FLAUTAS / TAQUITOS Serves 6 to 8. By Dennis W. Viau; an original recipe. I did this recipe by request. I buy packaged flautas at Costco; so I know the product. I like them. And I knew they would be easy to make. After doing a lot of research, I came up with my own list of ingredients. The range I saw was from no seasoning at all to very spicy. Feel free to season these any way you like. Here is what I used: Ingredients: 1 large chicken breast 1 cup (240ml) chicken stock (or water with 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon) Generous pinch of shredded cheddar cheese ¼ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon chile powder ¼ teaspoon ground cumin ½ teaspoon paprika Salt and pepper 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 to 2 quarts (1 to 2 liters) of oil for frying 1 package tortillas (corn or wheat flour) Toothpicks Directions: Braise the chicken breast in the stock until thoroughly cooked and very tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool in the liquid until comfortable to handle. Shred the chicken meat, discarding the liquid. Place the shredded meat in a large bowl and add the cheese, the seasonings, and the tomato paste. Mix well. In a large skillet, heat the oil to about 350 F (175 C). While the oil is heating, warm the tortillas 30 to 45 seconds in a microwave oven until soft. Place a few tablespoons of the filling close to one edge of the tortilla. Tightly roll up the filling in the tortilla and then secure the final edge in place with a toothpick. Fry the flautas, a few at a time, in the hot oil until lightly browned, about a minute on each side. Transfer to a platter lined with paper towels to drain. Remove the toothpicks. Serve warm with a simple salad and garnish as desired. (I like sour cream and guacamole.) 1 The Step By Step guide begins on the following page. 20161231
1 STEP-BY-STEP 2 To fulfill a second request, I used my pressure cooker to cook the meat. This is pan-in-pan cooking. Rather than putting the stock and meat in the cooker, I put a rack and some water in the cooker. The meat and stock are put in a stainless steel bowl, which is then placed in the cooker before securing the lid in place. I use this procedure a lot when cooking brown rice. It works well when the amount of food is small. (In the bowl above I also have some pork shoulder because for the video I made two different kinds of flautas.) 2 After cooking the meat and allowing it to cool, shred it. If cooked tender, it will shred easily.
3 3 You can season the filling any which way you like, from mild to wicked spicy. In my research, I saw a full range of possible seasonings. Feel free to make this filling any way you want. 4 For the video I used both corn tortillas and wheat flour tortillas. I think the flour tortillas are easier to work with, but use either. The smaller size is typically used for appetizer or side dish flautas. The larger size if for meal sized flautas.
5 4 To roll a flauta, place a couple tablespoons of filling close to one edge of a tortilla. Then lift that edge, tuck it up against the filling, and tightly roll up the flauta. Secure the final end in place with a toothpick. 6 One large chicken breast was enough to make filling for seven flautas. These are ready to fry.
7 5 Fry in hot oil (350 F / 175 C) until lightly browned and crisp. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. 8 Conclusion I prefer my flautas with some simple salad flavored with pepper and lime juice. I also like a scoop of sour cream and guacamole on the side.