Usually when making dishes using corn tortillas, you are faced with some issues inherent in the tortillas themselves. When cold, they are kind of brittle and if bent very far will snap in half. If you heat them up, they become so soft that they fall apart, either immediately or when moving them around. The two methods most often suggested to help with this are to slip them in hot oil for a few seconds and then drain, or to dip them in hot enchilada sauce or the like.
I have found an easy way that you can make them stronger for use in recipes like enchiladas, without getting them either tough or hard and crunchy. It also has the benefit of not adding any fat, oil or calories to the process. It's really two steps - heating and tempering. Start off by heat ing a cast iron comal, or medium to large frying pan on the stove over medium heat.
Heat up your corn tortillas in the microwave - fast and easy. I use a tortilla warmer, but you can wrap them in a damp kitchen towel which will work fine. Once you take them out, they will be hot, but you'll see that they are also very soft and fragile.
One at a time, take out a hot tortilla and heat it on the comal, maybe 20 seconds, then carefully turn it over. You may need to repeat this. You will feel when you have heated that 'steamy' moisture out of the tortilla - it will be flexible but not weak. If you heat it too long this way, it will become like leather - toss it and try again. After a little practice you will get just the right consistency, and they won't be oily or soggy either. Give it a try!
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