Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Prep: Peel and dice potatoes into small cubes.
- Place diced potatoes in a stockpot with 4 cups water, ensuring potatoes are fully submerged. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Cook potatoes 12-15 minutes until fork-tender.
- Drain water completely. Return potatoes to pot and mash with a potato masher until smooth. Add a splash of water if needed for creamier texture.
- Stir in Spanglish Asadero All Purpose Seasoning until evenly mixed. Set aside.
- Heat tortillas in microwave for 30 seconds, flip, and heat another 30 seconds until pliable.
- Place one tortilla flat. Spoon 1 tablespoon mashed potato mixture onto one half. Fold tortilla over to form a taco. Secure with a toothpick through the center. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Heat 1 cup oil in a large skillet over medium-high until shimmering (about 350°F).
- Fry tacos in batches (2-3 at a time) for 2 minutes per side until golden and crispy. Do not overcrowd the pan.
- Transfer fried tacos to a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.
- Remove toothpicks before serving.
- Serve hot, topped with pickled red onions, chopped cilantro, and salsa verde.
Nutrition
Notes
- Get the oil to 350°F before the first taco goes in — drop a small piece of tortilla in the oil; it should sizzle on contact. Cold oil produces greasy, pale tacos. Hot oil produces the crust.
- Warm the tortillas before folding — 30 seconds in the microwave, flip, 30 more seconds. A cold tortilla cracks when you fold it, and a cracked tortilla falls apart in the oil.
- Mash until smooth — a lumpy filling creates pressure points that split the tortilla during frying. The toothpick holds the shape, but a smooth mash is better insurance. No peaks, no chunks.
- Season the mash while it's still hot — warm potato absorbs the Spanglish Asadero seasoning better than cold. Stir it in right after draining, before the filling cools down.
- Fry in batches of 2–3 — overcrowding drops the oil temperature and stalls the crust. Give each taco room, and the oil recovers fast between batches.
- Pull the toothpicks before serving — one per taco, through the center, in during frying and out before it hits the plate. They're structural, not decorative.
- Fresh toppings are the move. Pickled red onions, chopped cilantro, and salsa verde are all in the recipe, and each one earns its place — the acid from the onions cuts through the fried shell, the cilantro adds brightness, and the salsa verde ties it together.
- Add a squeeze of lime and a side of crema if you want to round out the plate. A lime crema — crema, lime juice, a pinch of salt — takes 30 seconds and pairs cleanly with the seasoned potato filling.
- Mexican rice and black beans turn this into a full plate without adding much work. Both can run while the tacos fry. Fresh pico de gallo works too — the raw tomato and onion hold up against the fried exterior without competing with the salsa verde.
- These are best straight from the pan, but they hold in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container. The shell softens overnight — that's expected.
- To reheat and recover some crunch: skillet over medium heat with no added oil for 2–3 minutes per side, or a 375°F oven for 8–10 minutes on a wire rack. The oven gives the most even result. Microwave works in a pinch but won't recover the shell texture.
- Keep the toppings — pickled red onions, cilantro, salsa verde — stored separately and add them fresh after reheating.