Cooking Weblog

Beautifully seasoned steak chunks wrapped in corn tortillas smothered in a homemade red enchilada sauce. Topped with guacamole, pico de gallo , shredded cheese and a little more of that delicious enchilada sauce. Add rice and beans and you’ve got one fantastic restaurant quality meal! People will think you work in an upscale Mexican restaurant. Enjoy!

Carne Asada Enchiladas

Ingredients: Red Sauce

2 oz. Guajillo chili’s ( dried pablanos, about 3-4 )

1 oz. pasilla-ancho chili’s ( dried jalapenos, about 6 )

1 onion ( 1/2 in. dice )

1/3 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves

8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. dry Mexican oregano

6 cups water

1 tbsp. corn starch

10 tbsp. water

Method: Red Sauce

Add your chili’s to a dry skillet preheated to medium heat and cook just long enough to smell them, about 20-30 seconds a side for the pasilla-anchos and about a minute for the guajillos. Be careful, they are already dried and will burn very easily. Heating them first will just give you a little more flavor. Remove them to your cutting board, remove the stems and cut them into bite size pieces.

Add your garlic to a blender or food processor and pulse long enough to mince the garlic. Add the onion and pulse again. Add the chili’s, cilantro, salt, oregano and water and blend until it has the consistency of a thin marinara sauce, about 2 minutes. You might have to do this in 2 batches, don’t worry about measuring everything into 2 batches, it’s all going into the same sauce pan to cook. Add your mixture and the tomato sauce to a 3 to 5 qt. sauce pan and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer covered for about 1 1/2 hours.

After your sauce is cooked, pour the mixture through a strainer. Using the back of a wood spoon press the mixture through the strainer. After straining you should have basically a ball of  “chili paste” left in the strainer. You can save this for stock or discard. The sauce you’ll end up with is a beautiful red enchilada sauce.

Add your sauce back to a clean pan. Stir the tbsp. of corn starch into the 10 tbsp. of water to make a slurry and pour that into your sauce and bring it to a boil, this will thicken your sauce. Boil for 3 to 5 minutes then remove it from the heat, your sauce is ready.

Canned enchilada sauce is good but if you have the time this will be well worth your trouble. It will give you just under 2 qts. of sauce. Any unused sauce can be frozen for 2 to 3 months, just be sure to label and date it:-) This also makes a wonderful taco sauce.

Ingredients: Carne Asada ( Steak )

2 lbs. chuck steak or tri tip ( trim fat and cube to 1/2 in. chunks )

1 tbsp. salt

1 teas. fresh cracked pepper

2 cloves fresh garlic ( minced ) or 1 teas. garlic powder

1 1/2 teas. onion powder ( recommended ) or 1/2 onion ( small dice )

1/2 teas. dry Mexican oregano

2 pinches ground cumin ( about 1/8 teas. )

3 tbsp. olive oil

Method: Carne Asada ( Steak )

Spread your steak chunks out on your cutting board to make a thin layer and sprinkle with the fresh garlic and all of the seasonings.

Add the meat to a ziplock bag and pour in the 3 tbsp. of olive oil. Seal the bag and “smoosh” it around to thoroughly blend the seasonings.

Let marinate for about 30 minutes.

Heat a skillet to high heat, as hot as you can get it and add just enough meat to cover the bottom of your pan.

Too much meat at one time will steam the meat and wont give it a good sear so it’s better to do a few batches.

Cook each batch until nicely browned, about 10 minutes a batch.

Remove your cooked meat to a foil lined bowl to keep warm.

Lining your bowl with foil, leaving a flap to cover the top with will keep your meat hot for about 20 to 30 minutes, this really is a nice trick and a great idea when barbecuing.  Continue until all of the meat has been cooked. Set it aside for now.

Ingredients: Carne Asada Enchiladas

15 to 20 oz. red enchilada sauce

cooked steak

about 20 6in. corn tortillas

1 cup shredded cheese ( I’m using Monterey Jack )

1/2 cup vegetable oil ( for frying )

Method: Carne Asada Enchiladas

Add the oil to a small pan just big enough to hold 1 tortilla and heat to about 350 degrees, medium heat should work.

Carefully place one tortilla into the oil and fry for about 10 to 20 seconds a side, just enough to be pliable.

Remove to a small plate and continue until all of the tortillas are done. With a pair of tongs, flip the entire stack over.

Ladle about 4 to 6 ounces of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of a baking dish.

Add about 2 or 3 big tbsps. of the steak in a line across the middle of a tortilla, roll it up a place it in your baking dish.

Continue until you have a full pan of enchiladas ( recipe should make 2 small pans ).

Ladle more enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle with cheese.

Place in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove them from the oven, let cool for a minute or two and serve. Now is the time to add your favorite toppings.

Today I’m using fresh guacamole, shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, shredded Monterey Jack cheese and a drizzle of the red enchilada sauce over the top… YUMMY!

Sour cream and black olives are also great garnishes.

The flavor of your own homemade red enchilada doesn’t even really compare to the canned stuff you buy in the store so if you’re up to it, try it, you will be glad you did!

Add some refried beans and Mexican rice and you’ll think your in your favorite Mexican restaurant, all you need now is a margarita and a mariachi band… OLE!

Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY COOKING!

David

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