Chicken and Chorizo Enchiladas | Enchiladas Callejeras | Enchiladas: Aztec to Tex-Mex

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Enchiladas

The first time I ever had enchiladas, I was at my friend Debbie’s house. I was already out of college–obviously, I led a very sheltered life–and Debbie was Totally Grown because she had a cookbook out of which she chose the recipe for creamy chicken enchiladas. I’m pretty sure you’ve had something like it, if not the exact same recipe, before. Let’s revisit that dish later, shall we? Just keep it in mind for now.

According to the authors of the book Enchiladas: Aztec to Tex-Mex, Cappy Lawton and Chris Waters Dunn, the term enchilada means to season with chiles or to “chilefy” a food.

Therefore, chile peppers in some form must be present in order for a food to be called an enchilada. Further, Lawton and Dunn contend that enchiladas are always made with corn tortillas and while they may be unfilled, they are never “un-sauced.” And, if the recipe for chicken and chorizo enchiladas (enchiladas callejeras) is any indication, real, authentic enchiladas are completely delicious.

The basic components of any enchilada

• sauce
• filling
• the assembly itself
• garnish

The authors suggest reading the introductory chapters on Ingredients and Fundamentals–which are very well-written and thorough–to gain a better understanding of how enchiladas are made and how to make the individual components before attempting the recipes in subsequent chapters.

I concur.

It’s not that enchiladas are fussy to make, but if you’re not familiar with the process (I wasn’t), it is well worth taking the time to read up on all the techniques and workflow before getting started.

Enchiladas: Aztec to Tex Mex

Here are the Recipes Chapters with representative recipes:

• Accompaniments/Guarniciones: Pico de Gallo, Black Bean Relish, Nopalito Salad, Salsa Cruda (Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa)
• Pork/Carne de Cerdo Enchiladas: Enchiladas del Suelo (Sinaloa Style Enchiladas filled with chorizo, green onions, tomato and queso fresco), Enchiladas Regias (filled with chorizo and shredded pork and topped with a deeply flavored “regal” ancho chile sauce), Enchiladas Verdes de Tlaxcala (creamy pork shoulder filling with tomatillo sauce)
• Beef/Carne de Res Enchiladas: Enchiladas Norteñas (skirt steak and chile filling with a tomato and red  sauce), Enchiladas Ropa Vieja (brisket, chile and tomato filling with a sauce that echoes those flavors), Enchiladas de Barbacoa (beef tongue and cheek–and cheek is some of my favorite!–with red jalapeño sauce)
• Poultry/Pato y Pollo Enchiladas:  Enchiladas de Mole Rojo (shredded chicken with red mole sauce), Enchiladas de Pato (duck confit with a tomato-based sauce),Enchiladas Tapatias (shredded chicken with an ancho chile sauce), Enchiladas Callejeras (shredded chicken enchiladas topped with a chorizo, potato and carrot “hash”)
• Seafood/Mariscos Enchiladas: Enchiladas de Atún (oil-packed tuna “salad” with a smoky “clamato” type sauce), OPen-Faced Shrimp Enchiladas (tortillas topped with romaine dressed with smoky citrus ginger vinaigrette and fried shrimp), Enchiladas de Langosta (beer-poached lobster and poblano filling with poblano cream sauce and sauteed corn)
• Dairy/Lácteos Enchiladas: Papadzules (Chopped egg filling with pepita and chile-tomato sauces),Enchiladas Rojas de Queso (cheese and chipotle filled and topped enchiladas), Enchiladas de Santa Clara (cheese enchiladas with a chile egg enchilada sauce)
• Vegetable/Verdura Enchiladas: This chapter starts with recipes for Poblano Cream Sauce and Chipotle Sauce that are used with several of the vegetarian options, including (Enchiladas Berenjenas (in which eggplant is rolled up like a tortilla, filled with summer squash and cheese and topped with the poblano cream sauce), Enchiladas de Camote (sweet potato filling with chipotle sauce), and Enchiladas de Nopales (nopales {cactus}, egg and pico de gallo filling with chipotle sauce, garnished with black bean relish and queso fresco)
• Tex-Mex Enchiladas: Apparently all Tex-Mex Enchiladas are sauced with Ancho Chile Gravy, which I believe is what most Americans think of as enchilada sauce (roux thickened ancho chile-based sauce seasoned with cumin and garlic). This chapter starts with a very intense-sounding ancho chile gravy that yours truly will be making a vat of very soon. Representative recipes include Tex-Mex Beef Enchiladas, Chicken Enchiladas, Cheese Enchiladas and Brisket Enchiladas (including a recipe for making the brisket, complete with wet and dry rubs)

The last section includes

• a bibliography
• recipe sources
• a glossary of Spanish terms
• the story of how Cappy Lawton came to own and operate La Fonda on Main as a restaurant offering not only Tex-Mex cuisine but cuisine representative of the interior of Mexico.

I have to tell you, reading this book has been a revelation.

Had you asked me to describe enchiladas before reading Enchiladas: Aztec to Tex-Mex, I would have described something similar to the the enchiladas from the Tex-Mex chapter: a casserole of tortillas rolled around a cheesy-meaty filling, smothered in red chile sauce and more cheese and baked.

Or I might even have mentioned the creamy chicken enchiladas that Debbie made years ago. The only chile that finds its way into that version is a small can of diced green chiles.

While I love the creamy, fatty, chicken and cheese retro-casserole vibe of that dish, I have discovered that there is a whole world of lighter, intensely-flavored and creative takes on enchiladas, and I sort of want to try them all.

If you have one takeaway from this post (aside from the chicken and chorizo enchiladas recipe because Lord, They Are Delicious), it’s that all enchiladas are made with corn tortillas.

If you see a recipe for the Tex-Mex version–or any version–that calls for flour tortillas, just use corn tortillas instead. It’s a simple swap if you want to be

1. a)authentic
2. b)gluten-free.

Incidentally, every single recipe in this book is gluten-free except for the Tex-Mex Enchiladas recipe based on ancho chile gravy.

To make that gravy gluten-free, sub corn starch or some other starch thickener for the flour called for in the book.

Chicken and Chorizo Enchiladas (Enchiladas Callejeras)

I have made the chicken and chorizo enchiladas twice. The first time was a huge production wherein I

• made the enchilada sauce
• poached and shredded the chicken for the filling
• cooked potatoes and carrots and then made them into a chorizo-based hash
• assembled and garnished the enchiladas.

It took forever and ever.

And no, I didn’t read the introductory chapters first. I am bad.

Regardless of the time involved, they were incredibly good.

The second time I made them, I already had the sauce and the rest of the components on hand and just had to reheat everything before assembling and garnishing.

This took considerably less time than the first time so I will suggest to you that if you want to make chicken and chorizo enchiladas (and you really should. Oh my), you make the components ahead of time, or at least some of them.

Whether you make them all on one day as part of a marathon process like I did the first time, or whether you assemble them from components you wisely made ahead, you are going to love these enchiladas.

The chicken itself is mild, but the chile sauce-dipped and briefly fried corn tortillas along with the chorizo from the hash and the pickled jalapeno garnish bring enough heat that even spicy food lover The Beloved didn’t even consider adding hot sauce.

The dish is filling but not heavy, colorful and flavorful, and worthy of guests. I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t want to share.

I’d make the entire dish again in a hot minute, and I’m just as likely to make the chorizo hash and serve it with eggs. Wrapped in a tortilla. Corn, of course!

I expect by now you’ll want to make these, so here’s the recipe.

Reprinted from Enchiladas: Aztec to Tex-Mex Copyright © 2015 by Cappy Lawton and Chris Waters Dunn. published by Trinity University Press. 

Click here to see a video preview of the book (they also give a shout out to the enchiladas callajeras I made. Dang, y’all, seriously. Get in the kitchen!) as well as a great video on making homemade corn tortillas.

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This is the kitchen scale that I recommend for home cooks and bakers. Using a scale will help you be more accurate and consistent in your measurements.

It is lightweight, easy to store, accurate, and very easy to use.

This is the kitchen scale that I recommend for home cooks and bakers. Using a scale will help you be more accurate and consistent in your measurements.

It is lightweight, easy to store, accurate, and very easy to use.

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