Carnivore Tortillas
3
servings5
minutes15
minutes167
kcal.5
grams.5
grams11
grams15
gramsThere’s no denying my favorite type of cuisine is Mexican. Since going keto, I’ve really longed for a legitimate tortilla that is super low carb and doesn’t have any of the sketchy ingredients found in store bought low carb tortillas. This one delivers in a big way. Plus it can be made into tortilla chips and hard shell tacos (link here once complete).
This recipe does require pretty precise timing and ingredients. I would encourage you to use weight measurements for the paneer and pork rinds. I STRONGLY recommend watching the video before you attempt this recipe. It is a little tricky the first time or two you do it, but after that, you’ll be knocking out tortillas like a pro.
Ingredients
70 grams paneer (2/3 cup lightly packed) *see note 1
35 grams pork rind crumbs (1/3 cup tightly packed) *see note 2
1 tsp beef gelatin
1/4 tsp taco seasoning (optional)
1/4 cup liquid egg white (60mL)
20 drops corn flavor concentrate (optional) *see note 3
1 TB very warm water (15mL)
Directions
- Preheat 2 cast iron skillets (or a cast iron griddle) to the medium end of low. You want them preheated between 325F and 350F (160C-175C), with the second skillet running slightly cooler.
- Weigh out 70g of paneer, break into pieces and place in a small food processor. Process for about 30 seconds or until the cheese crumbles a swirling smoothly and not bouncing around.
- Add the pork rind crumbs, beef gelatin and taco seasoning (optional). Process for 4 to 5 long pulses, or until you feel that all of the ingredients are fully combined.
- Pour the liquid egg white into the food processor. Optionally, you can add a corn flavor concentrate to the egg white (see note 3 below). Process until the batter climbs the side of the bowl and the processor blade is just cutting through air at the bottom of the bowl.
- Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl toward the middle. Add the water, then process until a ball or cylinder starts to form. It will not completely “clean” the bowl.
- Scrape the batter onto some plastic wrap and wrap it up. I like to form a cylinder with mine, making it easier to portion out equally later. Let the dough set for between 5 and 10 minutes to allow the gelatin to start to bind.
- THIS PART IS CRITICAL. The dough has a narrow time window where it works perfectly. If you form your tortillas too soon, they will be too moist and won’t hold together; if you form them too late, they will start to dry out and won’t hold together. Watch the video for details.
- THIS PART IS ALSO CRITICAL. Place a piece of parchment paper on a tortilla press and coat it liberally with oil (I use avocado oil). Rub down the top piece of parchment paper with oil as well. Portion a third of your dough and roll into a slightly flattened ball. Place it on the bottom parchment paper, lay the top piece of parchment paper on the dough and gently press with the tortilla press to create a 6″ tortilla (15-16cm).
Peel off the top piece of parchment. Go to your stove and flip the tortilla on to your palm, splaying your fingers to give it maximum support. Gently pull off the other piece of parchment and then flip the tortilla onto the first cast iron skillet. - Cook the tortilla 3-4 minutes on the first side. Then using a metal spatula (ideally) transfer it to the second skillet.
- Repeat steps 8 and 9, creating an assembly line: move the cooked tortilla from skillet #2 to a cooling rack or tortilla container, move the tortilla from skillet #1 to #2, and press a new tortilla for skillet #1. Make sure you re-oil the parchment each time.
- Once your third tortillas is complete, wrap, them in plastic so that the steam will make them nice and pliable.
- Serve immediately or store for up to a week in the fridge. Use a tortilla warmer to reheat (or a microwave in a towel).
Recipe Video
Notes
- Note 1: You may also process the paneer in bulk and then weigh out 70g or 2/3 cup, lightly packed. You may be able to use queso fresco as a substitute, but your dough will be more moist and will likely form air bubbles while cooking.
- Note 2: You can use plain or flavored pork rinds, ground to “breadcrumbs” in a food processor. Pay attention to the ingredients, though, as some “plain” pork rinds can have a number of added ingredients besides the pork skin and salt.
- Note 3: For flavor concentrates, you can use corn bread concentrate, corn tortilla concentrate or acetyl pyrazine (which smells just like corn chips).
So – the video didn’t answer my question, which is: can I use actual egg whites or do I need to use the liquid ones from the store? Is it a consistency thing, or a convenience thing?
Also, hubby and I are having a slight disagreement: do you start the tortilla in the hotter pan and then flip into the slightly cooler pan, or the other way ’round? Or does it not matter?
THANKS!!!
You can use actual egg whites; I just find that the stuff in a carton is easier to measure out. Use the yolks to make mayo or add them into scrambled eggs to make them richer.
The first pan should be slightly hotter (I shoot for around 350F). The second one, I aim for 325F. This is the way Rick Bayless does it, and I’m assuming it’s because the second tortilla is on the pan a little bit longer than the first, as you are pressing the next tortilla.
I used egg whites and then used the egg yolks to make Spam eggs benedict the next day! YUM!
All I have here in the Philippines is canned paneer. It is quite firm. Do you think it will work?
I would think it should work.
I’m curious…Did you try shredded mozzarella? If so, what were the results. Paneer is not easily accessible to me. If you tried it and it ended with bad results…well, I want to learn from hour mistakes. Lol. Thank you for sharing with us!
I think the moisture content would be too high. Also, I think that the way that mozzarella melts would keep the texture on these from being pliable.
WINNER AGAIN STEVE!!!! Had to make these last night shortly after you posted as I had all ingredients. Absolutely spot on with texture, flexibility and flavor. I used a bit of corn flavoring and chili lime seasoning. Easy to follow your directions. It was very filling too. Ate 1.5 beef tacos. Finished the other half an hour later. Finally I get really good tortillas. Will make these tomorrow for green enchiladas. I know they will turn out fantastic.
Hint: I use my used empty Almond Flour bag from Costco for the tortilla press. I have reused it multiple times and washed it before. Didn’t have to oil it over and over for this. Did it just once.
Paneer: In Arizona no paneer at my Costco. But you can find it at International grocery stores. More expensive than Steve’s cheese country (Wisconsin) Costco but these tortillas are totally worth it.
Thanks again for all your great recipes and videos. Please wish Courtney good luck with boot camp. We’ll miss her.
We are having a difficult time finding paneer cheese…We’ve looked EVERYWHERE! So…I wanted to ask…have you tried to make your own paneer? I saw a recipe from Food Network and was wondering if you’ve tried to make it and if you did…have you used it in your recipes with the same results. It would make for a good video if you haven’t made it!! We REALLY want to try all of the recipes with this cheese but have no idea where to find it. We have traveled an hour in every direction…Costco, Sam’s, Walmart, other grocery stores, Whole Foods, and several other places!
Thanks!!
If you can get your hands on some queso fresco, that it is a close substitution to paneer, though it is a bit more moist. As such, you’d probably need to lengthen the rest time of the dough a bit longer so that the gelatin can absorb the extra moisture.
Would you back off on the liquid ingredients using queso fresco?
I have made homemade paneer. Super easy and sounds like a great alternative if you can’t find paneer. Just do IT!
This was wonderful. Followed the recipe exactly and it worked well. I have a plan to try and make these just a bit thinner and maybe give these a try as an eggroll wrapper. They were a bit difficult to handle before getting them on the griddle but after that they were flexible and had a really nice flavor. I went the hard taco shell route and they had an excellent crisp texture. Another serious homerun for Serious Keto!
Pork rind crumbs=pork panko
=pig flour
STUFFED. I guess I probably wasn’t suppose to eat all three??
Mine did seem moist (could be quest fresco) so I’m wondering if I should have put the Tbsp of water at end. Had trouble getting them into pan in a circle but I managed good enough. One I tried frying in avocado oil (a thicker one). It stuck to pan but ended up still working out. I was able to scrap the thin bottom up and it was crispy like a chip. Used the rest as soft taco. Thank you for sharing because I have a obsession with chips and salsa, so says my husband.
Wish I could edit my comment.
Should be queso fresco and guess I should NOT have added water.
If you don’t use paneer you probably don’t need to add the TBS of water. I used mexican cheese and “forgot” to add water and it turned out great!
How does the taste of these compare to your previous paneer tortilla recipe?
I’m not sure how to answer that other than to say that I like these ones better. I feel they are closer to a “real” tortilla.
Hey SK Steve!
Made the carnivore tortillas today for the 1st time. I used homemade paneer I had in the freezer. I may have overheated it a bit in the quick thaw process. I doubled the recipe but only used 1/4 tsp chile powder as seasoning, and inadvertently forgot to double the water. I didn’t have corn tortilla flavor, and both cornbread flavorings I do have seem too sweet smelling for this purpose so I didn’t use them. I made 6 tortillas using your methods although I have the smaller tortilla press. I do have a large mondo griddle that covers the 2 middle burners of my propane stovetop so I pulled that puppy out for this purpose. I’m sure my dough rested for longer than recommended because I was sidetracked doing other stuff. I did follow your directions and the tortillas came out fabulous. Only 2 potential tips: When doubling the recipe, using only 1 Tbsp. of hot water worked well for me. The dough remained easy to work with even past the recommend processing time. Additionally, based on my prior experience making regular tortillas with a cast iron press, rather than centering the dough, place it off center a little closer to hinged side of the press. This works with the physics of the press where the hinged side exerts force earlier than the handle side. This eliminates the need to turn the dough and re-press to get a more well-rounded tortilla. Thanks for the recipe! Will be experimenting further with flavorings but the will say the texture is spot on! Keto on!
Ok, new tip here: to make these ultra-thin (crispier chips, especially if you’re dehydrating in an oven like I am)…press the tortillas super thin (even to the point where there are a few small holes in them!) and then flop the whole thing WITH the parchment onto the griddle. Leave the parchment sitting on top of the tortilla while it starts cooking. The tortilla will firm up as it cooks, and at some point you will be able to peel back the parchment before flipping the tortilla. Just keep testing. If the tortilla tears when you try to peel back the parchment, just gently press from behind the parchment to repair. The parchment can handle the heat, no problem. It may help to use your spatula on top of the parchment to hold the tortilla down while you peel back the parchment with your other hand. I think this method makes the dough consistency much less critical in any event. Thanks for another game-changing recipe. I am finding I am using more and more carnivore recipes not so much because of the ingredients but because they are more successful than the ones with flours!
DUDE! Just made these Carni-tacos tonight! I had to use Mexican cheese instead of paneer and it still came out great! The first tortilla I pressed in the tortilla maker and it spread out perfect. I removed the top layer of parchment paper, turned the tortilla over in my hand, and tried to remove the remaining parchment paper. That is when the tortilla broke apart. UGH! So, I balled up the batter and started over. Pressed the dough in the tortilla press, removed the top layer parchment paper and then took the remaining dough and parchment paper and put the dough side down on the preheated pan. After a minute or so the parchment paper came off with NO issues and after another minute or so I flipped to the other pan to finish the cooking. Not having to remove the second layer of parchment paper until AFTER it was in the pan was the trick! And since it was parchment paper I could reuse in the subsequent tortilla making.
Great video can not wait to ty the recipe!
Could halloumi be used instead of paneer? I use halloumi to sub in paneer. I don’t have access to paneer (I have made my own but it’s very crumbly and because I don’t have the proper kitchen tools it’s VERY time intensive). I can buy halloumi at a local grocery store though.
Halloumi is probably too high in moisture content. If you have a Mexican grocery store or a diverse enough grocery story, you could use queso fresco or queso anejo.
No dough ball is forming. It is too wet. Followed ingredients exactly. No optional ingredients used.
Steve, it’s me again. I really would like for these to be successful so any carbs used would be with the ingredients I put on it and not the tortilla itself. I have all the ingredients and follow everything exactly. All performs well as in your video, until the very last mixing step when I add the tablespoon of warm water to the food processor. It appears as if it’s going to form a ball upon starting the food processor then everything turns way too wet to form a ball. I thought I might have wrong amount of ingredients. So, I went through the process a second time careful to weigh everything (even egg whites), but got the same results. Hoping you have some insight on this so we can have tortillas that are .5 grams. Please help!!
This IS a finicky dough, and hitting the sweet spot on the right texture (not to wet, but not so dry as to make the dough fragile) is largely a matter of timing. That’s why I set the recipe size to 3 tortillas. I tried 6 and found that the last two would rarely hold together.
Without actually witnessing you make the tortillas, I’d guess you have one of two issues:
1) Perhaps your pork rinds have a higher fat/moisture content than mine, and/or
2) You’re not letting the dough rest long enough for the pork rinds to fully hydrate.
See if letting the dough set for an extra 3-5 minutes helps with the moisture.