We Love Chicken Enchiladas

Tim is a huge fan of enchiladas. If we go to a Tex-Mex restaurant, I know exactly what he is ordering. That enchilada special is hard to resist! If you have spent more than a day in Texas, you know, we love our Tex-Mex. Listen, I have lived all over. I’ve lived in Latin America. I’ve lived in Southern Florida. I’ve lived in Chicago. The place I have lived the longest is in Texas. There is not a single person in my family that has any roots in Mexico, but Tex-Mex food is in my blood. There is no more iconic Tex-Mex dish than enchiladas.

The search for the perfect restaurant enchiladas is never-ending. All Texans have an opinion about which restaurants make the best ones. They don’t get made at home all that much, and it makes me sad, but many homemade enchiladas aren’t that great. In my opinion, there are a couple of reasons for these tragic enchilada dinners.

1. Most people use canned enchilada sauce.
2. Most people aren’t picky enough about their tortillas.

The nice thing is that it is easy to have a delicious chicken enchilada dinner at home.

The Secret to Better Chicken Enchilada Dinners

The simplest way to get delicious results is to start with quality ingredients. So that means homemade enchilada sauce. (I promise this is EASY to make) You will also need good tortillas without any added ingredients. The best tortillas are nothing more than masa and water. So when you are buying tortillas look for a brand that has the LEAST amount of ingredients possible, 3-4 MAX. No manufactured tortilla will be 100% free of additives. Don’t cut corners on these two things. Enchiladas are just tortillas in a chili sauce. So no matter what else you include these two things have to be great.

Ok, now let’s get started.

Enchilada Sauce

I prefer a combination of chilis. Each chili adds a depth of flavor and complexity to that the sauce. This complexity pays off for you in the final dish. Remember, enchiladas are simple food. There aren’t very many elements so the more attention you pay to each detail the better. My preferred combination of peppers is Ancho, Pasilla, and Guajillo.

The Chilis

Ancho chilis: Dried poblano peppers. They are deep also black brown and super wrinkled. They bring some plumy-raisiny flavors to the party and a little bitterness. As far as heat goes, they are usually medium hot.

Pasilla chilis: Sometimes called chile negro. They are a bit smoother in texture than anchos and tend to be longer and skinnier. They are smokey and have a light citrusy flavor with medium heat. Sometimes stores will mislabel pasillas as anchos. Look at them carefully before purchasing.

Guajillo chilis: These chilis are narrow and smoother in texture than the ancho and the pasilla chili. They have a sweet, mild heat, are a little tannic, with hints of pine, berries and light smoky undertones.

The above is my favorite combination, but play with the combinations and see what you like!

The Method

I learned this method for enchilada sauce in Diana Kennedy’s wonderful Mexican cookbook “My Mexico.” Using this method, you soften and blending your peppers with a little water, salt and garlic. Then you fry and simmer the sauce. It’s super simple and well worth the effort. You can make this sauce up to a week ahead. Work ahead and make your sauce on the weekend. Then you can assemble and bake your chicken enchilada dinner any night of the week.

Use two ancho chilis, one pasilla, and one guajillo. Remove the stem end and shake out all the seeds. Tear the peppers into pieces and put in a saucepan with enough hot water to cover. Put the pan on medium high heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for five minutes. Turn off the heat and soak an extra 5 minutes.

Remove the chilis from the water and drop into a blender jar with one garlic clove and one cup of water.

Blend until perfectly smooth.

Heat a cast iron skillet on medium heat add one tablespoon of lard (seriously use lard here. Get good quality lard from pastured pork. I like Fatworks)

Let it melt and heat then pour in the chili mixture. At this point, taste it. It will seem sharp and bitter. Use this as a baseline to determine when you think the sauce has cooked through enough. Let it fry for 3-5 minutes and taste it again. Notice how the sharper flavors have softened a bit. Add a pinch of kosher salt, stir it in and taste. Add more salt if needed. Then add another cup of water and allow the sauce to cook for another 5-10 minutes. Try again and add more salt if needed. Continue to simmer the sauce reduces by half. Reduce for less time if you prefer a thinner sauce. Total simmer time will be close to 30 minutes give or take.

The Filling

Use leftover roast chicken or a grocery store rotisserie chicken. Shred the chicken and set aside, you will need 2 cups of shredded chicken.

Dice 1/4 of a medium onion into small dice. If you don’t have onion, you can use green onion (2) or shallot (1) here too. Whatever member of the onion family you have handy, use it. Put the diced onion into a small bowl and add a pinch of kosher salt and soak in cold water for 5-10 minutes. Drain and add to the bowl with the chicken. Add 2-3 tablespoons to the enchilada sauce and 1/2 cup of grated cheese to the chicken and onion mixture. Stir until combined.

Assemble and Bake Your Chicken Enchiladas

Preheat your oven to 450F. In a separate frying pan, heat corn oil on medium-high heat. Place one tortilla in the oil. Make sure the oil is hot enough the tortilla sizzles when you touch the oil. Fry for 30 seconds, flip and fry for another , 30 seconds. Set aside and repeat with the rest of the tortillas.

NOTE: Do not let them get crispy or brown. You want the tortillas pliable, not breakable.

Grab a baking dish large enough for ten rolled enchiladas. Take your first tortilla, add one or two tablespoons of chicken filling roll the tortilla and add to the pan. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas until the pan is full. Ladle the enchilada sauce over the rolled tortillas evenly. Top with remaining shredded cheese.

Put the dish of chicken enchiladas in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove when you see bubbly melted cheese that is beginning to brown.

Serve with rice and beans and a small salad if you are feeling healthy!

Red Chili Chicken Enchiliadas

Yield: 4 people

Step up your enchilada dinner. Make your own enchilada sauce! Made of a delicious combination of Ancho, pasilla and guajillo chilis you will never want canned enchilada sauce again. 

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Ingredients

Enchilada Sauce

• 2 Ancho chili
• 1 Pasilla chili
• 1 Guajillo chili
• 1 clove Garlic
• 2 cups Water
• 1 Salt, Kosher
• 1 tbsp Lard

Enchiladas

• 2 cups Chicken, shredded
• 1 cup Enchilada sauce
• 1/4 Onion, diced
• 1 tsp Salt
• 10 Corn Tortillas
• 1 cup Cheddar, shredded
• 1 cup Monterey Jack, shredded

Instructions

Enchilada sauce

1. Use two ancho chilis, one pasilla, and one guajillo. Remove the stem end and shake out all the seeds. Tear the peppers into pieces and put in a saucepan with enough hot water to cover. 
2. Put the pan on medium high heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for five minutes. Turn off the heat and soak an extra 5 minutes.
3. Remove the chilis from the water and drop into a blender jar with one garlic clove and one cup of water.
4. Blend on until perfectly smooth.
5. Heat a cast iron skillet on medium heat add one tablespoon of lard (seriously use lard here. Get good quality lard from pastured pork. I like Fatworks) 
6. Let it melt and heat then pour in the chili mixture. At this point, taste it. It will seem sharp and bitter. Use this as a baseline to determine when you think the sauce has cooked through enough. 
7. Let it fry for 3-5 minutes and taste it again. Notice how the sharper flavors have softened a bit. Add a pinch of kosher salt, stir it in and taste. Add more salt if needed.
8. Then add another cup of water and allow the sauce to cook for another 5-10 minutes. Try again and add more salt if needed. Continue to simmer the sauce reduces by half. 
9. Reduce for less time if you prefer a thinner sauce. Total simmer time will be close to 30 minutes give or take.

Filling:

1. Use leftover roast chicken or a grocery store rotisserie chicken. Shred the chicken and set aside, you will need 2 cups of shredded chicken. 
2. Dice 1/4 of a medium onion into small dice. If you don't have onion, you can use green onion (2) or shallot (1) here too. Whatever member of the onion family you have handy, use it. Put the diced onion into a small bowl and add a pinch of kosher salt and soak in cold water for 5-10 minutes. 
3. Drain the onions and add to the bowl with the chicken. 
4. Add 2-3 tablespoons to the enchilada sauce and 1/2 cup of grated cheese to the chicken and onion mixture. Stir until combined.

Assemble and Bake

1. Assemble and Bake
2. In a separate frying pan, heat corn oil on medium-high heat. Place one tortilla in the oil. Make sure the oil is hot enough the tortilla sizzles when you touch the oil. Fry for 30 seconds, flip and fry for another 30 seconds. Set aside and repeat with the rest of the tortillas. 
3. NOTE: Do not let them get crispy or brown. You want the tortillas pliable, not breakable. 
4. Grab a baking dish large enough for ten rolled enchiladas. 
5. Take your first tortilla, add one or two tablespoons of chicken filling roll the tortilla and add to the pan. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas until the pan is full. 
6. Ladle the enchilada sauce over the rolled tortillas evenly. Top with remaining shredded cheese.
7. Put the dish of enchiladas in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove when you see bubbly melted cheese that is beginning to brown.
8. Serve with rice and beans and a small salad if you are feeling healthy!

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