Bigly Beef Enchiladas
Prep
25m
Cook
25m
Total
50m
Bigly says
We need to talk about enchiladas. Real enchiladas. Not the gray-orange casserole that shows up at a school potluck under a layer of off-brand cheese. Real, sauced, rolled, baked, blistered, glossy, lacquered enchiladas. The word literally means 'in chile,' which is the most honest food name in any language — English food could learn from this, 'shepherd's pie' tells you nothing, no shepherds, no real pie, what are we doing — and that name is a PROMISE. Today we keep the promise.
The sauce is the whole argument. Canned enchilada sauce tastes like a tomato that gave up halfway through and called its lawyer. We are not using it. We're toasting 4 dried guajillos, 2 dried anchos, simmering them in broth, blending them with garlic and cumin, straining the result through a fine sieve, and frying it back in a saucepan until the kitchen smells like a restaurant in Oaxaca. Fifteen extra minutes. Fifteen! 14 cookie banners and 18 popups can fit in fifteen minutes on most recipe sites — we're spending them on SAUCE instead. That's an unfair trade in our favor. Easy math.
Then the build. Seasoned 80/20 beef, sweated onions, a hit of chile powder and smoked paprika and the rest of the cumin. Roll them tight in tortillas you've quick-fried for five seconds a side — that's the trick, that's the rule, skip it and the tortillas tear and you've made a casserole, not enchiladas, and you didn't sign up for a casserole. Douse them in MORE sauce. Blanket them in cheese. Bake until everything is bubbling like a tiny volcano and the cheese spots brown. One bite and the whole pan surrenders. It's not even close.
Ingredients
- 4dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 2dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 2 cupschicken broth
- 4 clovesgarlic
- 1.5 tsp, dividedground cumin
- 1 tspdried oregano
- 1.5 tsp, divided, plus more to tastekosher salt
- 3 tbsp, dividedvegetable oil
- 1.5 lbground beef (80/20)(80/20 — the fat is the FLAVOR, do not go 93/7, you will regret it)
- 1 mediumyellow onion, finely diced
- 1 tbspchili powder
- 1 tspsmoked paprika
- 1 tspblack pepper
- 12small corn tortillas
- 2.5 cupsshredded Monterey Jack or Mexican blend cheese
- 1/4 cupfresh cilantro, chopped (for garnish)
- 1/4 cupwhite onion, finely diced (for garnish)
- 1/3 cupMexican crema or sour cream (for serving)
Steps
- 1
Toast the guajillo and ancho chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat for 30 seconds per side until fragrant. Transfer to a saucepan with the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes until soft. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes.
- 2
Transfer the chiles and their soaking liquid to a blender. Add the garlic, 1/2 tsp cumin, oregano, and 1 tsp salt. Blend until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on the solids.
- 3
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Pour in the strained sauce (it will splatter) and simmer 5 minutes to deepen the flavor. Taste and adjust salt. Set aside.
- 4
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up, until browned, about 6-7 minutes. Drain off excess fat if needed.
- 5
Add the diced yellow onion and cook 3 minutes until softened. Stir in the chili powder, smoked paprika, remaining 1 tsp cumin, black pepper, and remaining 1/2 tsp salt. Cook 1 minute, then stir in 1/3 cup of the red chile sauce. Remove from heat.
- 6
Heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil in a small skillet. Working one at a time, quickly fry each tortilla for 5-10 seconds per side until softened and pliable. Drain on paper towels. (This step keeps them from tearing.)
- 7
Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Fill each tortilla with about 1/4 cup of the beef mixture, roll tightly, and arrange seam-side down in the dish.
- 8
Pour the remaining sauce over the top, covering all the tortillas. Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly across the surface.
- 9
Bake 18-22 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbling, and lightly browned in spots. Let stand 5 minutes.
- 10
Garnish with cilantro, diced white onion, and a drizzle of crema. Serve hot.
One more thing
You pull this out of the oven and the kitchen smells like every great Mexican restaurant you've ever loved, except BETTER, because it's yours, and yours is always better — that's the rule. The cheese is bubbling. The sauce is glossy. The tortilla edges are crispy where they peeked above the cheese. Somebody in your house is going to wander toward the kitchen, mid-sentence, mid-task, and ask 'what is that smell.' They walk in. They look at the pan. They are CHANGED. Permanently. They will never love anyone else's enchiladas again. A tremendous responsibility. Wear it well. Save me a piece.
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