Uncle Bob's Enchiladas del Pollo (Chicken Enchiladas)

Me gusta mucho...

These were not spicy as I made them this evening... my roomie is 93 and her days of spicy food are over... but you can heat them up very easily and if you like that kind of flavor, I suspect you know exactly how to accomplish it.

I started with several chicken thighs, covered them in approximately two cups of water and brought them to a simmer.  They were ready in 40 or 45 minutes.  I poured off the broth into a jar, and refrigerated both for a day or two.  This broth can be made richer by the addition of a carrot, some onion and celery while cooking...  if you prefer.  And why not?

Preparation time: 

I removed the lard from the chicken broth and made sauce out of the broth.

- 3 TB Shortening or Butter, or oil.  I used a combination of shortening and oil tonight. You can use some of the chicken fat as well if you wish.  I don't eat chicken fat too much...
- 3 TB Flour
- 1 TB chili powder (results in milder flavor, normally I'd add two in my enchilada sauce)
- Sprinkle of dry onion bits
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- Coarse ground black pepper to taste

Place the above in a saucepan and cook for a couple of minutes.  Add 2 cups of cold broth all at once, stir and cook until thickened.  Set aside.

Skin, debone and shred the chicken.  I left mine a little chunky.  Set aside after heating in the microwave for a couple of minutes, at half power.  I wanted to just warm it a little, but not dry it out.

To assemble:

Preheat oven to at least 400 degrees.
Chop a yellow, brown or white onion.
1 lb of Mexican style cheese, shredded.  I like a mild cheese in my Mexican food -- I do NOT use cheddar.
Open 1 small can of Hatch green chilies* (or whatever you can get where you live.)  Rosarita, Macayo, etc.
El chicken, as prepared
12 corn tortillas

* Or, even better, grill and char a couple of mild green chili peppers, skin and chop them.  Fresh is best but I was in a hurry!

Heat a griddle or skillet to sizzling (a little bit of oil).

Fry a tortilla for a few seconds until it softens, flip and fry a few more seconds.  You do not want them crispy for enchiladas.  I add a tiny bit of oil to the griddle for each tortilla.

Place the tortilla on a plate, smear it with a TB of the sauce.  Place a bit of chicken, some onion, some green chili bits and a pile of queso (cheese!) on the center of the tortilla, slightly off center.  Roll the tortilla around the fillings loosely and place in a 13x9 baking pan, loose (flap) side down.  You've already prepared the pan by generously greasing the bottom, and added several TB of sauce to it.  If you lay two enchiladas end to end the long way, you can get six on each half of the pan.  (See photo above).

Repeat for all twelve tortillas.

Place uncovered in the oven for about 7 or 8 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle some chopped onions over the top, and ladle the remaining sauce over it.  Sprinkle a generous amount of cheese on top.  I add the leftover green chilies also, if any.  Back in the oven, uncovered, bake for about 12-15 minutes, until melted and bubbling.

I served these with buttery mashed potatoes.  Not exactly Mexican, but it was fantastic and they went well together.  I couldn't stay out of it.  No room for dessert!

Uncle Bob