Mexican · Main · Medium
Enchiladas Rojas
Corn tortillas rolled around chicken and drowned in silky red chile sauce, baked until bubbly. Pure comfort, Mexican style.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Enchiladas Rojas, in 5 ideas
- Warm tortillas are non-negotiable. Cold corn tortillas crack when rolled. The quick fry makes them pliable and adds flavor. Keep them covered in a towel as you work.
- Toast, do not scorch, the chiles. Thirty seconds too long and the whole sauce tastes bitter. You want them fragrant and just darkened, still flexible.
- Rotisserie chicken is your friend. No shame in it. Shred it while warm and it soaks up the sauce beautifully.
- Sauce every surface. Any exposed tortilla edge will dry out and turn chewy in the oven. Blanket the whole pan.
- Make the sauce a day ahead. It keeps beautifully in the fridge and the flavor deepens. Assembly day becomes a 20 minute job.
What you need
Ingredients
- 12 corn tortillas
- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken (rotisserie works great)
- 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Oaxaca cheese, divided
- 1 white onion, half diced and half sliced into rings
- For the sauce: 6 dried guajillo chiles (stems and seeds removed), 2 dried ancho chiles (stems and seeds removed), 3 cloves garlic, 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano, 1/2 tsp cumin, 2 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil, for frying tortillas
- Mexican crema, for serving
- Chopped cilantro, for serving
- Salt
How to make it
Directions
- Heat the oven to 375F. Toast the dried chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat for about a minute per side until fragrant and slightly darkened. Do not let them burn or the sauce turns bitter.
- Soak the toasted chiles in hot water for 20 minutes until soft. Drain and blend with the garlic, oregano, cumin, chicken stock, and a teaspoon of salt until completely smooth.
- Pour the blended sauce through a fine strainer into a saucepan, pressing to get every bit through. Simmer 10 minutes until slightly thickened and deep red. Taste and adjust salt.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry each tortilla for about 10 seconds per side, just until pliable. Drain on paper towels. This keeps them from falling apart under the sauce.
- Spread a thin layer of sauce in a 9x13 baking dish. Fill each tortilla with chicken, diced onion, and a sprinkle of cheese. Roll snugly and place seam side down.
- Pour the remaining sauce over the top, making sure every tortilla is covered. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- Bake 20 minutes until the sauce bubbles at the edges and the cheese melts. Rest 5 minutes, then serve with crema, sliced onion rings, and cilantro.
Strain the sauce. Blended chile skins never fully break down. Pushing the sauce through a strainer is the difference between silky restaurant enchiladas and gritty homemade ones.