Chicken Enchiladas

January 4, 2021 Jump to recipe

I feel in another life I was Hispanic because I find the flavors I always use the most are from the Mexican cuisine. My go to spices are cumin, oregano and paprika. I also love roasted jalapeño and hot sauces. My fiancée and I love to have tacos and margaritas whenever we can. My margarita recipe will have to come in a later post. But, this week we wanted something a little different. I got inspired while scrolling through Facebook, watching cooking videos about enchiladas. While growing up, my mom used to make a memorable chicken enchilada. Her recipe happens to come from her high school spanish teacher. It's an oldie but goody. She would use flour tortillas and shredded chicken. She took shortcuts and used canned sauces. But, I don’t blame her because she was raising two kids, while working and going to school. I don’t know how she did it and managed to cook such delicious meals that I still remember to this day. I remember flavorful chicken and traditional red sauce with sour cream and lots of cheese. She would pre-cook the filling and roll them into the flour tortilla. She filled up her 13 x 9 glass pan and baked them in the oven. We had all the fixing: rice, refried beans and chips and salsa. It was always a fiesta with my family. For this recipe, I tried to recreate the memories from my childhood while cooking from scratch and sticking to tradition. This was my first time making enchilada sauce from scratch and I am very happy with the results. I spent a few hours looking up recipes and modifying them till I came up with these results. I am pleased to say this recipe is a keeper. It is approved by my fiancée! She is very hard to please when it comes to food. I like to call her the princess of food. So, to have her approve means it's a tasty recipe. Traditionally, corn tortillas are used in making enchiladas. Flour tortillas will work too. Sticking to tradition, I used corn tortillas. I found while rolling them that they need to be warm to keep them from breaking. I also found that the sauce works to help seal them shut. Enchiladas go well with mexican rice, refried beans, chips and salsa and don’t forget the margarita.

Let’s dive into the recipe. When making the sauce you want to have all of your ingredients measured out because it all comes together fast. In French cooking we call this mise en place. This translates to “putting in place”. This process helps to not forget ingredients and keeps the cooking process organized. This was one thing I learned in culinary school. It still doesn't keep me from being a messy chef, but it sure does help! For the filling, you will want to pre-cook your chicken breast or have a pre-cooked one ready. To make this faster, you could even buy a rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store and shred it. Whichever you get will work for this. Once this sauce is ready and the chicken is cooked and shredded, you will add some sauce to the chicken and a can of mild green chillies. Then your filling is ready and the tortillas are ready to be filled. I warmed my tortillas in the microwave for 15 seconds per tortilla to help it roll without breaking. At my work, the Mexicans like to dip them into the hot oil from the deep fryer. Now, at home, we don't have deep fryers of hot oil like that, so the microwave works just as well. I put a scoop of filling down followed by cheese and black beans and rolled them up sealing off with some sauce. I placed them into an 8x8 pan. If you are serving more people double the amount of chicken and use a 13x9 pan. Once the pan is filled, pour the sauce over and cheese the top. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Then plate them up garnishing with cilantro, sour cream and queso fresco. Grab your margaritas and enjoy.

Chicken Enchiladas

Serves 2-3 Time approximately 60 minutes

Enchilada sauce

Ingredients

3 tablespoons masa harina 1 tablespoon chili powder (I used mexican style) 1 teaspoon cumin ½ teaspoon garlic powder ¼ teaspoon salt plus more to taste ¼ teaspoon oregano Pinch of cinnamon 2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

ground black pepper to taste

Filling and topping

1 chicken breast with rib meat

1 4 oz can mild diced green chilis

1 14 oz can black beans drained/rinsed

8 oz mexican style cheese blend

queso fresco for garnish

chopped cilantro for garnish

sour cream for garnish

about 10 corn tortillas

Enchilada sauce

1. For the sauce measure all ingredients and set them aside. Measure all the spices and masa harina in the same bowl. In a small pot, heat oil on medium high.

2. Add masa harina, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and cinnamon. Stir until combined cooking for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Careful to not burn.

3. Working quickly add tomato paste and cook for 1 more minute.

4. Slowly add in chicken broth, whisking together so it does not clump.

5. Add the apple cider vinegar and black pepper.

6. Turn down heat to medium low and cook for about 2-5 minute or until the sauce has thickened. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed. Set aside until the enchiladas are ready for sauce

Filling and topping

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Then season the chicken breast with salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron skillet or saute pan to medium high heat and cook chicken breast flipping as needed until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF. Set chicken aside until it's cooled enough to handle with your hands.

2. Shred the chicken and add it back into the pan. Add a few scoops of sauce along with the green chilis and black beans.

3. Working one at a time, heat a tortilla for 15 seconds in the microwave. Then place a scoop of the filling in the center and spread in a strip across the tortilla. Top with more sauce and the mexican style cheese blend. Roll up the tortilla and place the enchilada in a 8x8 pan with seam side down. Repeat the process until the pan is filled. If you are left with an empty corner, you can cut an enchilada in half to make it fit.

4. Once the pan is filled, take the sauce and pour it over the enchiladas. Spread it around to cover evenly. You may not need all of the sauce. Save a small amount of sauce for plating. If there is still left over sauce, it can be frozen and saved for next time you make enchiladas. Be sure to label and date for the freezer! After the sauce is on the enchiladas, cover with the mexican style cheese blend. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

5. To plate, heat the extra enchilada sauce. Place as many enchiladas as you want to eat on top of sauce. I put three on a plate. Then garnish them with chopped cilantro, a scoop of sour cream and crumbled queso fresco.

6. Pair the enchiladas with mexican rice, refried beans and a margarita.

Chef notes

You can make all of this ahead of time. This makes getting dinner ready faster. Just do all of the steps up to baking for 20-30 minutes. Then 30 minutes before dinner, just place in the 400ºF oven. Then plate garnish and serve.