Texas Cheese Enchiladas
Submitted by dvancoughn
Authentic Texas cheese enchiladas with corn tortillas dipped in homemade chili gravy, stuffed with grated cheese and onions, then baked until bubbly. Tex-Mex comfort food done right.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
40 minIf you have ever sat down at a Tex-Mex joint anywhere from San Antonio to El Paso and ordered the cheese enchiladas, this is what showed up: corn tortillas softened in hot oil, dragged through a rich chili gravy, stuffed with a fistful of cheese and onions, and baked just long enough for everything to melt and bubble together. No frills. No fancy proteins. Just pure, old-school Texas comfort.
The chili gravy is the soul of this dish. It starts as a simple roux, then gets its deep, earthy color and warmth from ground chiles or chili powder. That sauce coats every tortilla twice: once before rolling and again over the top. When the cheese hits 400 degrees and starts bubbling in the oven, the whole kitchen fills with that unmistakable smell.
Pro Tips
- Dip tortillas in oil for only about 15 seconds. You want them pliable, not crispy. Overdoing it makes them greasy and hard to roll.
- Use a mild, melty cheese. Longhorn cheddar or a yellow American-cheddar blend is traditional. Sharp cheddar can overpower the gravy.
- Make the chili gravy thick. It should coat the back of a spoon. Thin gravy slides right off and pools at the bottom of the pan.
- Serve immediately. These do not hold well. The tortillas soak up the sauce quickly and turn soft, so get them from oven to plate fast.
- For authenticity, use lard. It adds a richness that vegetable oil simply cannot replicate in this particular dish.
Ingredients
Directions
Allow 3 enchiladas per person.
Use a Pyrex utility pan (13½ x 8¾ inches) to cook them.
Lightly grease the utility pan (for authenticity use lard).
Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).
Chop onions and grate cheese.
Sauté the onions lightly in 2 tablespoons oil.
Melt lard in a skillet; stir in the flour and make a light roux.
Add ground chiles or chile powder, water and salt, and cook until thick.
Heat the remaining oil in a skillet.
Using kitchen tongs, dip each tortilla in hot oil until well softened (about 15 seconds).
Hold tortilla up and allow oil to drip back into the skillet.
Using the tongs, dip tortillas in chili gravy.
Place the tortilla in the Pyrex pan, put a good-sized pinch of cheese and onions in the middle, and roll the tortilla, placing the flap side down.
Continue filling and rolling tortillas until the pan is full.
Pour more chili gravy on top of the enchiladas, sprinkle the top generously with more grated cheese, and pop into preheated oven.
Cook only until the cheese begins to bubble (about 10 minutes).
Serve immediately.
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