Stacked Beef Enchiladas
Stacked Beef Enchiladas
Enchiladas de Carne de Res
Quite a few years ago, I developed this recipe for a cooking demonstration that I presented at the California State Fair in Sacramento. I stacked the enchiladas because it was easier to offer samples to an audience of fifty or more. If you want to feed a crowd, you can double the ingredients (or more).
Ingrediënten
Makes 6 to 8 entrée servings
- 2½ pounds boneless beef stew meat
- 5 tablespoons vegetable oil plus more for frying
- 3 medium garlic cloves chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano Mexican variety preferred, crumbled
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- Ancho Chile Sauce for Enchiladas
- 1 large white onion chopped
- 1 7-ounce can diced green chiles
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 medium tomatoes peeled and finely chopped
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
- 3 thinly sliced green onions green and white parts
- ½ cup sliced black olives
- ½ cup crema or sour cream
- 3 teaspoons fresh chopped cilantro
Instructies
- Trim the meat of fat or gristle.
- Cut into 1-inch pieces.
- Heat the oil in a large pot.
- Brown the meat in batches, and remove to a bowl until all pieces are browned.
- Return the meat to the pan, and add the garlic, bay leaf, oregano, salt, pepper, and 2½ cups water.
- Bring to a boil; then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 1½ hours, or until the meat is very tender.
- Remove pan from the heat and cool the meat to lukewarm in the broth.
- Remove the meat and shred.
- Cover and reserve.
- Save the broth for the enchilada sauce.
- Prepare the ancho chile sauce.
- Then, heat the remaining oil in a large skillet and cook the onion, stirring, until it starts to brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the diced green chiles, cumin, and tomatoes.
- Bring to a boil and cook, stirring, 3 minutes.
- Add the shredded meat.
- Add salt, if desired.
- Remove from the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Grease a large 11- × 16-inch baking pan, with an edge, large enough to accommodate 4 tortillas laid out flat, so that they don’t overlap.
- Heat oil to a depth of ½ inch in a medium skillet, and soften the tortillas, 1 at a time, by passing through the hot oil, holding the edge with tongs, until limp, about 3 seconds.
- Drain on paper towels.
- Stack and cover to keep them soft and warm.
- Ladle a thin film of the reserved enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan.
- Place 4 tortillas side by side in the pan.
- Top each tortilla with about 4 tablespoons of the meat mixture.
- Place a second tortilla over the meat.
- Top with meat as before and place a third tortilla over the meat.
- Cover each stack completely with chile sauce.
- Sprinkle the tops of each stack with ⅓ of the grated cheese, ⅓ of the chopped onion, and ⅓ of the sliced olives.
- Bake, uncovered, until the cheese is melted and the sauce bubbles, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cut into wedges.
- Dollop each serving with crema or sour cream and sprinkle with cilantro.
