The color in the photo is off - it’s really a bright red binder. We have a newer edition, and the wife had a very old edition that we can’t find after our move. It was literally falling apart, the covers were off, etc. > [@pulykamell](#): > > I am so intrigued by this. I need to try them soon. Yeah, it doesn’t sound like it would work, and of course it’s not at all true to any tortilla recipe I’ve ever seen. But if what kids will gobble down is any indication, they’re a good substitute. Also, I always hated those cardboard-like Ortega taco shells and wanted something lighter. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/13 "2024-01-19T16:05:29Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I have an old recipe book that tells how to make Nachos. > It’s spelled **Natchos** Otherwise people would have said it Naa-chos, or Nay-chos, instead of Nah-Chos. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2024, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/14 "2024-01-19T21:56:15Z")
The "natchos: spelling to me makes me wanna say it with an /ae/ sound as in “cat” instead of an “ah.” Perhaps because it looks a bit like “matches”? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/15 "2024-01-20T18:12:55Z")
Much like how “Natchez” is pronounced, I figure. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/16 "2024-01-20T20:11:44Z")
Reminds me of an old radio announcer in Anchorage when I was a teen. He always said “Loze Angle-eez” for Los Angeles. I think he was trying for a Spanish pronunciation, but it just sounded like hicksville. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/17 "2024-01-20T20:37:51Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Which, in the '70s, would have been most of America outside of Texas, New Mexico, and southern California. (Was Taco Bell even nationwide at that point?) We moved from Los Angeles to Long Island, NY in 1971. We were horrified to find that not only was there no Mexican food on the island, but none of the ingredients in the grocery stores to make it ourselves. In 1978, the first Taco Bell opened near us. We were absolutely ecstatic. For most people on Long Island, it was the first Mexican food they ever had. Today, Mexican restaurants are everywhere, although I cannot attest to their quality, since I’m back in California, where some of the best Mexican food can be found outside Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/18 "2024-01-20T21:45:52Z")
The bad old days when nobody had a clue as to what masa harina was. I went on a work trip to Phoenix from SoCal back in the 70s and was bowled over by the Mexican food. It put me on a quest to find good ingredients and the proper (more or less) way to prepare them. Now you may wonder why I couldn’t find good Mexican in SoCal, but it was because I was on a military base near Oxnard and didn’t venture off much. ---
**Author:** ![SpicySquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@SpicySquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpicySquirrel)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2024, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-very-old-taco-shell-recipe-i-need-help/996297/19 "2024-10-06T05:27:07Z")
I used to make this all the time. After I made the pancake/crepe instead of frying them in a pan, I deep fried them in vegetable oil using a kitchen utensil made for frying taco shells. It kept the shells folded while they cooked. Hope this helps.