Sunday, August 24, 2008

Enchiladas Part Two: Finally a Happy Ending


Irritated by my enchiladas fiasco a week or two ago, I decided to go back to my standard shredded beef/green enchilada sauce recipe, and was relieved to discover that I could in fact make bueno enchiladas! Granted the sauce may not be completely authentic, I'm pretty sure that adding milk is not exactly standard, but it tastes yummy, and it's the perfect complement to the shredded beef. The beef is garlicky and tender, the sauce is creamy and spicy, and then fresh, pliable tortillas, and shredded cheese are added--how could it not be fabulous?

And the leftover meat made some pretty awesome flautas too, to which our Friday night guests and my sister would probably both attest. Noel and I finished off the last two enchiladas for lunch today, and I'm already wanting to make it again, just talking about the taste of these makes my mouth start watering! The one small downside is that while the beef is cooking your house will pretty much smell like some sort of weird meat factory, which is really unappealing first thing in the morning (I cook it overnight in a crockpot), but don't worry about what your neighbors might think of your strange odours and emanations, you can take them some of the finished product, and all will be forgiven.

Shredded Beef Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 cup + 3 tbsp milk, divided
1 cup chopped onion
2 (4 oz) cans of chopped green chiles
7 oz spicy salsa verde
dash of salt
7-8 10 inch flour tortillas
the shredded meat from one 2 lb roast
(sorry, I didn't think to measure how much meat I got as as the finished product)
2 cups shredded cheese, preferably cheddar or jack


In a large saucepan melt the 1/2 cup butter over medium heat. Saute the chopped onion in the butter for 2-3 minutes, until the onions begin to soften. Add the green chiles, and keep stirring for another minute or two. Then add in the flour, stirring quickly to keep the flour from scorching. It will soon turn into a bunch of weird green lumps as the flour sticks to the onions and chiles, but keep stirring the lumps around until all the flour is absorbed. Increase the heat slightly, and slowly add in one cup of milk, stirring constantly, until the milk combines with the lumps and makes a fairly smooth sauce. It'll never be completely smooth because of the chiles and onions, but just try to make sure that there are no flour lumps. Add a dash of salt if desired.

Once the sauce is pretty smooth, stir in the salsa verde. Let the sauce thicken for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove one cup of the sauce to a microwave safe cup or bowl. Add the shredded beef to the saucepan with the remaining sauce, stirring until the sauce and beef combine into a sort of paste (which sounds gross, but will taste great!)

Spread about 1/2 a cup of the meat mixture along the edge of a tortilla. Sprinkle the meat with about 2 tablespoons of cheese and roll the tortilla up. Place the enchilada into a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Keep repeating this until you've used up your tortillas, and your pan is full of enchiladas (you should only use about half of the meat mixture.) Take the cup of sauce that you set aside, and stir in an extra 3 tbsp of milk to thin it slightly. Microwave it for about 20 seconds to re-warm it if necessary. Spread the sauce over the top of the enchiladas, then sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese on the top is crunchy, and the enchiladas seem hot through.

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