Description
Mexican birria enchiladas offer a rich culinary journey through traditional flavors that blend tender braised meat with complex spices. Meat-filled tortillas rolled and smothered in savory sauce create an irresistible meal you’ll crave again and again.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 lbs (1.36 kg) beef chuck roast, cut into large chunks
- 3 tbsps olive oil
- 2 cups beef broth
- 16 tortillas (flour or corn)
- 3 cups Oaxaca or Chihuahua cheese, shredded
- 12 dried guajillo chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded
- 5 dried ancho chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded
- 5 dried chiles de arbol, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 7 cloves garlic
- 2 cups cooked white or Mexican rice
- 3 tbsps distilled white vinegar
- 3 tbsps apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
- ½ tsp whole black peppercorns
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground coriander
- 2-inch Mexican cinnamon stick
- 3 bay leaves
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Chopped cilantro (optional)
- Cotija cheese (optional)
- Lime wedges (optional)
- Pickled or raw onion (optional)
Instructions
- Meat Preparation: Generously season beef chunks with salt and pepper, ensuring comprehensive coverage.
- Searing Process: In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat, creating a rich golden crust on all beef surfaces. Transfer browned meat to a separate plate.
- Chile Sauce Foundation: Combine guajillo, ancho, and chiles de arbol with tomatoes, onion, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and black peppercorns. Submerge ingredients in water and bring to a vigorous boil.
- Flavor Extraction: Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes to develop intense flavor profiles. Transfer softened chiles to a blender, adding cooking water, beef broth, vinegars, garlic, cumin, oregano, cloves, and coriander.
- Sauce Development: Blend until achieving a silky-smooth consistency with no visible chile fragments. Return beef to the pot, coating thoroughly with the blended sauce and adding extra beef broth if needed.
- Braising Method: Simmer gently, covered, on low heat for approximately 3 hours until meat becomes extraordinarily tender and easily shredded.
- Enchilada Assembly: Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Quickly fry tortillas in minimal oil to enhance flexibility. Dip each tortilla in reserved birria sauce, then fill with shredded beef and cooked rice, rolling tightly and positioning seam-side downward in a baking dish.
- Final Preparation: Drench rolled enchiladas with additional birria sauce and generously sprinkle shredded cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese melts completely and develops a golden, bubbling surface.
- Serving Presentation: Garnish with fresh cilantro, crumbled Cotija cheese, zesty lime wedges, and pickled or raw onion for a vibrant and appetizing finish.
Notes
- Meat Tenderizing Technique: Select chuck roast or short ribs for maximum tenderness, allowing slow cooking to break down tough muscle fibers completely.
- Sauce Complexity Management: Toast whole dried chiles briefly before blending to enhance their depth and prevent bitter undertones, creating a more sophisticated flavor profile.
- Oil Temperature Control: Maintain medium-high heat when searing beef to develop a rich caramelized exterior without burning, which locks in moisture and creates deeper taste dimensions.
- Tortilla Handling Strategy: Lightly fry tortillas for 2-3 seconds only, preventing them from becoming overly crispy and ensuring they remain pliable for smooth rolling without cracking.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 9
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg