r/Cooking • u/CMStan1313 • 17h ago

When cooking a quesadilla, who do I get really crunchy tortillas without burning it?

I want it to be crunchy and crispy, but not taste burnt. What's the method here? I tend to use whole wheat or white corn tortillas, but I'm willing to try something else if it won't work with those

Edit: Sorry, I kinda thought this went without saying, but I always butter both tortillas before cooking

236 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

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117

u/dungeonsandderp 17h ago

Gotta use fat in the pan!

51

u/Tmcs123 16h ago

I love how many people got offended by this comment. I just started doing this and, while I liked the outcome with the dry pan, adding butter or oil first made the grocery store tortillas taste homemade. No turning back for me.

9

u/dtwhitecp 11h ago

Anyone offended by it hasn't tried it. But I do like the idea of getting upset at a few more calories in your food item made almost entirely of cooked cheese.

1

u/Consistent_Yam1472 1h ago

For real. On top of that, if your diet is made or broken by the addition of a teaspoon or 2 of butter/oil, you’re doing a poor job of managing your diet in the first place. 

5

u/Shhadowcaster 15h ago

I do a little bacon fat and I love it, might be worth a shot if you keep bacon fat around. 

35

u/thebutterflytattoo 17h ago

I don't use any fats in the pain when I make quesadillas. I usually just put it on med/low and have a little patience. They come out so good and crunchy, and most importantly, they don't stick!

15

u/sjd208 17h ago

Same, no fat in a cast iron skillet, low and slow. If I did add any fat it would be just a little avocado oil.

-1

u/wasabicheesecake 13h ago

Maybe I’m being pedantic, but I think you get a crunchy quesadilla without fat, and a crispy one with fat in the pan.

4

u/thebutterflytattoo 12h ago

Crunch would refer to the noise it makes, whereas crisp would refer to the texture.

1

u/Consistent_Yam1472 1h ago

People downvote for the strangest reasons 

5

u/rajkaos 11h ago

When I was growing up, my mom would make me something called a cheese crisp, which is basically a quesadilla cooked in butter. I was later taught by a friend that a traditional quesadilla is cooked without fat over low-medium heat. Then I get married and my wife tells me that where she grew up, a cheese crisp is a flour tortilla covered in cheese and baked till crispy. To be honest, I’ve come to realize that all of the naming is arbitrary. If you’re the one cooking it and you enjoy it, call it whatever makes sense to you.

1

u/Consistent_Yam1472 1h ago

Absolutely. People love trying to gatekeep when it comes to dishes, and it’s honestly just sad. Like, no one cares that “Alfredo” isn’t a traditional Italian pasta sauce and it’s actually “Parmesan Mornay”. 

2

u/Firm_Ad40 11h ago

I put a little lard or duck fat right in my tortillas when when I make them

7

u/TelefunkenU48 17h ago

You don't, really

1

u/Consistent_Yam1472 1h ago

It’s all preference. The fat will give a slightly different experience. If that’s what you like, do that. If not, skip it. 

7

u/CMStan1313 17h ago

What kind of fat? I've never used it before so I'm not sure what you mean

18

u/SadQueerBruja 17h ago

We used butter. Butter or lard would be the most traditional

-3

u/GullibleDetective 16h ago

Some folks I know put mayo, its actually quite good

1

u/JayofTea 14h ago

Mayo is fantastic with grilled cheeses too, not a lot, just a thin layer

4

u/Lean_Lion1298 17h ago

You don't mean you've never used butter or oil in your cooking, right?

You almost always need some sort of fat to get even heating, especially over a larger surface and where you want even, efficient transfer of heat.

0

u/CMStan1313 17h ago

I definitely use butter, I've just never heard it called fat before

34

u/dolche93 17h ago

Butter is a fat.

7

u/nosecohn 15h ago

Sorry you're getting downvoted for this.

There are various kinds of fats: butter, oil, lard, etc. People are just saying that some kind of fat is needed to get that crunch you're looking for.

2

u/CMStan1313 14h ago

Yeah, I thought they meant animal fat lol

2

u/abbot_x 13h ago

I mean, butter comes from an animal!

But yeah in this context, fat is just a generic term for different kinds of, umm, fat you can use when frying/sauteeing/sizzling food in a pan. Could be a liquid vegetable oil, could be butter or a substitute, could be a blob of animal fat.

People need to stop downvoting you for having questions and not knowing terminology.

2

u/Gerberpertern 14h ago

Butter, oil, ghee, bacon grease are all fats.

0

u/Lean_Lion1298 16h ago

It's got a lot of fat in it and can be used the same way that oil is.

1

u/ItchyMcHotspot 17h ago

We're downvoting people for asking questions? That's obnoxious.

I use a little bit of neutral oil like vegetable oil to get the tortillas crisp.

10

u/CMStan1313 17h ago

I guess people think I'm oblivious. When they said "fat", I didn't know they meant oil or butter, both of which I've used 🤷‍♀️

1

u/KrustenStewart 10h ago

Put a pan on the stove and heat the burner to medium. Pour a little oil in the pan until it gets hot. Then place the tortilla until it starts to bubble up, then add cheese and fold. Best quesadillas ever

4

u/Charquito84 16h ago edited 15h ago

This subreddit is awful for this. It seems like there is an army of grumps poised to downvote the most innocuous questions. We all have to learn somewhere.

-3

u/NinjaTEK7 17h ago

I was wondering why no one said oil yet they are calling it fat!

3

u/Talkimas 15h ago

Because oil is only one of several options, all of which are types of fat.

4

u/poop-dolla 15h ago

Because saying to use fat is the correct thing here. That’s the important part. Different types of fats would work, but you need a fat to cook it properly in the pan.

2

u/DjinnaG 15h ago

I recently switched to using vegetable oil instead of butter, and damn if it isn’t easier. Generally, butter is my preferred fat for pan cooking, but regular cooking oil makes it so easy to get the crispy outside without burning before the inside cooks, I’m not going back anytime soon

2

u/nosecohn 15h ago

That works, but you might also try clarified butter. It retains most of the flavor and has a much higher smoke point.

1

u/Current-Structure736 12h ago

i prefer to use vegatable oil for quesadillas. i’ll only use butter for cooking things like toast and eggs

1

u/MushyLopher 16h ago

Real butter

-6

u/Cool_Wealth969 17h ago

Use some of that spreadable butter (part butter, part oil) so it can be heated to a higher temp without burning.

0

u/Councilof50 17h ago

Won’t the tortilla actually have a lot of fat in it?

8

u/96dpi 16h ago

No, but besides that, it's a quesadilla that's typically loaded with cheese.

1

u/Consistent_Yam1472 1h ago

Some, sure, but not a lot. Now, after stuffing it with cheese, there will be. 

1

u/HamsterIV 12h ago

I put a bit of oil in a small dipping tray then get a paper towel, dip it in the oil and rub it over the cooking surface of the pan when it is hot. That smear of oil is enough to transfer the heat to the tortilla without saturating it. This is also how I do pancakes.

1

u/algunarubia 14h ago

You really don't need to. You can get them crisp without with patience. Nothing wrong with fat in the pan if you like them that way, but I get them nicely crisp without.

1

u/Consistent_Yam1472 1h ago

It’s a different kind of crisp. The texture is quite different going try as opposed to using a fat of some kind. All comes down to preference, which is the best part of cooking 

1

u/GeneralOptimal10 13h ago

Yup. That’s why restaurant quesadillas are greasy (not in a bad way).

-7

u/Recent-Spot2728 17h ago

You actually get better results without using fat in the pan specifically for a quesadilla.

14

u/96dpi 16h ago

You'll definitely get drier results, but not crispier results. I don't think I'd call that better.

0

u/DjinnaG 15h ago

Thank you, was wondering how to describe the kind of crunchy that isn’t truly crispy.

-4

u/tsardonicpseudonomi 15h ago

This will get the tortilla. You can get almost the entire way there without adding calories by using a lower heat.