Enchilada tips? Plan to stew meat, separate, then reduce sauce for over rolled tortillas when bake.
I have not made enchiladas for years so we are craving them. Tips especially from those who make enchiladas all the time are welcome. For example, recall needed to briefly heat the corn tortillas long enough so they get rubbery to hold together but not crisp - if too short recall they fall apart when bake in the sauce and if too long seem to recall them being tough with the wrong texture.
Do not want to use canned sauces or bottled taco sauce as find get better flavor and know what I'm eating when cook with basic quality ingredients as close to nature as can find. While as tomatoes are out of season now, will use canned. Want to stew the beef / chicken in a sauce then separate out the meat when tender still in chunks before it falls apart, then reduce the sauce and use it to cover the rolled meat filled tortillas when bake. Looking around CH and other sources online this seems the closest to what I will try to start with is:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Gerrys-C...
Intended modifications, plan to squeeze with fresh lime when serve with salsa and sour cream on top at the end. In the stew plan to add cumin for its taco flavor, chipotle in adobo sauce instead of the chili peppers, and habanero chili powder as represent better Mexican flavors to me. Inside when rolling will add olives because I like them and probably corn for its extra texture. If add any cheese inside or on top will keep it to a minimum probably cut in 3/16" cubes or so as like that when it melts (is how we make lasagna). Not sure about the cream part to cook tortillas either and will probably do the what am used to by using minimal oil to mostly pre-cook tortillas in a well-seasoned cast iron pan.
Any tips for the heating tortillas, rolling, or cooking in the oven part? Going in with a plan and sharing it, did I miss anything? Hope this turn out as good as remember because chicken enchiladas at one time was one of my favorite things to eat, while not making in many years am sure may have to do this a few times to get it right. When get perfected will share what came up with if any changes happen after make a few times.
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smaki
Mar 10, 2011 07:51 PM
Thank you all for tips. Bought supplies and will make in the next few weeks. Plan to report results here. Any ideas to make better enchiladas before we go for our first round are welcome. A favorite thing about the CH community is sharing to improve ideas when some of us mostly cook alone, while sometimes for a crowd. When making critical decitions is good to have someone to bounce ideas off here. Usually only obtain feedback after visitors are eating when is too late to improve anything. So have to get it rigth before serving. Find practice makes perfect so asking for others who have had success. Help cater events and do parties often where good times deserve great food. Feedback helps me be a better cook.
Will use basic ingredients regardless of recipe picked - at the time was the only one could find that stews the meat in veggies together to start - then separate meet from sauce, then reduce sauce for flavor, roll meat + extras, then bakes with sauce + extras over. Not many enchiladas are made this way that way and we are making plans to enjoy them here very soon!
We will exclude any processed foods and substitute where possible with close to nature ingredients of top quality. Great ingredients make the best food.
We cook for a crowd then freeze in individual portions in re-used containers touching our food instead of new plastic if anything around after people are full. We focus on quality basic from nature food - while does take time feel worth the effort when see the results are beyond what can be had elsewhere in taste for any price. Find re-heated can be better, strange but true - lasagna is better after it sits too. Wonder if enchiladas will be better re-heated for lunch than fresh and plan to figure it out!
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Looking at that recipe, I have to say using chicken and enchilada/tomato/cream sauce is not a typical combo--green enchilada sauce and cream would be more typical. Your recipe would come closer to having Mexican flavors with beef or pork. That said, here's my suggestions. If you just dip the tortillas in the sauce without softening them first they often break. Many Mexican recipes have you fry them in oil first, I just heat them over the gas burner until they soften--you can also do that in a dry frying pan or even the microwave. As to rolling--have everything ready before you start and have them lined up (two people are a godsend here). Here's my order. Heat tortilla right hand burner, dip in sauce left hand burner, take out with big spatula (can tear with tongs), layout on sheet pan to the left (keeps extra sauce contained). Put ingredients on tortilla more toward one side than exact center. Roll and put into pan to the left that already has a little sauce in it. Repeat until done.
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I always start with that recipe and then modify- the modifications vary each time I make them, but the enchiladas always turn out great! You've got a great recipe to start with. My BF prefers flour tortillas, so that's what i use (unheated).
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re: smaki
I didn't re-read the recipe before posting and neglected to mention that I've always made these enchiladas with out the canned soup. If you allow the chicken to stew long enough in the tomato- broth mixture, it cooks quite nicely. Also, I always leave out the canned green chile peppers as the fresh provide more flavor and spice (which we like a lot of).
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paulj
Mar 9, 2011 08:23 AM
The recipe calls for dipping the tortillas in the sauce to soften them; no need for other heating.
Of all the recipes online, why do you choose to start with one that calls for caned chicken soup and broth? Overall seems quite distance from what you are aiming for (quickly cooked chicken breast versus stewed chicken etc).
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