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Better than restaurant chicken enchiladas verdes.
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5 from 2 votes

enchiladas verde

Make better enchiladas verdes than you can buy at your local Mexican restaurant. 
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 4
Calories: 520kcal
Author: romain | glebekitchen

Ingredients

Enchiladas

  • 8 corn tortillas
  • 8 bone-in skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 Tbsp pure mild chili powder - New Mexican or ancho
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • about 1 cup of chicken stock
  • enchilada sauce - see below
  • 1 cup melting cheese - e.g queso enchiladas or Monterrey jack

Enchilada sauce

  • 2 cups salsa verde or prepared salsa verde - recipe link below
  • 2 tsp masa harina

Instructions

Enchilada sauce

  • Mix masa harina with 1/4 cup of water
  • Heat salsa verde in a small saucepan. Add masa harina mixture and simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust consistency with a bit more water if needed.

Shredded chicken

  • Combine chili powder, cumin, granulated garlic and salt in a small bowl.
  • Pre-heat the oil over medium low heat in a pot large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer. A dutch oven would work here.
  • Add the spice mixture and stir constantly for about 20-30 seconds. Be careful not to burn the spices. Have the chicken stock at hand in case it looks like it's getting away from you. You can stop it with a splash of stock.
  • Add 1/4 cup of chicken stock and stir.
  • Add the chicken to the pot along with enough stock to come up about 2/3 of the way up the chicken.
  • Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
  • After the first 15 minutes, uncover and flip the chicken thighs. Continue to cook for about another 15 minutes.
  • Remove chicken from the pot and skim off as much fat as you can from the remaining liquid. Turn the heat up to medium and reduce the liquid until you get to about 1/2 cup.
  • Let the chicken cool until it's comfortable to handle. Remove the chicken from the bone and shred coarsely. Your hands work best here.
  • Spoon the reduced liquid over the shredded chicken. You don't have to use all of. Do what tastes good to you.

Enchiladas verdes

  • Place one oven rack close to the top of your oven. Place the other at the bottom. Preheat your oven to 375F. You are setting up your oven to work dual purpose. The bottom rack will be your oven. The top rack will be your broiler.
  • Wrap the corn tortillas in a dish towel. Moisten the towel a bit under the faucet and microwave for about 30-45 seconds. You want your tortillas warm enough to be pliable.
  • Place about a tablespoon of grated cheese and then 1/8 of the chicken on a corn tortilla. Roll it and place it, seam side down, in a broil proof pan. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and chicken.
  • Spoon about 1 1/2 cups of the enchilada sauce over the middle of the enchiladas. Leave a bit of the tortilla bare.
  • Sprinkle finely grated cheese overtop. Dot with a bit of the enchilada sauce.
  • Turn on your broiler.
  • Place the enchiladas on the lower rack. Cook until the cheese is nearly melted. If you have a strong broiler the cheese may brown on the bottom rack. If not, move the enchiladas to the top rack and lightly brown the cheese. Don't let the tortillas brown. This takes less than 10 minutes. As soon as the cheese is well melted and lightly browned, the enchiladas are ready.
  • Serve with a little extra enchilada sauce, frioles refritos, mexican rice and a bit of green salad. Just like at your local Mexican joint.

Notes

Make your salsa verde from scratch. The recipe can be found here.

Nutrition

Serving: 4servings | Calories: 520kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 215mg | Sodium: 995mg | Potassium: 665mg | Fiber: 4g | Vitamin A: 830IU | Calcium: 216mg | Iron: 3.3mg