Photo Recipe: Chicken Enchiladas
Mmm, tasty yumminess. How do we get there from here? Lots of ways. Step inside, I'll show you mine.
(Warning! This photo recipe is a bit more wordy than usual!)
First make the chicken broth for the sauce; this is best done a day or more in advance. I usually put a chicken carcass, some carrots, onion, celery, parsnip, garlic cloves, whatever herb stems I have on hand (when using the herbs in dishes, I pluck off the leaves, set the stems aside, and put them in the freezer along with other odds and ends for stock/broth), peppercorns, and bay leaves in a pot. You can use the ends of veggies you wouldn't normally use (like the tops of carrots, the ends and skins of onions, etc), just make sure to wash them thoroughly: you don't want dirty broth! Or you can buy the veggies specially, whatever suits your style. If you are buying veggies just for stock, make sure to see if there are any on sale - if the vegetable is a bit past ripe, or less than beautiful, it won't make a bit of difference in the stock pot.
Cover the lot with cold water (use whatever kind you drink), bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 6-8 hours. You're shooting for one bubble breaking the surface per second; too much of a boil, and the fat will integrate itself into the stock, rather than remain separate. This is not always a bad thing, but sometimes it is; it depends on what the stock is going to be used for. Also, when the fat integrates itself like that, it produces a cloudier stock. If you're just going to make something from it where the broth takes center stage the eye appeal could well go down because of that. Especially if you have clear bowls (like I did in my last apartment), which are super freaky because they make the soup look like it's floating above the counter. Or maybe I was a wee bit intoxicated that night, whichever.
Anyhow, once you've simmered it all day, strain the stock through some cheesecloth (muslin): this is dirt cheap at fabric stores, don't pay for it at a kitchen store, or they'll charge you an arm and a leg. I set it up on these spoons to let it drip all the yummy broth out.
Once it's done dripping, toss the vegetables; pick through the carcass to get any meat you might have missed before (you can use these bits in your enchiladas, though you'll probably need more than just this); rinse the cloth so that it's free of food stuffs, then let it dry and toss it in with your regular laundry.
On a food safety note, you want to make sure to get that broth cold as soon as possible - and simply sticking it in the fridge won't do it. It can take 24 hours to chill that broth if you stick it in at the 160F or so it is once you've pulled it off the stove. That's a lot of time for germs to grow. Now, what I've taken to doing is simply sticking ice cubes straight in the broth - because I make broth so much, I've worked out how much yield I get from a batch, and am going to reduce it later anyways. But, until you figure that out for your pot size, chicken size, etc, you have some options: you could put your broth in smaller containers (more surface area = faster cooling time), and place those in ice baths; or you could use water bottles that you've frozen so that they're large, plastic-enclosed ice cubes, and place those in your larger container of broth. There are likely others; if those don't work for you, use your imagination. Just get it as cool as possible, as quickly as possible, then plop it in the fridge.
When you pull it out the next day, a layer of fat should be on top, and you're supposed to be able to just take a spoon and pull it off easily. That never works for me, so I just strain it again through the cheesecloth (muslin): once at one thickness of cloth, and once with the cloth folded in half, and sometimes once again with the cloth folded into quarters. Use a clean cloth, though, not the one you used yesterday.
This sounds like a lot, but it's really easy-peasy, and broth really makes itself. Now, go! Make yourself some! I'll wait.
I was alone in the kitchen when I took these photos for yall, so you don't get photos where lots of stirring and quick action was necessary.
But, read the recipe down at the bottom: heat up some oil (really any kind will do), add garlic for a minute or two; add the seasonings (which you of course pre-measured out, or else you'll have burnt your garlic) and tomato paste. Cooking the tomato paste for a minute or two will soften its sharpness. But stir it constantly, so it doesn't burn. Then add the broth you made yesterday, and mix it all together so it's nice and smooth. You may need more or less broth / water, depending on how thick you like the sauce. This recipe originally called for twice the broth/water, but that was entirely too thin for me, even after the simmering, so yes, I simply add less fluid to begin with. I add chopped vegetables to mine, too, though you don't need to. I always have, I like it like that.
Bring it to a boil, then simmer it for awhile. Until we've finished preparing the enchiladas to receive it, anyways.
The most important part of any enchilada is the CHEESE! But I could be slightly partial on that. Shred plenty of cheese, get a nice blend going. I used four or five cheeses here, whatever we had that sounded good. Mix it all up well.
Get yourself some cooked chicken (chopped, sliced, shredded ... whichever you fancy that day), some chopped onion, and some cumin, put it all in a bowl. Now add something creamy. If you have sour cream on hand, you can use that. Or mayonnaise. Or miracle whip (I really like it with miracle whip, but I like miracle whip to begin with, so that helps). Or ... if you're really in a pinch, I suppose salad cream might possibly perhaps maybe work. If you must. That stuff is awful, though, I'd go to the store and get anything else. Even mustard would be better than salad cream.
Anyhow, add your creamy thing to the bowl and mix it up: you're looking for a chicken salad consistency, here. You just want the creamy thing to bind the chicken and the onion a bit for you. If you want or need to, I suppose you could leave out the creamy thing altogether (I've had to before), but the enchiladas do fall apart a bit more like that. Better to use some of the sauce to bind it in that case, though it doesn't do as good a job, it's better than nothing.
O yes, and put a spoonful or two of sauce in the bottom of your pan, or else you'll spend a week cleaning it because everything stuck to the bottom. And there's no reason to have a hangover like that from enchiladas. Save the hangovers for the margaritas!
I prefer corn tortillas for my enchiladas, which you'll need to do something to, to make them pliable, or else they will break when you try to roll them up. You have some options:
-You could fry them in oil, as I have here.
-You could make them yourself, and maybe the fresh ones don't need that additional moisture, I'm not sure.
-You could poach them in water, I've heard.
-You might get away with just warming them up: this worked for me once, but that was here in the UK, where the only "corn" tortillas I've found are actually a mixture of cornmeal and wheat flour, so I'm not sure if that works on regular cornmeal tortillas. To do so, wrap the lot of tortillas you're going to use in foil, place it in a preheated 350F oven for 5-10 minutes, remove and use!
-If you prefer flour tortillas, you can just use them without preparation.
Anyhow, so prepare your tortillas. Warn them they shall become good eats soon. Let them know they are about to partake in a custom dating back through the ages. Tell them they're going to a better place. You might omit the fact that said place is your stomach, it might make them nervous.
Now, get some of your chicken mixture and some cheese, and plop it in a line in the middle of a tortilla. How much? That depends on how hungry you are how big the tortilla is. It will take you some practice to get it right. You want the enchilada to complete about 1.5 circles around the filling. This is a structural issue: any less than 1.5 circumfrences, and the filling is more likely to all fall out. Don't be afraid to undo your roll to add or remove some chicken mixture, if you need to. It just takes practice.
Then line up your little soldiers in your pan, in such a way that the enchiladas hold themselves closed - that is, with the flap either under the enchiladas, or wedged between the one you're placing and the one before it.
Then cover the lot with the sauce. Nice and thick. Make sure that all the edges of the tortillas are covered - any bits that aren't covered by sauce will harden and possibly burn in the oven.
Then the most important part - the CHEESE! Cover the top with cheese. No, keep covering. Go on. Aw, alright, I guess that'll do. This time. Next time be a little bit more brave with the cheese, wouldja? Yeesh.
Now cover your pan with foil. You can stop here and leave it in the fridge until you're ready to eat, if you're preparing this ahead. I think I've left unbaked pans in the fridge for two days before without any problem; certainly a day and a half. This is my go-to meal when I want something that requires little to no work at the time (like if having relatives over, whom I'd rather spend time with chatting, than be busy in the kitchen).
Anyhow, once you're ready to eat, place it in an oven at 350F (make sure the oven is cold to start with if you've just pulled the pan out of the fridge, of course) for 25 minutes. Remove the foil, and continue to bake at 350F for 5 more minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Enchilada Sauce Recipe
Adapted from http://www.recipezaar.com/Enchilada-Sauce-31811
2 T olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 t minced onion
1 t dried oregano
1 t chili powder, to taste
1 t dried basil
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/4 t salt
1/2 t dried parsley
1/2 c salsa
8 oz tomato paste
3 c water or chicken broth
1 to 2 tomatoes, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 small chili pepper, de-seeded and diced
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the garlic and saute for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add onion, oregano, chili powder, basil, ground black pepper, salt, cumin, parsley, salsa, and tomato paste.
Mix together and then stir in water to desired consistency. Add chopped tomatoes and bell pepper.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Mmm, I told you it was good!