Amazing Shredded Beef Enchiladas

Enchiladas are probably one of the first Mexican dishes I remember eating as a kid. I have vivid memories of ordering cheese enchiladas when going out to dinner with my dad’s parents. I remember my mom regularly making beef enchiladas with olives–I hate olives!–in them. Guaranteed my Nana (mom’s mom) would have a tray of enchiladas in hand when she came over for the holidays. 

So it should come as no surprise that decades later, enchiladas are a bit of a comfort food for me. Years ago, my husband and I had the debate on what a comfort food is. He thinks of comfort foods as things like stews, soups, some pasta dishes and anything with lots of cheese. Things that are warming with subtle flavors. When I told him that some boldly flavored Mexican dishes were a comfort food for me, that is when the debate on what a comfort food is began. While I didn’t disagree with him about stew, baked Mac n’ Cheese and the like, I do think beyond the traditional “comfort” foods. To me, a comfort food is a dish that is so woven into the tapestry of your life that it brings you joy and feels like a warm hug when you eat it. I don’t know if that is actually the definition of a comfort food, but that is how I think of it.

Years later, I am not sure if he and I have ever come to an agreement on what a comfort food is. However, we have kind of tabled the subject and agreed to slightly disagree on the answer. After all, we have some common comfort foods and it is ok to have some uncommon ones too. After all, the man loves Brussel Sprouts and I can’t even get one down–I have tried, I really have. 

With Fall in the air, Dia de los Muertos around the corner, my Nana on my mind, I have been craving a big tray of enchiladas lately. (Sorry Mom, NO olives!) So I declared last night Enchilada Night, bring on the fiesta! My husband’s honest response was less than enthusiastic–he doesn’t love enchiladas–so another approach was needed. Nothing canned (not even the sauce), no flavorless meat, nothing boring. To the Internet I went.

I admit, I had never made enchilada sauce before. I couldn’t imagine it would be hard. However, I have also never tried. So I did some research. It was pretty straight forward. I could do this. Check. 

I also knew I was out of ground beef. I wasn’t excited about chicken. I had a helluva lot of less traditional cuts of beef (translation: tougher) on hand that need to be used to clear out the freezer. So what to do? Find a recipe I could adapt to a pressure cooker. Check. 

I intentionally kept this recipe mild, forgoing cayenne pepper and adding a smokier chipotle pepper. I thought the amount of heat was just enough to balance the deeper beef flavor. I also liked the depth the smoke added to the dish, something that would have been missed using a traditional cayenne or spicier pepper. If you want a little more heat you can bring it, but I prefer to add heat after with a bottled hot sauce or salsa.

The result was some pretty amazing shredded beef enchiladas. Even my less-than-enthusiastic husband was raving how good they were. I don’t want to speak too soon, but on the eve of our 19th anniversary I think I have finally converted him and helped him seen the enchilada light. I don’t think he’ll be calling them a comfort food anytime soon, but I think he now calls them delicious. That is victory enough for me.

Amazing Shredded Beef Enchiladas

Recipe by Kacey Baxter, Oven and SpiceCourse: DinnerCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Easy, Intermediate

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Enchiladas come in a variety of fillings and forms. These get their depth of flavor from a spiced braised beef, cooked to perfection. The addition of chipotle brings a bit of smokiness that rounds out the flavor profile and adds complexity to the dish.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds boneless beef chuck steak, trimmed to 3″-4″ pieces (beef chuck-eye roast will also work)

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tablespoons EVOO

• 2 onions, minced

• 3 tablespoons chili powder

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 2 teaspoons ground coriander

• ¼ teaspoon ground chipotle pepper

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 (29-ounce) cans tomato sauce

• ¼ cup red wine

• 2 cups Mexican cheese blend

• 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Directions

• Pat beef dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil an electric pressure cooker set to “Sauté” on HI. When hot, cook half of beef, turning once, until well browned on each side, about 8 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Repeat with remaining oil and beef.
• Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pressure cooker pot. Add onions and ½ teaspoon salt and cook over medium heat until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in chili powder, cumin, coriander, chipotle, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until spices darken, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato sauce and wine.
• Add browned beef, along with any accumulated juices, to pressure cooker pot with tomato sauce mix. Set pressure cooker to meat setting, 40 minute cook, 12psi with a natural steam release. (If your electric pressure cooker does not have these exact settings, it’s okay. Just find a meat setting that is close. It doesn’t have to be exact.) Close lid and begin cook cycle.
• Once meat has finished cooking, remove it from the sauce and set it aside to cool slightly.
• Strain sauce through fine-mesh strainer and discard the solids. (You should have about 2 cups sauce.) Set aside. See note.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread ¾ cup sauce over bottom of 13- by 9-inch baking dish; set aside. When beef is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-sized pieces. Add 1 cup cheese and additional ¼ cup sauce and toss to combine.
• Spray tortillas on both sides with cooking spray and arrange on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until they are warm and pliable, about 1 minute. Arrange warm tortillas on work surface. Place 1/3 cup beef mixture in center of each tortilla. Roll tightly and arrange, seam-side down, in prepared baking dish.
• Pour remaining sauce evenly over enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake until cheese is melted and enchiladas are heated through, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve. Enjoy!
  

Notes

• Sauce will be thin. If you prefer a thicker sauce, I recommend adding 2-4 heaping tablespoons of the discarded solids back into the sauce and use a blender or immersion blender to puree it back into a smooth consistency. This will thicken the sauce, but it does also give the sauce a stronger beef flavor. Personally I found 4 heaping tablespoons to be perfect.
• Flour tortillas can be substituted if preferred.

_{Adapted from a Cooks Country recipe}