Enchiladas: Stacked or rolled?

I see some dumb recipes from shill sites with suggestions to buy one brand or another (Ortega, etc), and I'm surprised to see some of these not even go into the question of quickly frying the corn tortillas. Is this something you can get away with when making stacked units? Because I sure don't think you can with the rolled guys.
I tried some rolled ones a while back, and that is a mess. You have to use your fingers, after the tortilla has been dipped in the sauce. But, I can see how the stacked guys could be handled with tongs, si?
Also, I think the layering would allow better control over who wants what in theirs. I'll try some soon.
-Scott Lindgren

I have stopped making rolled enchiladas. I much prefer the New Mexico stacked enchiladas for several reasons, one of the main ones being that you don't have to fry the torillas. I just dip them in warm sauce before I lay them in the dish. Definitely healthier. I also like being able to use more filling as well as plenty of extra cheese. And I actually like the presentation better. I make about 3 layers each of tortilla, filling and cheese. Seving it like lasagna, it holds together nicely.

Bob likes when I roll them-frankly, I dont eat my own enchiladas.He likes them,the family likes them;I dont.Prefer a corn tortilla and home made gravy.

Yeah, Ed, I'd hate to be the the prep guy at El Torito, or anywhere else. I suppose they must wear gloves, I can't see any kind of way not to get sauce all over your fingers on the rolled units. Even then, the tortilla is gonna wanna fight back, which just will not happen with the stacked idea. I only started reading about this New Mexico gag in the last year or so, never seen them in Dallas or LA. Although I don't care about the health question... If I like them fried a little, I'll do it. Now... I need to work on that chili gravy recipe... and use taco beef.
I do have a couple that sound good, I am trying to avoid any enchilada sauce with a hint of tomato. I will sometimes put up with a green sauce, in a cheese enchilada, but the red is out for me. No, I want to try stacked with beef, a brown beefy sauce, with lots of garlic and cumin in there, and maybe even Velveeta! YES!
Somebody asked for a good cheese enchilada recipe, you've heard my thoughts here, but here is one thing I would say about the milder green sauces. We all know that dairy is the method to take the edge off things when you've gone overboard with the habaneros, etc. What I'll do is get the really hot stuff on board, then cool off a little with a bite of cheese enchilada with sour cream. It's a balancing act. Sometimes a nearby glass of milk is also a good idea. A lactose fire extinguisher.
-Scott Lindgren

I have always rolled my tortillas for homemade enchiladas. I heat a small pan with oil and quickly dip the shells one at a time in the hot oil untiled heated through on both sides. I stack them on a plate and then I assemble one at a time. I have made at times over 100 but for the immediate family I fix around 24 to 30 as I love them warmed up.

I put a dallop of my meat mixture (spices, hamburger meat and tomato sacue) on each totillas, then a dallop of cheese and then a dallop of chopped onion. I then roll and lay in a cassarole dish. Then I take the left over meat mixture, cheese and onion and put on top. Bake in a 350 deg. oven until warmed and bubbly.

Yes, the tortillas are pretty warm when rolling but I have done it so long (at least 35 years) that it doesn't bother me.

Enchiladas are my son's fav. food for me to make and now my grandkids beg me to make them.

I'm lazy. I just make an enchilada casserole.

Sassy hit the nail on the head, as usual.

Salin, do your steamed taco meat deal and then make chili out of it. Then top your enchiladas w/ it.

I rolled 500 cheese enchiladas at a time when I worked at El Chico. Then I would eat a dozen of those babys.

A stacked casserole works to. Not sure you would call that enchiladas but... who cares. A stacked enchilada works I guess.

A friend of mine makes a real good chicken casserole. She heats flour tortillas in chiken broth and then stacks everything. Not sure what you could call that? You can't make an enchilada w/ a flour tortilla, or??? I guess if you cook it, then you can call it whatever you want!
Joe

I rarely make them just for myself.I usually buy El Chico tv dinners if I want some. However,I take my corn tortillas and wrap them in damp paper toweling and heat them for a minute or so in the microwave,till they are soft and can be rolled.I them dip them in sauce,add cheese and roll. This is good as I can't eat alot of greasy foods and am watching my weight.
I just eat enchiladas mainly when I feel the urge and as i say just get the tv dinners.

Sour cream chicken enchiladas...rolled.

That's funny that El Chico comes up twice here. Fresh & frozen. I'll have to try an EC next time I'm in Dallas. As for the frozen... We don't have those here in LA, but I've been buying the Banquet frozen products lately, both beef and cheese enchiladas, 4 for $5. I get them half way heated up, then I improve them with extra cheese, salsa, roasted serranos, green onion. They are not bad, and darned convenient.
-SL

Lee, one of my fav kinds of enchilada. How about your recipe? I am not happy with the way I make them.

Salin, I didn't recamend El Chico. I just used to work there. El Chico once made what I thought was the best cheese enchilada. That is not the case now. They changed the cheese. Maybe someday the will come back? Till then, El Fenix is my pick. The origional location near the West End in Dallas makes them just like they did 50 yrs. ago.

About the frozen things... fixed up kinda like Salin said makes them all pretty good. My pick though is Patio beef, 4 to a carton for a buck at my stores. I put extra sharp cheddar, sliced pickled jalapenos and some of the juice, after they are almost done, just enough to melt the cheese good. Oh, Salin, your from Texas and should eat more jalapenos! They make almost everything better I think.

Speaking of pickled jalapenos, La Costeno is my very favorite brand. I find a big difference in the taste of different brands of these tasty babys. They come in a can and I just use a Rubbermaid container to store them in. I have whole and sliced in the fridge. I use the juice for all kinds of stuff.
Joe

Stacked in Southern NM. Rolled would be heresy.

Northern, too. Let's not forget Blue Corn Enchiladas (stacked)

quote:

Originally posted by NYNM

Northern, too. Let's not forget Blue Corn Enchiladas (stacked)

My favorite from The Shed! Stacked blue corn cheese enchiladas with green sauce and a nice glass of sangria!

To PJ8: I'll only check out EC if I've had my fill of Ojeda's, next time I'm in Dallas. I was not all that happy with El Fenix, and Herrera's is not what it used to be. With regard to jalapenos... Yes, there sure are big differences in brands of canned or jarred units. I got a big jar of a brand I hated so much I threw it away. Weird, sweet and sour flavor, MONTECITO. Ugh. When I got started fooling around with serranos, I was timid, and only bought like 3 or 4, for roasting, now I just put handfuls in the bag. They are almost free ($.99/lb). Habaneros are a little more troublesome. Use 'em or lose 'em, they start turning black within a couple of days, and don't roast very easily. But the serranos hold up well in the fridge, and roast like a charm.
-Scott Lindgren

I love stacked enchiladas  -  filled with chicken and onion and cheese, lots of green chile sauce, and topped with an egg.  But I make rolled ones too.  Sauce of tomatillos and green chiles, with onions and garlic in chicken broth, adding oregano, cilantro and pinones;  cook slowly until nicely thickened  -  the antithesis of artificial scent air "fresheners"  -  meanwhile deconstruct the Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey carcass  -  or roast another one just for sandwiches and enchiladas  -  and mix chopped turkey meat with chopped onions, green chile, cilantro, pine nuts, jack cheese and queso fresco and sour cream.
 
I like to lay out a cookie sheet or shallow baking pan to work on; sauce on the stove, filling and tortillas to one side, baking dishes to the other, cast iron skillet with corn oil in front.  put a tortilla in oil for ten to twelve seconds per side, remove with tongs, dip in sauce, lay on work pan;  drop another tortilla in oil  and take a heaping 1/4 cup of filling and drop in center of tortilla in work pan;  flip the tortilla in the oil;  spread filling down center of tortilla in work pan, roll up that joint;  retrieve tortilla from oil, dip in sauce and set in work pan;  place rolled tortilla in baking dish and drop another tortilla in skillet and get sauce for the one in the work pan.   "Lather, rinse, repeat" (how to make a programmer late for work)
 
Before long you've got several dishes ready to cover with sauce, cheese and sour cream and bake.  Serve or wrap and freeze.
 
Gloves are for wimps.  Don't rub your eyes.  Wash hands well when done, then rub with salt and lemon juice and and wash again.  Now you can probably rub your eyes or pick your nose without fiery sensations.
 

I've eaten a bunch of Enchiladas and have never seen them stacked, always rolled and have always eaten them with a fork & knife, never fingers.

Foodbme


I've eaten a bunch of Enchiladas and have never seen them stacked, always rolled and have always eaten them with a fork & knife, never fingers.

 
Then you have never eaten them in Northern New Mexico because they come stacked.

Foodbme-I dont think Brownshoe was referring to eating the enchiladas with fingers, just while preparing...

kland01s

Foodbme

I've eaten a bunch of Enchiladas and have never seen them stacked, always rolled and have always eaten them with a fork & knife, never fingers.

Then you have never eaten them in Northern New Mexico because they come stacked.

Yor're right. I've been to Norhern NM but have never eaten them there. But now I plan to. I went on-liine and picked up a couple recipes and will try them at home.

ann peeples


Foodbme-I dont think Brownshoe was referring to eating the enchiladas with fingers, just while preparing...

Silly me! I just couldn't picture anyone eating them with their fingers. Although if one were drunk enough?????

Oh yes-have done that when they were cold leftovers!!

Not me... can't touch!
 
Stacked enchiladas were one of the dishes that Jane Butel taught in her class after we made the sauce and tortillas!

mar52

Not me... can't touch!
Stacked enchiladas were one of the dishes that Jane Butel taught in her class after we made the sauce and tortillas!

I'll have to look in my "Chili Madness' cookbooks and see if the recipe's in there. If not, can you post it? 

cheese enchiladas rolled please.

To be honest, I had never heard of a stacked enchilada prior to reading this thread.
 
Good to know :-)

Foodbme

mar52

Not me... can't touch!
Stacked enchiladas were one of the dishes that Jane Butel taught in her class after we made the sauce and tortillas!

I'll have to look in my "Chili Madness' cookbooks and see if the recipe's in there. If not, can you post it? 

 
I'll look for it.  I had printed out pages of the things we made in class, but I'm sure they're in one of her books.

From Jane Butel's Southwestern Kitchen... page 180 with my own notes added
 
Red Chile Beef Open-Face Enchiladas or Rolled Enchiladas.
 
Vegetable oil
 
12 white, yellow or blue corn tortillas  (Use yellow corn)
 
2 cups Red Chile Sauce, made with beef. (recipe to follow)
 
About 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese  (I see she can't make up her mind)
 
1 onion, chopped  (May be cooked into the sauce)
 
4 - 6 eggs (optional) soft fried
 
6 - 8 lettuce leaves (Optional) coarsely chopped
 
2 ripe tomatoes (optional) cut in wedges
 
Preheat oven to 350º.  Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a heavy skillet.  Add tortillas and fry lightly in batches, being careful not to make them too crisp to roll.
 
Warm 4 plates in a preheated oven.
 
FOR FLAT ENCHILADAS:  Place a little chile sauce on a warmed plate, then top with a tortilla followed by cheese, onion, and sauce.  (three tortillas layered make a very hearty serving)  Top each flat enchilada with more sauce and cheese.  Place in a preheated oven until the cheese melts.  Top with an egg, if desired and garnish with the chopped lettuce and tomato wedges.
 
 
Red Chile Sauce:
 
2 T butter, lard or bacon drippings
 
2 T flour
 
1/4 cup ground mild red chile
1/4 cup ground hot red chile
2 cups beef stock or water
1 garlic clove, crushed
pinch of ground Mexican oregano
pinch of ground cumin
3/4 tsp salt if not using stock
 
Melt butter in a medium size saucepan over low heat.  Add flour and stir until smooth and slightly golden.
 
Remove pan from heat and add ground chiles.  Return to heat and gradually stir in stock.  Add garlic, oregano, cumin and salt if using.... and cook, stirring about 10 minutes.  Simmer at least 5 more minutes for flavors to blend.  Makes 2 1/2 cups.
 
Variation  (which is what she uses with the enchiladas)
 
Saute 1 pound ground beer, or beef cut in very small cubes.  Omit the shortening and continue as directed above... use for enchiladas.
 
Note from me:  the reason she takes the pan off of the heat when stirring in the chile powders is because they easily burn over heat giving the sauce a very bitter taste.
 
The sauce is great.  I use it without the ground beef for tamales.
 
 

I have been looking for a real sauce recipe forever.Thank you, thank you, Mar!!!!!!

Ann,  use lard to make your sauce.  This one really tastes good.
 
I bought Jane's chili powders when I was visiting with her. One was mild like a New Mexican chili powder and the other was hot.  I figure she sells two packages of spices this way instead of selling just one.  A good medium spice, maybe like ancho would be just fine.
 

THANX! for the recipe Mar. She has a similiar recipe in her 2nd edition "Chili Madness" Cookbook that is slightly different. It calls for using chili instead of red sauce with meat. Never had chili in enchiladas before. Think I'll go with your variation. I guess you can make enchiladas with almost any stuffing - chicken, cheese, pork, beef, green chiles, etc

I've also never heard of stacked enchiladas, only ever had rolled in any restaurant, and that's how I make mine. I started making my own roasted tomatillo sauce, and I did a pan of chicken/black bean enchiladas with that recently, and it turned out rather good.

From the current Saveur Mag:
Enchiladas
MAKES 12
 8 dried New Mexico chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 oz. Mexican chocolate, such as Ibarra, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 saltine crackers or 2 1/2 tbsp. bread crumbs
1 clove garlic
1 whole clove
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. canola oil
Kosher salt, to taste
2 cups queso añejo, grated, plus more to garnish
1/2 small yellow onion, minced
12 corn tortillas
Make the red chile sauce: Heat chiles in a 12″ skillet over high heat, and cook, turning as needed, until toasted, about 5 minutes; transfer chiles to a blender with chocolate, oregano, cinnamon, crackers, garlic, clove, and 1 1/2 cups boiling water, and let sit for 5 minutes. Puree until smooth, and then pour sauce through a fine strainer into a bowl.
Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat, and add chile sauce; cook, stirring often, until reduced and thickened, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and set aside.
 To assemble the enchiladas, combine the queso añejo and onion in a small bowl and set aside. Pour oil to a depth of 2″ in a 6-qt. Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°.
 Using tongs grasp all the tortillas in a stack and submerge in oil, swirling in oil until slightly fried and pliable, about 15 seconds. (The surface of the tortillas should puff up in tiny pockets in several places.) Remove from oil and set aside on a plate to cool. (Alternatively, you may wrap the tortillas in a damp towel and briefly microwave to steam.)
 Dip each tortilla in chile sauce until completely coated. Transfer to a plate and top with 3 tbsp. cheese filling; roll up like a cigar and sprinkle with more cheese. Serve immediately with rice and beans.
 
//  

I see a disaster happening if dipping all of the tortillas in hot oil at once.  Am I reading that incorrectly?
 
 

mar52

I see a disaster happening if dipping all of the tortillas in hot oil at once.  Am I reading that incorrectly?

The Recipe came from Saveur Magazine, but I read it as putting all the tortillas in the oil at the same time also.
I guess they think they will separate and float and then take them out one at a time?????
They say put 2" of oil in a 6 qt pan. I don't think it will boil over but who knows!
What impressed me was the Ingredients List, not the directions.
I've never seen that many ingredients in one Enchilada recipe.
When I make Enchiladas, I don't put the tortillas in oil at all anyway. I use them plain.
To be on the safe side, I'd put the Tortillas in one at a time if you fry them. Or call the Fire Dept. and put them on standby!

When you grow up in Northern Albuquerque North you learn to have them flat.  I personally enjoy them done Christmas ( New Mexico style  Red and Green sauce made with Hatch Chiles) Stuffed with Carne Adovada (baked or simmered   Hatch Red Chile sauce marinated pork shoulder cubes ). I prefer Blue Corn  over regular  Corn Tortillas finished with a light topping of Mexican crumbled cheese and two over easy eggs. Plate is completed with rice and refried pinto beans done in Manteca. Then add a fresh basket of unlimited Sopapillas ( puffy deep fried squares of bread style dough) and wild native honey . I have been eating Enchiladas in this fashion for over 50yrs so they are really nothing new in the Land of Enchantment. I have even found this style in Reno ,NV however they use lousy California Chiles for the sauce. 

You threw me with the word Manteca so I looked it up.
Did you know there's a town in CA called Lard,(Manteca) CA
Are you originally from PA?

Jane gives an alternative to dipping the tortillas in oil...
 
The alternative is chili water:
 
To one quart water, add 1/4 cup of ground mild chile in a skillet wider than the tortillas.  Stir until well mixed, then bring to a simmer.
 
It saves the calories (laughing) of using the oil.  It also doesn't taste as good.

mar52


Jane gives an alternative to dipping the tortillas in oil...

The alternative is chili water:

To one quart water, add 1/4 cup of ground mild chile in a skillet wider than the tortillas.  Stir until well mixed, then bring to a simmer.

It saves the calories (laughing) of using the oil.  It also doesn't taste as good.

Nothing tastes as good unless you fry it in LARD! Then it tastes even better!

Yep Muncy/Williamsport, first  years of life with parents that grew up on Penn Dutch and Yankee versions of Southern mountain cooking. Over the years of cooking I have found it interesting how food styles/types  have moved North and South along the Appalachian Mountain Chain. However bulk of youth was in New Mexico and where I learned to prepare traditional New Mexico Style food along with foods of the major European traditions.  

Penn German Chef


Yep Muncy/Williamsport, first  years of life with parents that grew up on Penn Dutch and Yankee versions of Southern mountain cooking. Over the years of cooking I have found it interesting how food styles/types  have moved North and South along the Appalachian Mountain Chain. However bulk of youth was in New Mexico and where I learned to prepare traditional New Mexico Style food along with foods of the major European traditions.  

My mothers family came up the Susquehanna and rooted in Renovo before moving on to Clearfield & DuBois. My Uncle, John Egli, was the basketball coach at Penn State in the 60's. He was from Williamsport.
As a Chef, have you considered developing PA and Southwestern fusion food. How about Scrapple Enchiladas! Or Pot Roast Tamales? Venison Chorizo anyone? Lebanon Bologna Tacos??

My family is from the same area of PA (Cogan Station/Salladasburg/Williamsport), and the large meals my grandmother would fix were legendary. I'm glad she wrote everything down in notebooks, because I have a cookbook now with all of the dishes she'd make for us. She lived her whole life right there, and her menu reflected that, as well as things she picked up from various cookbooks over her 98 years. Down home, stick to your ribs, great food.

I roll mine. Was not aware of technique of dipping in sauce. I assemble, roll, place in casserole which has sauce on the bottom and pour sauce over them before they hit the oven. They turn out great. Never heard of stacked enchiladas..

Cosmos


I roll mine. Was not aware of technique of dipping in sauce. I assemble, roll, place in casserole which has sauce on the bottom and pour sauce over them before they hit the oven. They turn out great. Never heard of stacked enchiladas..

Welcome to the Club!

Foodbme

Cosmos


I roll mine. Was not aware of technique of dipping in sauce. I assemble, roll, place in casserole which has sauce on the bottom and pour sauce over them before they hit the oven. They turn out great. Never heard of stacked enchiladas..

Welcome to the Club!

Same here, I've recently switched to flour tortillas, I like the texture  better.