Chalupas
Submitted by skip3066
Corn tortillas fried crispy flat, spread with refried beans, loaded with sharp cheddar, and broiled until bubbly. Topped with cool shredded lettuce and fresh tomato for the real-deal Tex-Mex chalupa experience.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
35 minREADY
45 minForget the drive-through. Real chalupas start with corn tortillas fried flat in sizzling oil until they shatter at the edges.
Spread a thick layer of refried beans on each crispy shell, pile on sharp cheddar and chopped onion, then run them under the broiler until the cheese is molten and bubbling.
Finish with a heap of shredded lettuce and fresh tomato. Hot, crunchy, melty, cool, all in one bite.
Kitchen Tips
- The oil must be ripping hot before you fry. Test with a tortilla scrap. If it doesn’t bubble immediately, wait. A soggy chalupa shell is a sad chalupa shell.
- Fry tortillas completely flat, not folded. That’s what makes a chalupa different from a taco.
- Watch the broiler like a hawk. The cheese goes from bubbly to burnt in seconds.
- Drain fried shells on paper towels over a cookie sheet in a warm oven to keep them crisp while you assemble.
Ingredients
Directions
In a small skillet, heat about ½ inch of vegetable oil.
Test the oil for proper temperature by putting in a small piece of tortilla.
When the oil reaches the temperature where it immediately begins to bubble frantically over the tortilla as soon as it is put in the oil and the tortilla piece becomes crisp quite quickly, you are ready to cook the chalupa shells.
This is important because there is nothing worse than a soggy chalupa shell which results from the oil not being hot enough.
Fry tortillas completely flat on both sides until very crisp.
Drain and keep warm on a newspaper-covered cookie sheet in a warm oven.
Spread about ¼ inch thick layer of refried beans on each fried tortilla.
Top with a generous amount of grated sharp Cheddar cheese and about 1 tablespoon chopped onion.
Place assembled chalupas on a cookie sheet and brown under broiler until cheese melts.
Watch them carefully under the broiler, they can burn quite quickly.
Top with shredded lettuce and tomato and serve.
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