The hypnotizing smell of fresh, warm corn tortillas fills the air inside Mi Cobachito, conjuring up thoughts of juicy birria tacos, rich, spicy enchiladas and gooey, cheesy quesadillas.
Watching the tortillas come straight out of the oven and ride up the conveyor belt is enough to make your mouth water, as you envision what you want to pair with them.
Standing at the end of the machine is Jorge Galvez, picking up each tortilla and making the perfect stack to be bagged up and placed on a table alongside mountains of other packaged tortillas.
Carniceria Wild West tortillas on a conveyor belt after coming out of the oven at Tortilleria Mi Cobachito.
Galvez has been running Mi Cobachito, at 5434 S. 12th Ave., for close to 15 years, using a family recipe to craft his tortillas. You may have seen packages of Mi Cobachito at carnicerias around town.
You’ll for sure be able to find them on the shelves at Wild West Carniceria. Yami Martinez, who owns the carniceria with her family, has been friends with Galvez for more than 20 years.
One lucky day, they approached Galvez to ask if he would make yellow corn tortillas for their shop, and they now purchase 300 bags a day from the Mi Cobachito factory.
Freshly made stacks of Carniceria Wild West tortillas.
The yellow corn tortillas have a stronger corn flavor than white corn tortillas, Martinez said, perfect for making homemade enchiladas.
To make them, Galvez starts with the special corn flour known as masa. At Mi Cobachito, you’ll see giant bags of Maseca brand masa stacked on top of each other in the corner of the room, ensuring they are stocked up and ready to rock.
There’s no special secret ingredient. You’ll just need three simple products: the masa, water and salt.
Since they are mass producing tortillas to go all over town, Mi Cobachito has a machine that mixes these ingredients together. Then, they will take a giant heap of dough and pop it into another giant machine.
That machine will take pieces of the dough, roll them up and flatten them, achieving the perfect circular shape and thinness. The tortillas are then sent through the oven to cook, emerging from the conveyor belt freshly baked. Galvez and the rest of the workers will then start stacking and packaging them, getting them ready to be shipped off to Wild West Carniceria, at 4825 N. First Ave.
Mi Cobachito’s tortillas are so good, Martinez’s grandmother, who lives in Mexico, asks her family to bring packages with them when they visit. And she’s not the only one who’s obsessed. Martinez said customers rave about these corn tortillas, saying they inflate nicely when they are put on the comal.
Franciso Valenzuela, left, and Adrian Canastillo, make tortillas for Carniceria Wild West inside the Tortilleria Mi Cobachito, 5434 S. 12th Ave.
If you’re looking to make your own fresh corn tortillas in the comfort of your kitchen, Martinez has a few tips.
When it comes to the masa, she suggests using the Maseca brand. It’s the most well-known, and its packaging has a corn tortilla recipe of the back you can follow.
She also stresses the importance of adding salt. Since corn tortillas only consist of three ingredients, they get most of their flavor from the salt added.
When you combine your ingredients, Martinez said the dough should feel like soft Play-Doh. If it starts to crack, that means you need to add a little more water.
Once the dough is mixed, you’ll want to let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes; that way, it’s easier to work with. After waiting a bit, start rolling the dough into balls, making them as big as golf balls. That should make a pretty good-sized tortilla, Martinez said.
Martinez recommends buying a tortilla presser, which makes it much easier to flatten the balls of dough, ensuring your tortilla isn’t too thick or too thin.
She cuts a plastic bag, like a Ziploc, in half to line the tortilla presser. That way, the dough doesn’t stick to the tool and cause a mess.
As soon as you press your dough, you’ll want to throw it straight on a comal, or flat griddle, that’s on medium heat. Martinez said getting the tortilla straight on the comal prevents the dough from drying out and cracking. You’ll want it to cook for no less than 30 seconds.
Martinez likes to make enchiladas with her corn tortillas. She also likes them plain, with some butter and salt, a nostalgic snack.
Whether you’re buying a pack of Mi Cobachito tortillas, or trying to recreate the magic at home, once you take a bite into the warm, flavorful tortilla, you’ll be glad you left the grocery-store branded ones on the shelf.
