Enchiladas Mineras de Guanajuato

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet for toasting chiles
• •High-powered blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Wide heavy skillet for frying tortillas
• •Brown-glazed Dolores Hidalgo style cazuela or wide barro platter for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile guajillo and chile ancho separately, about 15 to 25 seconds per side, just until the skins darken slightly and smell deep, red, and earthy. Do not burn them. Guajillo gives these enchiladas their clear red color, and burned guajillo gives bitterness. Guanajuato cooks know the difference.

2. 2

   Soak and blend

   Put the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover with hot water for 15 minutes. Drain, reserving a little soaking liquid. Blend the softened chiles with the garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, salt, and 2 tablespoons chicken broth or soaking liquid until completely smooth. The salsa should coat a spoon, not run like water.

   Use hot water, not boiling. Boiling water toughens the chile skin and can pull out bitterness. Hot water softens the flesh cleanly.
3. 3

   Strain the salsa

   Pass the chile salsa through a fine-mesh strainer into a shallow bowl, pressing hard on the solids. This is not fuss. Guajillo skin can be tough, and the tortilla needs a smooth red bath before it touches the lard. Taste for salt. It should taste a little stronger than you think because the tortillas, potatoes, and carrots will soften it.

4. 4

   Cook the vegetables

   Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add the diced potatoes and sliced carrots. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, just until barely tender, then drain well. They will finish in the chile-stained lard, so do not cook them until they fall apart.

5. 5

   Fry papa y zanahoria

   Melt 2 tablespoons of manteca de cerdo in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the drained potatoes and carrots with a pinch of salt. Fry 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until the edges turn golden. Spoon in 2 tablespoons of the guajillo salsa and let it stain the vegetables red. Remove them to a warm plate.

6. 6

   Mix the filling

   In a bowl, mix the crumbled queso fresco or queso ranchero with the finely chopped white onion. This is the filling. Not shredded chicken. Not melted yellow cheese. The chicken sits on the plate as a pieza, because these are enchiladas mineras, not a baked casserole from somewhere else.

7. 7

   Dip and fry

   Add enough lard to the skillet to make a thin, generous layer. Warm it over medium. Dip one tortilla into the guajillo salsa, coating both sides, then lay it carefully into the hot lard. Fry 20 to 30 seconds per side, just until the tortilla softens, darkens red, and the edges begin to relax. Do not make tostadas. You need the tortilla pliable enough to fold.

   Day-old corn tortillas behave better here. Fresh tortillas tear when dipped and fried. If yours are too fresh, leave them uncovered for an hour before cooking.
8. 8

   Fill and fold

   Move the fried tortilla to a plate. Add a spoonful of the queso and onion filling down the center, fold it in half, and set it seam side down on a platter. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, adding more lard as the skillet needs it. Keep the heat steady. If the lard is too cold, the tortillas turn greasy. If it is too hot, the chile burns.

9. 9

   Plate Guanajuato style

   Arrange three enchiladas per plate or pile them family-style in a brown-glazed cazuela. Spoon the fried potatoes and carrots over and around them. Set one cooked bone-in chicken piece on each serving. Add shredded romaine if using, crumbled queso fresco, and chiles en escabeche on the side. The salsa should pool around the enchiladas. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Chile guajillo should be flexible, glossy, and brick red. If it cracks like dry paper, it is old. Ask the chile vendor when it came in. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado.
• •Use manteca de cerdo. Vegetable oil will fry the tortilla, yes, but it will not give the same round flavor or the same red gloss in the salsa. La manteca es el sabor.
• •Queso fresco works outside Mexico, but queso ranchero is closer to the Bajío table if you can find it. It should crumble, taste milky, and stay firm inside the hot tortilla.
• •The chicken is not the filling. Serve a whole bone-in piece beside the enchiladas. That detail matters because it keeps the dish in Guanajuato instead of turning it into a generic restaurant plate.
• •Chiles en escabeche belong at the table. Their vinegar, carrot, onion, and jalapeño cut the lard and chile. Without them the plate tastes heavy.

Advance Preparation

• •The guajillo salsa can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Warm it slightly before dipping the tortillas so it coats them evenly.
• •The potatoes and carrots can be boiled up to one day ahead. Fry them in manteca just before serving so the edges stay golden.
• •Cook the chicken pieces ahead in a light broth with onion, garlic, and salt. Rewarm them in a little broth before plating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 510g)