Ever made your own enchiladas, including the sauce? If not, it’s quite easy and a great opportunity to make something you love exactly as you love it. I made these for my Minnesota tribe and got some requests to share, so here we go.
Now, while the word ‘authentic’ gets tossed around way too much, there’s usually no tomato at all in what can arguably be called authentic enchilada sauce. The tomatoey version is a Tex-Mex thing – doesn’t mean that’s bad, just that it’s done to please the Gringo palate. Seriously though – either way is fine if that’s what you dig, but you really should try a tomato-free version if you’ve not done so yet.
That said, frying enchiladas before they’re finished in the oven is done to avoid the dreaded SES – Soggy Enchilada Syndrome – That’s a thing you don’t want in your kitchen. Happily, you can achieve the same thing in the oven and still end up with top notch enchiladas.
You’ve probably noticed that when you cut into a great enchilada at your favorite restaurant, there isn’t much of anything inside other than meat and maybe cheese – that too is done to avoid SES. When you’re building this dish, leave the vegetables in the salsa or the pico de gallo, and keep the enchiladas simple.
You can fill enchiladas with anything you want – from chicken, beef, or pork, to shrimp, fish, extra firm tofu, crunchy veggies, or fresh heirloom potatoes. Just make sure whatever you stuff with isn’t wet.
You can make the sauce with any number of dried chiles, either whole or ground. Ground chiles can make the sauce a bit grainier than whole dried, but if you give them enough time working in the roux, you’ll overcome that, and they’re much faster to prep.
Use whatever chiles you like best – Guajillos have great flavor and not much heat, chipotles have a nice smoky note and medium heat, arbols have great flavor and plenty of punch, and anchos and negros both add nice complex flavors without too much heat. If you use whole dried, soak them in boiling water for 15-20 minutes, remove the seeds and stems, and either mince or blend as you see fit. You’ll likely want to strain the results to keep things smooth, but you can go rustic too.
Urban’s Chicken Enchiladas with Red Enchilada Sauce
For the Enchiladas
1 pound Chicken – Breasts are super easy, thighs are more flavorful.
1-2 Cups Shredded Cheese – Queso Asodero or Oaxaca for authenticity, Jack is a fine sub.
6 Flour or Corn Tortillas – 7” to 9” work best for a standard 8”x8” or 9”x9” baking pan.
For the Sauce
2 Cups Chicken or Veggie Stock
3 Tablespoons Dried Chiles
1 Tablespoon Smoked Paprika
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano
1/2 teaspoon granulated Garlic
2 Tablespoons AP Flour
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Avocado Oil – Any neutral oil will sub fine
Salt and Pepper to taste
Portion chicken into roughly 1/2” chunks.
Grate cheese.
Combine chiles, paprika, cumin, oregano, and garlic and mix well.
In a heavy skillet over medium heat, add a tablespoon of oil and heat through.
Add the chicken and sauté until all visible rawness is gone from the chicken, about 3-5 minutes.
Remove chicken from heat and let cool.
In a heavy pot over medium-low heat, add the oil, butter and flour and whisk with a fork to incorporate.
Allow the roux to heat through, about 2 minutes.
Add the chile blend and whisk into the roux thoroughly.
Let the sauce base cook for 2-3 minutes, whisking constantly, (As in, don’t walk away…)
Gradually add stock, about a quarter cup at a time, gently but thoroughly whisking each time to let the sauce stretch without breaking the roux. Things will look like real dirty mashed potatoes until you get to around 1 cup of stock – that’s what you’re after, so be patient. Allow the sauce to return to full heat before adding each additional dose of stock.
Turn heat to low and allow sauce to barely simmer for 10-15 minutes, until it has thickened a bit.
Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.
Turn the heat off and leave the sauce on the stovetop.
Preheat oven to 325° F and set a rack in the middle slot.
Set up assembly area for the enchiladas, (chicken, tortillas and baking pan), and very lightly grease your baking pan.
Eyeball the chicken and grab about 1/6 of the total. Holding a tortilla in your off-hand palm, add an even layer of chicken to the middle of the tortilla, then gently roll the long edges over each other. Place the enchilada seam side down in the baking pan. Repeat with the other five enchiladas.
Bake bare enchiladas for about 5-7 minutes, until the outsides of the tortillas are lightly browned.
Remove baking pan from oven and top the enchiladas with an even layer of grated cheese. Return the pan to the oven for about 2-3 minutes to let the cheese melt – this step helps a lot to avoid SES.
Remove pan again and top the enchiladas with sauce – you don’t need to drown them, just make sure they have a nice, even layer that coats them thoroughly.
Return to oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until the pan is bubbling nicely and the cheese has melted into the sauce.
Serve right away with rice, beans, salsa or pico and devour with abandon.
UrbanMonique 