Classic Restaurant Style Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas are just that – a classic! If there was any food that I craved when I lived outside of Texas, this was it. Cheesy meaty goodness at its best, they are hard to resist!
So good!
Sure, there are a lot of packaged mixes on the market, but making Classic Restaurant Style Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas can be made by scratch. If you are a novice cook, I encourage you to try making your own chile puree. If you can boil water and run a blender, you have all the skills you need.
Be aware that some people recommend that you reuse the boiling water that the chiles cook in. This is a no-no. Dried chiles are very wrinkly and dry, and con hold onto dust they may have accumulated during shipping. Boil your chiles as a cooking and cleaning method, then discard the water. I can’t imagine reusing it (she says as she touches her string of pearls!) Heavens!
A Texas classic
Once the chiles have been boiled and softened, remove the stems and seeds. All you need for your chile puree is the chile part of the vegetable.
Of course, chile ancho is the most authentic chile you can use for Classic Restaurant Style Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas. There is dried chile Guajillo (sometimes called chile cascabel) and chile pasilla also. Those are mild chiles that can be used for enchiladas. Other chiles like chile chipotle or chile piquin are too spicy for a family friendly meal. You can add 1-2 of those chiles to your chile puree, but don’t overdo it. You are literally playing with fire!
I know there are plenty of Tex-Mex enchilada recipes out there that are made in a casserole dish, but this is restaurant style, one plate at a time. Either way, these enchiladas are always a hit. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do here at the ranch!
PrintClassic Restaurant Style Tex-Mex Enchiladas are so good
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
Sauce:
2 oz. dried chile ancho (56g)
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 cups water (480ml)
½ lb. ground beef (250g– 80% lean is best)*
2 tbsp. instant corn tortilla mix or all-purpose flour (16g)
Pinch of ground cumin to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Cheese Filling:
1 lb. shredded cheese (500g)
24 corn tortillas, warmed
½ lb. shredded cheese (250g)
½ medium onion, minced
Instructions
In a 2qt./2 lt. saucepan, and fill with 1 qt./1 lt of water. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Drain the chiles, discard the water, and allow the chiles to cool. Remove the stems, seeds and rinse.
Place the chiles in a glass measuring cup, along with the garlic and 2 cups of water. Using an immersion blender, puree the chiles well (you can also use a conventional blender.) Set aside.
In a large Dutch oven or skillet, brown the ½ lb. of ground beef for sauce, about 5 minutes. Add the corn tortilla mix or all-purpose flour and stir well to incorporate. Pour in the chile puree, stirring well. Season with, cumin, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer the enchilada sauce for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat.
Warm each corn tortilla on a griddle or in the microwave wrapped in a clean kitchen towel. Fill each tortilla with an equal amount of cheese and roll up.
In the meantime, heat your broiler.
Immediately before serving, cover the enchiladas with the warmed sauce. Top the enchiladas with the shredded cheese. Place the oven proof serving platter under the broiler briefly to melt the cheese, about 60 seconds. Remove the enchiladas from the broiler and top with minced onions. Serve immediately.
Notes
The trick to rolling up the tortillas neatly is to heat the tortilla first so that the tortilla is flexible. Place the rolled up filled tortillas closely together so they do not unroll.
I am showing a very thick version of the enchilada sauce. For a thinner sauce, simply add 1 cup of water (240 ml) to the enchilada sauce as it simmers. Add more water as needed for the desired thickness.
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