Enchiladas: The Topic

[Jaymes]

Sladeums -

Since you are so fond of chiles, I suggest you try the Green Chile Enchiladas.

As I just said in the post explaining the difference between them and the tomatillo-based green sauces, you might really enjoy the richness of a sauce that is really not much more than these mild chiles themselves.

I'd love to hear what you think of them.

[sladeums]

Here's the recipe I use for a red enchilada sauce:

4 large Anchos, stemmed, seeded and deveined

2 cups whole milk

2 cloves garlic, chopped

lard / oil for frying

1 Tb sugar (or to taste)

salt to taste

Soak the cleaned chiles in hot water for 15 minutes, drain, tear chiles apart and drop in a blender and blend with the milk and garlic until smooth.

Heat enough fat to cover the bottom of a frying pan - when thoroughly heated add the sauce and sugar, cook over med to med-high stirring regularly until thickened and somewhat reduced.

Correct seasonings...set aside and keep warm until ready to fill enchiladas.

[Jaymes]

Since several people mentioned "flour tortilla enchiladas," thought I'd post a good (and simple, home-cooking type) recipe.

Carne Seca Burros

Carne seca means "dry meat." So, before you assemble your burros, you'll need to make the meat. Most Mexicans make this with a very dry cut of beef, often brisket. In Dutch oven, season brisket to taste with whatever you like on your beef. Add just a little water, to keep bottom from burning, cover, and cook on either stove top or in oven until meat is fully cooked and falling apart. Check from time to time to be sure there is a little water in bottom of pot, but remember that your goal here is to wind up with thoroughly-cooked meat without a lot of liquid. (Think 'baked meat.') Allow to cool down, then separate into pieces and cut into bite-sized strings of meat.

For burros:

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 small yellow onion, diced

4-oz can green chiles, diced (or roast, peel, dice fresh ones)

4 stewed tomatoes, chopped

1 clove garlic, smashed and minced

S&P to taste

2 lbs (approximately) carne seca

6 flour tortillas

In skillet, heat oil and saute onion, chiles, tomatoes, garlic till "mushy." Add chopped carne seca and mix well. Correct seasonings. Cook, covered for 10 minutes, then uncovered an additional 15 minutes or so, stirring frequently, until flavors have blended and filling mixture is dried. I like cilantro and often add some after I remove mixture from heat.

Warm tortillas and add meat. Roll up into burros.

You can eat these as is, or place them into a casserole and garnish with little favorite red or green sauce, or a little cheese if you like, and heat briefly in moderate oven, if you want to serve them all at once and make a nice presentation. When I do that, I usually sprinkle a nice handful of fresh chopped cilantro over all just after I remove it from the oven.

Edited November 20, 2002 by Jaymes (log)

[Jaymes]

I PM'd this to several folks, but have been asked to post it...so...okay...

But first, a disclaimer. I make absolutely no assertion whatsoever that these are the best, or most "authentic," or most "anything" recipes that you will ever find for enchiladas. They just happen to be two of my favorites.

I am basically a home cook. Most of my Mexican recipes come from friends that are also home cooks like I, only Mexican.

Every recipe I've ever seen for enchiladas that comes from a Mexican source combines a few simple ingredients that require little additional cooking after assembly. So, the instructions are invariably to just pop into oven for twenty minutes or so to heat through.

Most "U.S." or TexMex concoctions have gloppy, heavy sauces (often one of the "cream of" soups) and one must cook these for much longer.

Now, I'm not berating these 'American-Mexican' type of enchiladas. They have their place. But anyone searching for 'authenticity' would do well to err in the direction of less is more.

I am giving two recipes here. Both are quite simple. But they are wonderful. The first is the traditional rolled enchilada most of us are familiar with. The second is the type of stacked enchilada typical of Sonora, northern Mexico, and New Mexico. And both of these were given to me by Mexican friends who got them from mothers, and grandmothers, and greatgrandmothers. Convenience foods are used ("Just BUY the tomato sauce, for heaven's sake," one friend told me that her mother had replied after she complained that she didn't make enchiladas much because granny's recipe started off by cooking down fresh tomatoes and blending and straining them to make the sauce and that was so much trouble) when appropriate, but these recipes are "authentic" and have been handed down for generations.

Chicken Enchiladas

Stew 1 nice big fat chicken with seasoned salt, couple cloves garlic, an onion, bay leaf, sprig fresh oregano, in water just to cover. Remove chicken (reserving broth for another use), cool and pick off meat, tearing into large bite-sized chunks.

Simmer 24-oz canned tomato sauce, 3-4 Tbls 100% New Mexico Red Chile Powder (accept no substitutes), or other favorite pure chile powder or ground dried chiles, cumin and seasoned salt to taste, stirring and simmering till all spices are thoroughly blended and sauce is smooth.

Take about a half-pound or so each of good-quality mild Cheddar and jack cheese and grate and combine. (Of course, if you live in an area where you have access to good Mexican cheeses, and have a favorite for enchiladas, use that.)

In skillet, heat unflavored oil (I just use canola or Wesson or something tasteless) until warm but not smoking.

Dip corn tortillas, one at a time, first into the oil and allow to cook slightly but not harden, and then into the hot red sauce, quickly, just to soften and coat with sauce. (This is very tricky. If you don't get the timing exactly right, your tortilla will fall apart. I had a hard time with it for years until finally a Mexicana friend of mine told me she could never do it either, so she got a pie pan and dipped the tortilla into the hot oil, then laid the tortilla in the pie pan and SMEARED it with the red sauce. She did these one at a time until she had four or five in the pie pan, then made her enchiladas from the tortillas in the pan. MUCH easier!)

In your enchilada baking pan, smear a little red sauce over the bottom, then one of your dipped tortillas. In the middle of tortilla, spread in a straight line about 1 Tbls of the mixed grated cheeses, 1 Tbls sauce on top of the cheese, 1 T finely-chopped white onion, then finally, several chunks of the chicken. Roll up the enchilada and place in the pan, seam side DOWN. That should mean that the cheese and sauce side is now UP.

Repeat this until all your ingredients are gone. You will be better off if you put your enchiladas in a nice arrangement, snugly side by side, but don't fill up all of the nooks and crannies. If you just shove them in any which way, it won't taste worse, but it doesn't look as pretty and is much more difficult to garnish attractively.

Now, pour the rest of your red sauce crosswise over the center of the enchiladas, like you're laying a red carpet down their middles. Sprinkle cheese in the middle of the 'carpet.'

Your ingredients are already cooked, so you don't want to leave the enchiladas in the oven too long or it will dry out. Just long enough to heat through and melt the cheeses. 350 for about 20 minutes.

This makes about 15-18 enchiladas, kinda depending on how big your chicken is.

Remove from oven. Garnish with sour cream, then sprinkle with sliced black olives and chopped green onions and serve immediately. If you don't think this is "authentic," then for goodness' sake, don't add them. I don't care.

Sonoran-Style Stacked Green Chile Enchiladas

Prepare your green sauce first:

For sauce:

12 medium green chile peppers (of course, fresh are way best, but if you must, use canned)

2 medium tomatoes (or 1 cup canned tomatoes)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 small garlic cloves, smashed and chopped

1 tsp salt

Roast chiles over gas burners, or on outdoor grill, or on comal, or under broiler until blistered. Put into plastic baggies and allow steam to permeate. This makes the chiles easy to peel. Remove peel, core, seeds, and visible veins. Chop into half-inch pieces. Place into saucepan and add tomatoes, onion, salt and garlic. Pour in enough water just barely to cover and simmer ten minutes.

For enchiladas:

1 doz corn tortillas

2 C grated cheese (again, if you have a fave Mex cheese, use it; if not, half good quality mild cheddar and half jack)

3 C green chile sauce

Allow two or three tortillas per person. Fry tortillas quickly in hot fat just to soften, then dip into hot green chile sauce. You are going to assemble these on the individual serving plates. I usually have my plates stacked in a warm oven. One at a time, place a prepared tortilla on warm plate, sprinkle with cheeses, another hot tortilla, more cheese, top with hot tortilla. Pour over as much green chile sauce as you like for desired wetness. Serve immediately. You can top it with a dollop of sour cream if you'd like. That turns it into an Enchilada Suiza, or Swiss Enchilada (for some reason I've never understood).

And these are two of my favorite recipes.

What are yours?

Edited May 26, 2004 by Jaymes (log)

[ExtraMSG]

The Sonoran ones sound pretty interesting. I'd like to give them a try. I think Peyton has some interesting enchilada recipes like that in his Cocina de la Frontera book, too.

I'm about to go on vacation and don't have time (Jaymes is thinking yay! extramsg might shut his carnitas hole for once ) to write it up, but Diana Kennedy has some really interesting suggestions -- a whole list of them -- in From My Mexican Kitchen if anyone has access to it. It might be worthwile to paraphrase them.

Also, I really like poaching chicken by starting it in cold water. It seems to make a significant difference in the flavor penetration. I usually just cook it until the meat reaches 170 using my probe thermometer. Along with the things you mentioned, I also like whole peppercorns in the water. I'm really glad you had the "reserving the broth" line. Some of those poaching broths are so good I could just suck them down straight.

btw, have any recipes for dipped then fried street-style enchiladas? That's the recipe I'm working on for the antojitos thing.

Lastly, there's a recipe in Marge Poore's book for a pepita red sauce that's really good on enchiladas if anyone has that book.

Looking forward to all the comments and experiments and recipes.

Edited May 26, 2004 by ExtraMSG (log)

[Palladion]

In college, I had a friend from New Mexico, and he was passionate about his southwestern cooking. He brought something like 30 pounds of frozen green chiles that his family had roasted with him to school (in the midwest) each year.

When he made enchiladas, he made them in a manner somewhat similar to your Sonoran-style stacked enchiladas. Made a gravy from the green chiles, tomatoes, onions, water, and other flavorings. Then we deep the fried corn tortillas, not till they were crispy, but enough so that they became moderately stiff. Then we layered the tortillas in a baking pan, added chicken, a little bit of the chile gravy, and cheese, and then repeated the layers. Topped it off with a final layer of tortillas, then sauce and cheese. Then they were baked. I have no idea as to its authenticity, but it was definitely tasty.

I helped him make this dish for our fraternity a couple of times. It always took forever to fry enough corn tortillas to make several layers in 4 or 5 really large pans.

[sandra]

I do mine pretty much exactly to your first recipe, except I add some chopped onion and cilantro to the chicken mix - nada mas!

Buena idea, the pie dish...

[sladeums]

8<

btw, have any recipes for dipped then fried street-style enchiladas?  That's the recipe I'm working on for the antojitos thing.

>8

I make them like that occasionally (dipped then fried).

I use this very simple sauce:

click for recipeGullet / Enchilada Sauce

Break up an egg or two then mix well with the sauce, in a small fry pan heat enough oil/lard to cover the bottom of the pan over medium heat, when hot dip a corn tortilla in the sauce to coat thickly, drop in the fat and fry about 10 seconds each side, remove to paper toweling and sprinkle some queso anejo or fresco down the tortilla and fold in half, serve asap.

I like to serve 3 or 4 on a plate with an extra sprinkling of cheese over the top...usual garnishes tableside (salsas, cilantro, lime, fresh chiles, pickled chiles, chopped onion, cabbage even...etc.)

Really pretty simple quick thing. We usually have them meatless but of course you can use anything you'd like for filling.

[Mabelline]

As a sprout I recall liking beef enchiladas much more than chicken, but it stemmed from the chickens being my chore, up to catching them for "processing" and plucking. But enough of that. Sometimes for those, a red sauce with no more than chiles,water, a can of tomato paste ( EL PATO Brand) garlic salt, and oil was not only the sauce, but the dip, too. That may've stemmed from gran and mama just not wanting to heat oil, as well. I make them this way for SO to take to the Firehouse sometimes, and they are different, but good.

I love, love, love stacked enchiladas!!!

For me, Mexican food is as varied as the people themselves. All three of my sons-in-law, my darlings, are Native American with Meso-American deep in them, and the culture is different with each one's background. One is Dineh (Navajo), one O'odam Tash (Papago), and the youngest is White River Apache and Cree.So my Mexican food may be very different from most folks.

[Jaymes]

Also, I really like poaching chicken by starting it in cold water. It seems to make a significant difference in the flavor penetration.

Interesting. I'd never thought about this, but I guess that is what I do. I mean, I just stick the chicken in the pot and put it in the sink and turn on the water spigot, so I guess I am starting with cold water.

And the black peppercorns are a great idea. I'm amending my recipe as we speak.

[Jaymes]

Sometimes for those, a red sauce with no more than chiles,water, a can of tomato paste ( EL PATO Brand) garlic salt, and oil was not only the sauce, but the dip, too. That may've stemmed from gran and mama just not wanting to heat oil, as well.

I actually know quite a few folks that skip the "dip into hot oil" step. It's less fattening. The red sauce does soften the tortillas and coat them with flavor. I do that myself sometimes. But they really are better if you first dip them into the hot oil and fry just a wee bit.

[Jaymes]

I do mine pretty much exactly to your first recipe, except I add some chopped onion and cilantro to the chicken mix - nada mas!

Buena idea, the pie dish...

Oh my goodness, I left out the onion. That's what I get for just typing this from memory instead of looking at my notes. I have to go back and add it!

[Mabelline]

Enchiladas...love on a tortilla!

[johnjohn]

If I wanted to make beef enchilades - what cut of meat should I use? a chuck roast? Would I simmer it in water and aromatics like the procedure for the chicken.

Thanks

[mnebergall]

If I wanted to make beef enchilades - what cut of meat should I use? a chuck roast? Would I simmer it in water and aromatics like the procedure for the chicken.

Thanks

But I would not use the chicken preparation. I would look for a recipe for something called "ropa."

[Jaymes]

If I wanted to make beef enchilades - what cut of meat should I use? a chuck roast? Would I simmer it in water and aromatics like the procedure for the chicken.

Thanks

Beef enchiladas are a whole different deal. There are many ways to prepare the beef. You can make what is basically a green chile stew and allow it to simmer until the liquid evaporates. Or you can use beef that is dried and shredded. Obviously many home cooks use ground beef, even in Mexico.

Some folks refer to "beef enchiladas" and mean enchiladas that are filled with cheese, but covered with a chili/beef preparation.

[andiesenji]

Mrs. Obregon's Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe came from my neighbor who is from Durango, Mexico. Lived on a ranch with her husband and children until 1987 when they turned the ranch over to their two eldest sons and emigrated (legally) to California and settled here, close to their oldest daughter.

They have a lot of family celebrations which require massive amounts of food and I have helped prepare 200 tamales beef, chicken, etc., numerous enchiladas, burritos, tortas, chemichangas, etc., and my oven has been host to huge amounts of beef, chicken, goat, pork and various baked goods.

I love Mexican foods of any type, especially enchiladas, and have eaten them in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California and of course in several parts of Mexico.

These are the best enchiladas I have ever tasted and I had to work to get the recipe.

This recipe would be for a 4-pound chicken.

18 to 24 corn tortillas, the extra-thick are more like the home-made ones we use.

The chicken is roasted, not poached, either in the oven or on the barbecue(barbacoa) and always has a lemon and half of a large onion stuffed into the cavity along with cumin seeds, Mexican tarragon, and a whole Anaheim chile pepper. The latter is for flavor, not heat.

Cooking time depends on the size of the chicken - when the leg wiggles freely it is done.

The skin is set aside along with the carcass after all the meat has been removed. (The bones, skin and wings go into a pot to make a broth.)

The meat is pulled into bite-sized pieces, seasoned with the following mixture:

1 fresh chile poblano seeded and deveined then finely chopped. If more heat is desired use 3-4 jalapeños or 4-5 serranos.

2 medium tomatoes, cut in half, broiled for 3 minutes then chopped

3 tomatillos, cut in half, broiled for 5 minutes then chopped.

2 cloves of garlic minced.

1 medium onion, finely chopped.

3 tablespoons lime or lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cumin

Combine all ingredients and cook in a little oil in a large skillet just until it begins to stew.

Remove from heat, cool and toss with chicken. Set aside.

Cut Jack cheese into strips 1 inch wide by 1/4 inch thick, 4-5 inches long. If you have access to Mexican cheese, use Queso Fresca or Queso Seco, Cotija.

Into 12 oz of tomato sauce mix 3 tablespoons of tomato paste

Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground chile guajillo or chile arbol or other freshly ground whole chile.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet

Add 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir constantly until garlic is just beginning to show color

Add the tomato sauce and heat until it bubbles. Remove from heat allow to cool slightly.

Fry tortillas in a little oil until just softened and pliable. Stack on a plate and cover to keep warm.

Lay a tortilla on top of sauce then pick up with tongs and lay in baking dish sauce side up.

Place a strip of the cheese on the tortilla.

Add a portion of the chicken mixture on top of the cheese, fold the sides of the tortilla over the chicken and turn it over so the seam side is on the bottom.

Continue adding them side by side until the baking dish is full.

Pour a line of the sauce down the center of the enchiladas then add a few strips of the Jack cheese diagonally across the sauce, or you can use shredded mild cheddar.

Bake in a 300 degree oven for 15 -20 minutes, or just until cheese is melted.

Top each portion with a spoonful of salsa fresca and a dollop of sour cream on top.

For a breakfast dish serve two enchiladas topped with a fried egg.

[NulloModo]

So what then are the feelings on seafood enchiladas? Is it heresy to fill them with shrimp/lobster/fish whatever, and use a lighter cream based sauce over top?

[Mabelline]

OK, I cratered, and made a pan of beef enchiladas. You'd be proud of me, Jaymes, I did the oil-dip,sauce,wrap...they just got done, and this house smells GOOOOOD! I love it when a thread does this for me...half the time I don't have an appetite, anyway, but these have memory value, as well.

andie, I'm gonna try that recipe of Mrs. Obregon's, as well. The steps involved just scream Mexico, as well as the choices of chiles.

Forgot: the only bad thing is that I don't know if that roasted skin would make it to the broth pot

Edited May 26, 2004 by Mabelline (log)

[andiesenji]

So what then are the feelings on seafood enchiladas? Is it heresy to fill them with shrimp/lobster/fish whatever, and use a lighter cream based sauce over top?

I don't eat seafood myself, however there are a number of authentic restaurants that serve seafood enchiladas, many use a light cream-based sauce but of the "green" variety.

Just think of the amount of the country that is close to the seacoast and where seafood is the main ingredient in their foods.

Ceviche is very popular along the west coast of Mexico and Baja California. They prepare tacos and enchiladas with some unusual seafood also. Skate is common, they pound and shred it to make it tender.

[Mabelline]

We used to spend a good part of the summer at Puerto Penasco, on the other side of Baja California, and the seafood dishes were glorious. Us kids would all troop down to the fishing boats when the tide was out, and swim with the fisherman's kids. Great place. Jumping off boats that are laying keeled over into the water...ah,fun.

But as far as seafood, sure...in Mexico the dishes use whatever is predominant, and special ingredients for certain holy days,etc. Do what you'll like, and you'll be happier with the end product!

[andiesenji]

andie, I'm gonna try that recipe of Mrs. Obregon's, as well. The steps involved just scream Mexico, as well as the choices of chiles.

Forgot: the only bad thing is that I don't know if that roasted skin would make it to the broth pot

I can empathize with you about the chicken skin. When I roast the chicken on the rotisserie I always manage to "taste" the skin when I remove it.

I grow a lot of different varieties of chiles as I have two lots, one of which is all garden. The Obregon's have a smaller garden and grow tomatillos, melons, squash and a few other Mexican vegetables and we pool our produce and share. She has taught me a lot about the various types of chiles and the differnt flavors that can be coaxed from them depending on how they are prepared.

I make a large batch of dried smoked jalapeños (Chipotle peppers) every year - they are usually only available canned in adobo sauce but I like to use them in dishes where I don't want the sauce. A little goes a long way. Unlike most jalapeños these are allowed to ripen on the bush until they are completely red. Some people think they are a different pepper but they are just plain old ripe jalapeños that have been dried and smoked. The flavor is unusual and lends itself well to rubs and sauces for roasted meats.

[karma police]

My grandmother grew up in Fort Worth and eventually settled in Austin. She used to make these amazing sour cream enchiladas. As I recall they had some sort of sour cream and cheese mixture with a green chile down the center of each one. I believe she added jalapenos as well. They were topped with a red sauce. There was always a dish of pickled jalapenos and carrots on the table which partially explains my ability to consume food that is fiery hot. Unfortunately, no one has the recipe and I have no idea how to actually make them. I have searched the Internet for sour cream enchiladas but the recipes are never ones that describe her meatless ones. If anyone has a similar recipe, I would be most grateful.

Between Jaymes' carnitas thread and this one, I am dying for some good Tex-mex!

[Mabelline]

karma police, welcome! I think your grandmother's recipe may have been "American Enchiladas" from an old Gebhardt's Chili Recipe book. I don't remember all of it, but it did have ricotta (or cottage cheese), sour cream, a whole green chile, and Monterrey jack strip or Longhorn, your preferrence. Pour the enchilada sauce over, add more shredded cheese and then top with more sour cream. Hope that helps?

[karma police]

Mabelline, thanks for the reply. I cannot imagine my grandmother using ricotta but can certainly imagine cottage cheese. The odd thing is when you said a strip of cheese, I had a flashback and it was indeed a strip of cheese she put in: it wasn't grated. I can sort of half remember an assembly line of sorts and each enchilada got "one" from each of the piles:chees, chiles, etc. I will Google and see if I can find a reference to the Gebhardt's recipe.