This recipe for Chicken Enchiladas with Green sauce is such a classic that it doesn’t need a lot of explanation. Chances are if you’re reading this you already know how great they can be. They have a reputation of being difficult to make. With this recipe we will show you some short cuts and time savers to make it worth your while.
What are Chicken Enchiladas and what is the Green sauce?
Chicken enchiladas come in many forms, the most basic forms in either red sauce, green sauce, or even both on the same plate. They are enjoyed in Mexico and are loved in the United States as well. Since they do take some time it is often best to make a tray of them for several people. Although they won’t be the same the next day they are still pretty tasty as leftovers if done properly.
The “green sauce” is really just a classic Salsa Verde. Restaurants will often add some cream to the sauce to keep it emulsified and bind the sauce so that it doesn’t make the tortillas soggy quickly, but we opt to leave that out here. We do use some milk to be a little lighter. Either way some dairy is good to tame the wild zippy acidity of having a lot of tomatillo sauce at once. If you don’t want to spend the time making your own you can also buy jarred versions, although the taste will be quite different than freshly made.
Other Tips for Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce
We show you here how to make shredded chicken using the poaching method (which is actually very traditional). However, another short cut is to use already cooked chicken. You could get this from a variety of different sources. One thing restaurants do is used shredded chicken from roasted chickens. Another option is to buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, or even some pre grilled chicken. Restaurants often go for the poached or roasted chicken since it is more likely to still be very moist, but with enough salsa on top the difference will be negligible most of the time. We also include quick pickled onions in this recipe, but you can also leave them off or simply add thinly shaved red or white onions.
Chicken enchiladas with green sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 each Corn tortillas
- 1 pound Chicken breast You can substitute with already cooked chicken, you will need about 2.5 cups cooked
- 6 ounces Jack cheese shredded jack or mozzarella
- 16 ounces Salsa verde See our recipe or use from jar
- 3 ounces Whole milk
- 2 ounces Canola oil optional vegetable oil or peanut oil
- 1 tbsp Sea salt
- .5 cups 5 Minute Pickled Red Onions optional, or use thinly sliced raw onions
Instructions
- Portion the ingredients. If you already have cooked shredded chicken, skip to step 3.
- If you have raw chicken, bring about 2 quarts of water to a boil in a sauce pan. Add 1 tbsp of the salt. Lower the chicken into the water. Let it return to a boil then cover. Lower the heat to a simmer for 5 minutes, then turn off and leave covered. Let the chicken steam for about 10 minutes and it will be cooked and ready to shred.
- Heat the giddle, and add a few drops of the canola oil. Gently heat the tortillas one or two at a time, smearing them with oil on both sides. Add more drops of oil as needed. When they are soft, stack them on top of each other on a plate.
- When they are all heated, wrap them in plastic wrap to keep warm and steam. They can steam for a couple of minutes this way and will help with their texture when the sauce is added and they bake. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Take the tortillas out and place on a pan. You can work on several at a time. Use a large plate or pan. Add about 2 tablespoons or 1.5 ounces to each tortilla, then roll tightly being careful not to tear the tortilla.
- As you make them place them snugly against one another in a baking dish to keep from opening until they have all been assembled.
- Mix the milk and salsa verde and pour over the rolled tortillas. To cook faster you can preheat the sauce in a pan if desired. Cover with cheese and bake uncovered for about 10-15 minutes. To get nice coloration on the cheese you may need to flip the oven to broil mode for a couple of minutes at the end depending on the cooking mode of your oven. When done remove and sprinkle with pickled onions. Serve immediately. Buen Provecho!
