How To Stop Soft Tacos From Falling Apart
Tacos aren't just for dinner on Tuesday nights anymore. These delicious handheld bits of wonder are so popular and versatile that they can be made with practically any filling including beans, tofu, chicken, beef, and pork. You can create incredible dishes from tacos al pastor to fish tacos. The toppings are equally as endless, as Love and Lemons points out, you can add different salsas, vegetables, sauces, as well as fruit to your tacos.
And don't forget about the wide variety of shell options — ranging from foldable corn shells to crunchy corn tortillas to soft shells made from whole wheat or white flour. There's truly something for everyone. But as amazing as tacos are, the biggest drawback can happen when one falls apart while you're eating it. While crunchy taco shells can crumble, they'll mostly stay intact, but when a soft shell taco falls apart because it's gotten soggy or is overloaded with filling, grab a knife and fork because they can be almost impossible to eat with your hands at that point.
Sealed, not just folded
Although the choice between soft or crunchy shell tacos may be the great debate around your dinner table, according to 2019 survey results from taco shell company Ortega, 53% of Americans prefer soft shells for their tacos (via PR Newswire). With that information in mind, odds are the next time taco night rolls around at your house, you could be making them with soft shells. Thanks to one hack, there's a method of preventing them from falling apart and it's a bit easier to accomplish than you might think.
According to Eat This, Not That!, you can help fortify the structural integrity of your soft shell tacos by pan frying and sealing them before eating. As the article details, once you've loaded your soft shell taco with your desired filling, fold it in half, add some cheese, and wait for it to melt and seal the shell together, similar to the way you'd make a quesadilla. This hack promises you won't sacrifice any of the taste or the ingredients inside and you'll be able to enjoy your taco without a huge mess. Sounds like a win-win.