Best Tortilla Chips?

Any good Mexican restaurant fries their own tortilla chips, but if I wanted to get the best chips available out of a package for home use, what brands are your favorites? Most of the well-known brands such as Tostitos don't really do it for me. I like a fairly thick chip. Can be white or yellow or blue, hint of lime, or just corn flavor. I like Bearito's brand, available in most health food stores, but even they are not as good as I'd like to have. Is there anything out there I should know about?

Trader Joe's has some pretty good blue corn tortilla chips. As to any bag chips tasting like restaurant chips------haven't found any yet that really do. The worst offenders are usually the ones who proclaim "restaurant style"!

Have you ever watched a PBS cooking show called "America's Test Kitchen?" It is by the editor of Cooks Illistrated magazine. They did a taste test of tortilla chips for a segment about nachos. They tried small "boutique" chips as well as national brands.Their winner was the roasted corn version of Doritos.

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/tastinglab/912.shtml

Since they are only available in the west, they also recomend Miguel's or Newman's Own.

Garden of Eatin' makes some good chips.

http://www.gardenofeatin.com/

The best chips I have found that can be purchased at the local supermarket is the Mission brand tortilla strips.

They come in a brown paper type bag, and are the closest thing I have found.

The radio guy DOn Imus's brother Fred has a food company that makes great tortilla chips and salsa too. Autobody Express is the name of the company and ive seen them in supermarkets. Its got a big bull on the bag. Theyre really great.

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I am not sure if this is national, but "Green Mountain Gringo" chips are wonderful. They are shaped in a rectangle for easier scoopage.

Garden of Eatin' does make some good chips. I also like Bearitos. Both are found in natural retailers and natural sections of supermarkets.

quote:

Originally posted by Bushie

Garden of Eatin' makes some good chips.

http://www.gardenofeatin.com/

You ain't gonna like it but I use the Lay's Tortilla Chips that are the "WOW" brand due to their low fat and calorie content and the taste is similar to the regular.

Sorry, but I had to compromise

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Cheepsters,
Where available, go with local brands [often in clear bags with paper labels] - especially if they also sell tortillas. Here in San Francisco, Casa Sanchez's thick chips are supreme for heavy-duty dipping. (The difference is at least as dramatic as between local potato chips & national brands.)

Low-cal tip: make your own! You don't have to fry them - you can bake them! (This is just one way to use stale tortillas - if you aren't saving them for enchiladas or chilaquiles....) Slice your tortillas into quarters (or whatever your favorite fraction or pattern is), then spread them out on platters to dry out -they should start to curl. (This step might not work in a humid environment - look at 1st variation below.) Now spread them onto baking/cookie sheets & pop them into a medium oven [300-350?]. I've never timed this operation - being a scent-based cook - but if they're dry to begin with, check after about 5-10 minutes [depending on thickness]. They'll never have the same crisp as a fried chip, but they can still be quite tasty.
SPEEDY variation: after slicing your tortillas, roast them dry in a pan/skillet until they just start changing color, then arrange in baking/cookie sheet & pop into oven for some baking.
CHEATY variation: for 'better' flavor & texture, use a cooking spray like PAM [probably not the butter or olive oil flavor - but to each their own...] to lightly mist the chips before they go into the oven - in addition to adding to the fried taste, this also allows any seasonings you might add to adhere better.
(Because I do mine in advance, I "brine" my chips with salty water [just a lite shpritz], allow much more time for drying, & then bake as normal.)
Buen provecho,
Richard
Berkeley/SF, CA

P.S. The oven is also great for bringing back stale chips to a crispy fresh state - like, say, that gargantuan half-bag left over from one of your summer picnics/BBQs/potlucks....

I like the blue corn and "Red Hot Blues" by Garden of Eatin', and while I was in Milwaukee I thought Manny's were pretty good.

By far the best tortilla chips that I have ever had are made by a tortilla company in Chicago called El Milagro. The chips are called totopos and they come in a big brown paper bag. They are a bit on the thick side, they are very crunchy and not the least bit greasy. They never last long in my house so I generally have to buy two bags at a time.

Last night I made some All Star Game munchies, quesadillas with left over beer can chicken. I used El Milago corn and flour tortillas along with very good habanero cheddar cheese made by Cabot. I also whipped up a batch of gucamole and pico de gallo and served them with the chips. As good as the quesadiallas were the chips and dips went first.

The way I like the tortilla chips is fresh and hot. One of the Mexican restaurants in knoxville serve them right out of the kettle, salty and hot. I am always dissapointed when I get them a little on the cold side.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

We end up getting Chi-Chi's, they're ok but not great. I have fried my own from corn tortillas to bring to parties, and my neighbors who've never had real tortilla chips were stunned at the taste difference.

I couldn't understand why someone couldn't simply fry corn tortillas and package them rather than make their own corn-like concoction. There is a brand in Chicago that simply packages fried tortilla chips but they have to be fresh, because they get that bitter greasy taste if they're old, (guess thats why they're not national).

I have had good results shallow frying both corn and flour tortillas when I make quesadillas and tostadas at home. Just need to keep a constant watch so they don't brown. If I were to attempt to fry my own corn tortilla chips, what exact method should I use? Is there a preferred oil? I use canola for the above dishes, mostly because it is rather flavorless and has a high smoke point. Lard seems as if it may be traditional, so might Crisco be a reasonable alternative? What are the advantages of deep frying over shallow frying other than not having to flip each chip with tongs? I use a cast iron skillet with about half an inch of oil for shallow frying tortillas, usually. I've got a deep fryer too, if anyone thinks that's the way to go for homemade tortilla chips. I'd be intereseted in hearing from everyone who has fried their own with success. Starting with your method, Cosmos

We have just a new product being marketed in all of our local stores - fresh uncooked flour tortillas that you cook at home. Absolutely wonderful! I have used them for quesadillas, fajitas and just as an accompaniment to chili. They stay fresh in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

I cannot for the life of me remember the name right now - It is a little mom and pop local company.

It says on the package :
"If your tortillas puff up while cooking, it means your mother-in-law loves you".

Another tortilla chip ratings source:

http://www.splendidtable.org/gourmetguide/tasting_tortilla.shtml

FYI.

When I lived in Austin, I worked in a bar for awhile. We used to get El Galindo chips from East Austin for the bar in 10 lb. bags; sometimes they were still hot! These are very good, a little on the thin side. Imagine my surprise on moving back to Boston to find that one of the local market chains has El Galindo shipped up from Texas. They're still very good, not quite as good as the fresh ones, though. If you can find this brand, give them a try.

Snyders makes totally rockin' tortillas. And from someplace in the heart of PA, isn't that funny?

Doritoes or fritoes

I second the Snyder's vote. They are not too salty with a good crunch and most inportantly - They are made with YELLOW corn. In fact they are currently the only brand made with yellow corn that I can get at my local supermarket. Yellow corn is a must as it has so much more flavor than white.

quote:

if I wanted to get the best chips available out of a package for home use, what brands are your favorites?

Try a Mexican grocery store. You can also get Chihuahua cheese *white, creamy usually in a block, must be mixed with milk or some voodoo like that, it doesnt melt by itself.. but thats another thread* Mexican grocery stores... all the way.

Two of my favorite brands but hard to come by:

Que Pasa Tortilla chips, made in Vancouver,BC.Can
La Cocina Tortilla chips, made in Ste Anne, Manitoba, Can.

And any homemade chips in a restaurant in Mexico.

Talk about tortllas! One of these places does 30,000 a day!

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060619/BUSINESS/606190584/1448

Cakes

If you like blue corn chips, give Cape Cod blue corn a try (or their veggie ones) they're excellent.

If your looking for tortilla chips made the old fashioned way, the authentic way and you are in Austin, Texas go to Fiesta Tortillas. .

Now some officionados or connosuers of tortilla chips say that you can only get the real thing by making them yourself. Well if you want to go to the trouble you still need the best tortilla available. You can find them here. You won't find them in the stores anywhere because their business caters to the restaurant clientele. But, they do have a store front and can be order for delivery. These tortilla products are made with out preservatives and their chips are made with non-transfat oil. Only true corn taste comes through. The restaurants that buy from them buy the chips already made or in cut tortilla ready to fry versions. Do your self a favor and get away from store bought highly processed chips!

Buy some corn tortillas...cut-em into wedges...fry-em in a cast iron pan w/about 1/2" corn oil until lightly browned...remove to drain on a paper towel...add salt.


Can't get any better than that.

My vote goes to Garden of Eatin's Blue Chips (unsalted if you can find them) for thickness, though in recent months I've been buying Trader Joe's Soy & Flaxseed tortilla chips. Cape Cod makes some excellent ones, too, but honestly I'd rather eat stale restaurant chips than the highly salted/processed store-bought kind!

On the Border restaurants sells their chips in groceries. These are by far much better than the major brand versions. Just like being in a Mexican restaurant.

For commercial store bought, I like the Tostitos Gold. They are thicker than the regular chip so they hold up to dipping pretty well. I also don't find them as salty as the regular chips.

joe

In the Memphis area, there is a brand called Brim's that I really like. There is also another local brand made by Pancho's Restaurant. However, I haven't seen their chips in our stores in a long time. They still sell their salsa, cheese dip and Tropicale sauce. I highly recommend the Tropicale sauce. Hard to describe and is probably a love it or hate it thing. Of course, I love it!

Have-A Chips, made in Laguna Beach, CA.