5 Reasons Why Your Burrito Probably Tastes Better at a Restaurant
If you’ve ever tried to make a burrito at home and wound up with a pile of fillings spilling out of a torn tortilla, you’re not alone. If you’ve ever watched the impressive skills of professional burrito rollers at your local chain and tried to figure out exactly what they’re doing differently, you’re also not alone. Which brings us to this new video on YouTube, where Internet Shaquille breaks down exactly why your burrito probably tastes better at a restaurant, plus tips for achieving burrito greatness at home. Watch and learn, friends!
1. Use the right tortillas.
Most of the grocery store tortillas won’t work for making restaurant-style burritos. While you can find many a flour tortilla in store, for a proper burrito, you need one that is both large and thin, with plenty of fat — way bigger than you think you need, and way thinner than the brands commonly sold at grocery stores.
2. Warm the tortilla before rolling.
That all-important fat that was mentioned above? Well, when it’s cold, it is hard. Gently warming the tortilla melts that fat and transforms the tortilla into something pliable and rollable. No extra fat or oil needed in the pan — just a little bit of heat, but not too much, because then you end up with a crisp tortilla, which won’t fold either.
One tip offered in the video is after you’ve gently heated one side and flipped it, you can sprinkle shredded cheese all over the tortilla, and when that melts, you’re ready to fill.
3. Wrap tightly.
While the wrapping technique shown in the video has been questioned by other informed posters in the comments of this Reddit thread (a dispute about whether or not you fold the sides in and then roll, or if you roll partially, then fold in the sides), there’s one thing that everyone agrees with: You must wrap the tortilla very tightly. A loosely rolled burrito is a burrito that will fall apart. So tuck as you roll, and make sure your fillings are nicely condensed.
4. Seal it shut.
Once the burrito is properly rolled, you want it to stay that way. So, bring it back to the stove and put the seam down in a medium hot pan to help melt it together. While you’re there, give it a little crisp on each side, because who doesn’t love a little extra crisping?
5. Wrap it well.
The final tip is that even if you’re about to eat it right away, you still want to wrap it up in that cheap, flimsy foil like they do at restaurants. The foil serves a double purpose: It finishes everything off with a little bit of steam from the residual heat of the burrito, which brings it all together, and it gives a little outside structure to the burrito, making sure that even if you do get a tiny tear in your perfectly rolled version, there won’t be any issue with it holding together until you’re finished eating.