• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Mexican Please

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Most Popular
    • Most Recent
    • Salsas
    • Appetizers/Sides
    • Beans
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
    • Enchiladas
    • Main Dish
    • Mexican Cooking 101
    • Tacos
    • Soup
    • Tortillas
    • Vegetarian
  • Articles
  • Cooking Course
  • About Me
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Tips
  • Course
  • Contact
  • About Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Tips
    • Course
    • Contact
    • About Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home

    Ancho Enchiladas

    May 10, 2018 By Patrick

    Recipe Progress:
    ← Back to Module

    Welcome to one of my favorite recipes in the Course --  Ancho Enchiladas!

    The Anchos give this enchilada sauce an incredible flavor that somehow tastes familiar to me, as if it's the way enchiladas are supposed to be.

    I hope you're hungry -- ready to start cooking?

    Ancho Chicken Enchiladas | mexicanplease.com

    I filled these enchiladas with chicken but keep in mind that there is some leeway on the protein choice.  The Ancho sauce is the key to this dish and the protein choice is less important, so feel free to customize to your liking.

    Here's a look at the key ingredients for the sauce:

    Ancho Chicken Enchiladas | mexicanplease.com

    Hello Anchos!

    We'll use four Ancho dried chilis and start by wiping off any dusty crevasses.  After de-stemming and de-seeding, we'll wake them up in a 400F oven for 1-2 minutes.

    Ancho Chicken Enchiladas | mexicanplease.com

    Once they are warm and fragrant, cover the Ancho pieces in a bowl with the hottest tap water you've got.  If they float to the surface you can use a plate or small bowl to keep them submerged.

    Ancho Chicken Enchiladas | mexicanplease.com

    Let these reconstitute for 20 minutes or so, depending on how hungry you are 🙂

    We'll also roast two tomatoes in the oven at 400F.  They'll be mostly roasted when the Anchos are done reconstituting.

    Ancho Chicken Enchiladas | mexicanplease.com

    While all this reconstituting and roasting is going on, saute a roughly chopped onion and 2 whole garlic cloves in a dollop of oil.

    Before adding the onion to the skillet, set aside a couple tablespoons to be used for the inner mixture of the enchiladas.

    Ancho Chicken Enchiladas | mexicanplease.com

    Don't worry about chopping too fine because all of this is going in the blender eventually.

    Drain the reconstituted chilis and add the chili pieces to a blender along with the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and 2 cups of stock.  (Don't forget to take a taste of chilis' soaking liquid to see how your palate reacts to it.)

    Ancho Chicken Enchiladas | mexicanplease.com

    I used chicken stock for this recipe, but you can always use the chilis' soaking liquid in place of the stock if you want to.

    Blend until smooth.

    Ancho Chicken Enchiladas | mexicanplease.com

    Look at that sauce!

    Strain the blended sauce through a fine-mesh sieve.  You might have to push down on the sauce once the sieve gets a bit clogged.  You'll end up with about 1/2 cup worth of seeds and skin that can be discarded.

    Ancho Chicken Enchiladas | mexicanplease.com

    Add a big dollop of oil to a saucepan and once heated you can add the strained enchilada sauce.

    Add 1 teaspoon of Mexican oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and some freshly ground black pepper.

    Mix well and let the sauce simmer for 30-45 minutes.  It'll eventually reduce down to a thicker, velvety consistency.

    Ancho Chicken Enchiladas | mexicanplease.com

    Give it a final taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary.

    If all has gone according to plan, you've got a rich, otherworldly enchilada sauce on your hands.  Yum!

    Okay, you've got choices on the innards of the enchiladas.  Shredded rotisserie chicken works great.  Or you can poach 2 boneless chicken breasts while the sauce is simmering.  That's what I did and the final product, 8 enchiladas worth, used up about 1.5 chicken breasts.

    To poach the chicken, simply cover two chicken breasts with cold tap water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to let simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

    A few simple tricks will ensure you end up with a crispy batch of Chicken Flautas. We're serving them with a fiery Avocado Salsa Verde. So good! mexicanplease.com

    For this batch of chicken, I also added salt, pepper, onion, and cilantro to the saucepan.  This won't flavor the chicken as much as you might hope it would, but it does make your kitchen smell good!

    Once the chicken is cooked through, set aside to cool and then shred it using two forks.

    A few simple tricks will ensure you end up with a crispy batch of Chicken Flautas. We're serving them with a fiery Avocado Salsa Verde. So good! mexicanplease.com

    One of the tricks to making enchiladas is getting the tortillas to roll without cracking open.  Warming up the tortillas helps with this.  You can either put them in some foil and stick them in the oven for a few minutes, or you can cover them with damp paper towels and nuke them for 60 seconds or so.

    Add a few tablespoons of your delicious enchilada sauce to a plate.  Dredge a tortilla in the sauce and flip it over.  Fill the tortilla with chicken, cheese and some finely diced onion.

    Ancho Chicken Enchiladas | mexicanplease.com

    Roll tight and set them seam side down in a baking dish.  (You can add some sauce to the baking dish to prevent sticking.)

    Continue rolling the enchiladas but be sure to leave enough sauce leftover to generously coat the tops of them in the baking dish.  You can jiggle the baking dish a little bit to let some of the sauce fall between the enchiladas.

    Ancho Chicken Enchiladas | mexicanplease.com

    Bake for 10-15 minutes in the oven at 400F.

    Cilantro, Cotija cheese, and Crema are all great options as final touches.  I think the sharpness of Cotija cheese sprinkled on top works well in combination with the melted Jack cheese inside the enchiladas.

    Ancho Chicken Enchiladas | mexicanplease.com

    Serve immediately and savor the first few bites of your Ancho enchilada sauce.    Well done!

    I'll put the recipe box for these Ancho Enchiladas below if you want to print it out for kitchen use.

    Next up we're going to make an Easy Adobo Sauce -- click the 'Mark Complete' button down below to continue.

     

    Ancho Chicken Enchiladas | mexicanplease.com

    Ancho Chicken Enchiladas

    This red enchilada sauce made from Ancho chili peppers is a timeless recipe that somehow keeps getting better.
    4.16 from 13 votes
    Print Pin
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 45 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
    Servings: 2 (8-10 enchiladas)
    Calories: 793kcal
    Author: Patrick Calhoun | Mexican Please

    Ingredients

    • 4 ancho dried chilis
    • 2 tomatoes
    • 1 medium-sized onion
    • 2 garlic cloves
    • 2 cups stock
    • 3 cups shredded chicken (2 boneless breasts or rotisserie chicken)
    • 1/2 cup Jack cheese
    • 8-10 corn tortillas
    • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
    • freshly ground black pepper
    • oil
    • cotija cheese (optional)
    • cilantro (optional)
    • Crema (optional)

    Instructions

    • Wipe off any dusty crevasses on the Anchos, then de-stem and de-seed them.  Roast them in the oven at 400F for 1-2 minutes.  Cover the Ancho pieces with hot tap water and let reconstitute for 20-30 minutes
    • Roast 2 tomatoes in the oven at 400F.  They'll be mostly roasted by the time the Anchos are done reconstituting.
    • Roughly chop 1 medium-sized onion. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the onion for the inner mixture of the enchiladas.  Saute the onion in a dollop of oil over medium heat along with the 2 whole, peeled garlic cloves. Cook until lightly browned.
    • Drain the Ancho chilis.  Add the chilis, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and 2 cups of stock to a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Strain the blender sauce through a fine mesh sieve and discard the leftover seeds and skin. 
    • Saute the strained sauce in a dollop of oil over medium heat.  Add 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and some freshly cracked black pepper.  Let simmer for 30-45 minutes or until it reduces down to a thick, velvety consistency.
    • You can use rotisserie chicken for the enchiladas, or now you can start poaching 2 chicken breasts. Simply cover 2 chicken breasts with cold tap water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to let simmer for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.  I typically salt the poaching water and for this batch I added pepper, onion, and cilantro to the pot.  Once the chicken is cooked, set aside to cool and then shred it using two forks. 
    • Warm the tortillas in the oven for 1-2 minutes or nuke them in the microwave for 60 seconds. 
    • To build the enchiladas, start by adding a few tablespoons of the enchilada sauce to a plate.  Dredge a tortilla in the sauce and flip it over. Fill with chicken, cheese, and finely chopped onion.  Roll tight and set them seam side down in a baking dish (You can add some sauce to the baking dish to prevent sticking).  Continue rolling the enchiladas but be sure to save enough sauce to cover the tops of them generously in the baking dish.
    • Bake the enchiladas for 10-15 minutes in a 400F oven. 
    • Serve immediately.  Optional garnishes include Cotija cheese, cilantro, and Crema. 

    Notes

    Try to use Ancho chilis that are pliable, like big raisins.
    Jiggle the baking dish when adding sauce to the tops of the enchiladas, this will allow some of the sauce to seep between them.
     
    I used stock to blend the Anchos together but you could use the chilis' soaking liquid if you want to. 
    Like this recipe?Click the stars above to rate it or leave a comment down below! @mexplease

     

    Next Recipe →

    Primary Sidebar

    Hey, I'm Patrick! I spent 2 years living in Cozumel and got obsessed with Mexican food. I built this site to share all the recipes and techniques I've learned along the way. Read More…

    Footer

    Mexican Recipes

    Cooking Course

    Mexican Cooking 101

    Ingredients

    Salsas

    Starting a Food Blog

    Enchilada Recipes

    About Me

    Contact

    Disclaimer

    © 2023 Mexican Please
 - Privacy Policy