How to Make Traditional Beef or Chicken Enchiladas at Home

These Beef Enchiladas were a special treat growing up. I am not going to lie to you, they are a bit of work since everything is from scratch including the filling, sauce and tortillas. No prepackaged stuff here! But they are so delicious you won’t mind the extra effort.

First, let’s clear up the misconception that Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day. That is September 16. Cinco de Mayo marks the anniversary of the unlikely victory of the Mexican Army over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.

This recipe is from my grandmother. Nope, not the Texan, the one of FRENCH heritage. Yup, here’s a French woman’s recipe for Enchiladas for Cinco de Mayo. Well, I thought it was funny!

You can speed things up by using store bought tortillas, just heat them a little before trying to roll them. For chicken, substitute thickly sliced boneless chicken breasts or thighs and shred with a fork before serving. For cheese enchiladas, omit the meat filling and add shredded Monterey Jack (or your favorite cheese).

You can serve these with our Margaritas or Michaeladas for the grown ups or some Jamaica (Berry Hibiscus Tea) for a non alcoholic refresher.

Beef or Chicken Enchiladas

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Ingredients

  

FILLING

• 2 lb ground beef or thickly sliced boneless chicken
• 1/2-3/4 cup onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 14 1/2 oz can of tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 dashes pepper sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder

GRAVY

• 1 quart beef or chicken stock
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• cornstarch as needed

TORTILLAS

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

For Serving

• grated Monterey Jack cheese or cojita cheese optional
• chopped olives optional
• fresh cilantro optional

Instructions

 

Filling

• Brown the ground meat (or chicken) and drain off the fat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until they are translucent. Add the other ingredients and simmer for one hour.

Gravy

• While the filling is cooking, simmer all gravy ingredients for half an hour and thicken with cornstarch.

Tortillas

• While the filling and gravy are cooking, mix and sift cornmeal, flour, cornstarch and salt. Beat eggs until light. Add milk and oil. Beat into dry ingredients. Pour into a pitcher.
• Heat 8-inch skillet and cover bottom with oil or cooking spray. Pour 3 tablespoons of batter into center of skillet. Grasp handle and twist and turn until bottom of skillet is evenly covered with batter. Flip when light brown. Store cooked tortilla between paper towels until all are cooked. Oil or spray pan between tortillas.

Assembling the Enchiladas

• Dip each tortilla in gravy and fill generously with meat sauce. Roll with the ends on bottom. Place on individual serving plates. Cover enchilada with gravy and sprinkle with Monterey jack cheese and chopped ripe or stuffed green olives.

Until next time, happy eating.
~Audrey