One of the keys to great tortillas is to use lard. Pure fresh lard can be hard to come by in the U.S. (Unless you have a good local Mexican Grocery - I'm lucky enough to have several near me, including an El Rio Grande within less than 3 miles of my home; it also has GREAT fresh seafood), and most Americans have been brainwashed by the FDA about the health effects of saturated fats (you can tell a highly saturated fat from an unsaturated fat by whether or not it remains solid at room temperature; the more solid a fat is at room temperature, the more saturated fats it contains, UNLESS an unsaturated fat has been hydrogenated, i.e., a trans-fat), but the FDA has been consistenly wrong about most nutrution advice it has given, so personally I ignore that advice. Just like butter (high saturated fat) is much healthier than margerine (low saturated fat, but high trans-fat), lard, GOOD, FRESH lard, is healthier than commercial shortenings. AND it gives a better flavor and texture than shortening.
All that having been said, although I enjoy cooking and like to experiment, certain things just aren't worth the effort. I can get great freshly made tortillas cheaply and easily at nearby Mexican groceries, or even pick them up at tortilla factories in Dallas that make the tortillas for all of the Tex-Mex places in town. So I buy them and save my time for other culinary efforts - like trying to get Salsa Verde just right so I can make a breakfast of Chilaquiles Verde with a fried egg on top.
