Warm tortillas and hot fillings are what separate a great taco party from a mediocre one. The trick is to hold tortillas and fillings separately, keep steam in the tortillas and out of the meat, and hold everything at 140°F or above.
Keeping tortillas warm
A slow cooker on warm is the best cheap tortilla warmer. Line it with a clean, slightly damp kitchen towel, stack up to 40 warmed tortillas inside, fold the towel over, and set the lid ajar so condensation escapes. Tortillas stay soft for two to three hours.
A ceramic tortilla warmer holds about 20 tortillas for 45 minutes. Foil packs of 12 held in a 200°F oven work for a couple of hours. An insulated cooler lined with towels holds several foil packs for around 90 minutes with no power at all, which is ideal for backyard parties.
Keeping fillings hot
Braised meats hold beautifully in a slow cooker on low or warm, kept in enough of their cooking liquid to stay moist. Ground beef dries out faster, so add a quarter cup of stock per pound and stir every 30 minutes. Crispy items such as chicharron, fried fish and taquitos should never be covered: hold them on a wire rack in a 200°F oven so steam escapes and the crust survives.
The food safety rule
Hot food must stay at or above 140°F. Anything sitting between 40°F and 140°F for more than two hours should be discarded, and that window shrinks to one hour outdoors above 90°F. Check with an instant-read thermometer rather than trusting a slow cooker dial, and refill chafing water pans before they run dry.
Cold items need the opposite treatment
Crema, guacamole, cheese and slaw belong at 40°F or below. Nest their bowls in a sheet pan of ice, and put out half of each at a time so the backup stays cold in the fridge.
Reheating without ruining texture
Reheat tortillas on a dry comal for 20 seconds per side rather than in a microwave, which makes them rubbery once cooled. If you must microwave, wrap a stack of ten in a damp towel and heat 45 seconds, then transfer straight into your holding vessel.
Feeding a crowd? Our taco party calculator tells you exactly how much meat, tortillas, cheese, and toppings to buy for your guest list.
