Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas are a Mexican dish that most people usually order from Mexican restaurants, but you can easily make them at home. These enchiladas are made in a delicious homemade enchilada sauce and topped with melted cheese.

Enchiladas are easy to make with a basic filling of chicken, beef or just cheese and beans. They are rolled and topped with enchilada sauce and shredded cheese and baked until hot and melty.

A Word About the Chicken

One of the first courses in culinary school is butchery and you learn a whole lot about meat while taking this course. One of the first things I learned was the method in which it was cooked. If a protein is going to be double cooked, it’s best to braise or poach it to help retain moisture.

Enchilada recipes use precooked chicken. Grilled, oven baked or store-bought rotisserie chicken are all cooked using DRY heat. The end result? Very dried out chicken.

The answer? Cook the chicken over low heat in a liquid (full instructions below).

The Most Common Enchilada Mistakes

1. Not Frying the Tortilla

Tortillas are like spices to me. They have been stuck in a package for who knows how long and need something to ‘wake them up’. Tortillas can be brittle when cold. Pan frying them in a tad of olive oil for about 10-20 seconds fixes this. It prevents the tortilla from absorbing too much sauce and becoming soggy.

2. Using Canned Enchilada Sauce

This my friends takes such little effort, but has a huge payoff. We have a red enchilada recipe on our site that takes just a few minutes of prep time. It has over 100 comments and tastes way better than a can. You should check it out.

3. Overstuffing the Tortilla

It’s easy to do. We’ve all done it before, but you want the right amount of filling in each tortilla and you want it to be consistent. I use a ¼ cup measuring cup to fill mine.

4. Not Dipping the Tortilla in the Sauce

The enchilada sauce makes up a big part of the flavor in an enchilada recipe, so just pouring (usually too much) OVER the tortillas just doesn’t cut it. After frying the tortilla for a few seconds, using a pair of tongs, simple dip it right into the enchilada sauce. I use a 9×9 baking dish for this. Simply pour the sauce into it, dip the tortilla, fill and roll.

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS:

• SHREDDED CHICKEN ~ Chicken breasts are seasoned with a blend of cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic, powder, and chili pepper and poached to retain moisture.
• TORTILLAS ~ The big question is flour tortilla or corn. It’s your choice. I prefer flour.
• ENCHILADA SAUCE ~ Again, it’s simple to make homemade enchilada sauce and it is ready in about 15 minutes!
• CHEESE ~ I use a blend of two kinds of cheese, Cotija cheese is a Mexican cheese that is salty and delicious. It is used in the filling along with the shredded chicken. Pre shredded Mexican cheese is put on top. If you don’t want to use a pre shredded cheese you can make your own blend. It is usually a combination of Monterey jack cheese, cheddar and queso quesadilla. I have found using just Cheddar cheese makes the dish very oily.

HOW TO SERVE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Serve these delicious enchiladas with a side of Mexican rice, extra salsa, guacamole, sour cream, diced avocado and tomatoes, refried beans and a very large Margarita.

Make Ahead and Storage:

• Make Ahead – these enchiladas can be made earlier in they day or even the day before and placed directly in the oven when ready.
• Fridge – Store leftovers, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days. They can be reheated in the oven at 350°F until warm or in the microwave.
• Freezer – they can be frozen BEFORE cooking as well as AFTER cooking for up to 3 months.

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