These Super-Easy Gorditas Are Infinitely Customizable
Gorditas are super-easy to make with masa harina or instant corn flour. Fill them with avocado, cheese, beans, or carnitas.
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00:00 Hey y'all, it's Brooke.
00:01 I'm in Delish Kitchen Studios getting ready to make what's arguably the best form of food
00:05 stuffed into a pocket, the gordita.
00:08 If you thought this was something you could only get from your takeout place, think again.
00:12 This is super easy to make at home and it's also really customizable for whatever meaty,
00:16 potatoey, cheesy feelings your heart desires.
00:19 I've got a couple tips and tricks to show you how to get it just right.
00:22 The amazing thing about gorditas is that you only need a few ingredients to pull them off
00:27 at home and that's thanks to the invention of masa harina.
00:32 Masa harina is a corn flour that's the base of a lot of Mexican dishes.
00:36 It's used to make tortillas, it's used to make a lot of the doughy parts of Mexican cuisine.
00:41 The other great part about gorditas is that you can do whatever you want with the fillings.
00:44 You can fill them with chicken, you can fill them with cheese, you can fill them with beans.
00:47 Today we're going with the classic combo of chorizo and potato because I really like chorizo.
00:53 We're gonna get started on the filling for these gorditas.
00:56 The reason we're doing the filling first is because once the dough is all fried and hot,
01:01 we want that filling ready to fill the gordita.
01:03 To get started on this filling, I'm gonna peel and cut up a potato, half a yellow onion,
01:10 and I'm gonna remove the casing from this chorizo that I have here so that it crumbles
01:14 easily once I get it into the pan.
01:16 First we gotta cook these potatoes.
01:17 I'm gonna put them into some boiling water that I salted pretty heavily.
01:21 I'm gonna cook those for about five to seven minutes just until they're fork tender.
01:26 As soon as those are done cooking, I'm gonna drain the water and save the potatoes to crisp
01:30 them up in the skillet.
01:33 While the potatoes are cooking, I'm gonna start cooking my chorizo in the skillet.
01:37 That's gonna cook for about six to eight minutes, just enough to get it nice and brown.
01:41 I'm also adding onions to this mixture.
01:43 It is optional, but come on, who's ever mad at a little bit of extra flavor from an onion?
01:48 Not me, so I'm gonna add it.
01:49 Our chorizo is getting nice and brown and crisp on the outside, and the onion that I
01:54 added is getting soft and a little bit translucent, so that means it's time to add the potatoes.
02:00 These we boiled and they're nice and fork tender, so that means when I put them in this
02:04 pan, they're gonna get nice and crispy on the edges and give us that nice contrast of
02:09 textures that we're looking for in this filling.
02:12 Once you get the potatoes in, try not to stir too, too much.
02:15 You wanna make sure they don't burn or stick to the pan, but you also wanna make sure you
02:19 don't break them up 'cause they're in pretty small pieces, so they're pretty tender, so
02:23 just be gentle with this step.
02:25 Our filling's all done and ready to go.
02:27 I'm gonna get to work on the gordita dough, and it's just a couple of ingredients.
02:32 The masa harina, some water, and a little bit of salt.
02:34 We're gonna whisk the masa harina and the salt together in the bowl.
02:38 Then we're going to add at least a cup and a quarter of water.
02:43 The water is lukewarm.
02:44 We wanna knead by hand until we can get the dough to the consistency of like Play-Doh.
02:49 How much water you put in your masa dough will sometimes depend on the brand that you
02:53 have.
02:54 I'm using Bob's Red Mill, but I also like to use Maseka for this, so it'll vary slightly
02:59 just depending on the brand you use.
03:01 This is that Play-Doh-y kind of malleable texture that I was talking about.
03:07 Should be able to leave an imprint with your finger and have it stay there.
03:11 Once you get the dough to this place, you're going to incorporate a tablespoon of oil into
03:16 the dough and just start working that in with your fingers.
03:21 You can also use lard instead of vegetable oil if you have it on hand.
03:24 Just make sure you melt it a little bit first so it's not just one solid chunk of lard,
03:29 because then it'll be hard to distribute evenly throughout the dough.
03:33 Once you get the oil incorporated into the dough, form it into a ball, leave it in the
03:38 bowl and cover it with a damp paper towel or a damp kitchen towel, and just let that
03:43 hang out for a little bit.
03:45 I'm going to portion this dough into eight gorditas on my little cutting board with a
03:50 bench scraper just so I can get nice sharp lines.
03:53 I greased up a small plate just so the dough doesn't stick to it, and I also greased up
03:58 the pie plate, and it's going to work exactly like a tortilla press.
04:02 Also if you don't have a tortilla press at home, this is a perfectly acceptable alternative
04:05 to get your gorditas nice and thin.
04:08 This is the thickness that you're looking for from the gorditas after you press them.
04:12 It's about a quarter of an inch.
04:15 I've got my gordita dough all portioned and pressed.
04:18 I've got a little bit of oil in the skillet, just enough to cover the bottom.
04:21 You can also use lard here as well.
04:22 The heat's on medium high, and I'm going to fry these for about two to three minutes per
04:27 side and then transfer them back to this paper towel just to get off any excess oil.
04:32 You should be able to fit about probably three to four in a pan at a time.
04:35 Just don't overcrowd them.
04:36 They cook so quickly.
04:38 This part will give the gordita dough a nice golden brown exterior.
04:48 Again, I am absolutely obsessed with any food stuffed into a pocket, and this gordita's
05:01 no different.
05:02 I'm going to go ahead and give it a bite.
05:08 That gordita dough got so incredibly crispy when we fried it in the oil, and the corn
05:12 smell is so strong and super duper fragrant.
05:16 You would think the chorizo would be a little bit too spicy, but the corn gordita dough
05:19 is just mild enough to where it balances everything out.
05:24 Everything's like a match made in heaven.
05:25 The dough on the outside is nice and crisp from that fry we gave it in the pan.
05:29 The potatoes are really fork tender and soft, but they have a little bit of crust on the
05:34 outside from when we cooked them with the chorizo and the onions, and that chorizo
05:38 has got the perfect level of meatiness and richness and heartiness to make this really
05:43 feel like more than a snack.
05:46 You can make this for breakfast.
05:47 You can make it for an after school snack.
05:49 You can make it honestly any time of the day or night you want, and you'll never be disappointed.
05:53 For more easy recipes just like this one, keep it right here at Delish.com.
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