Tex-Mex Beef Enchiladas | Recipe
The only recipe you'll ever need for authentic Tex-Mex beef enchiladas. Featuring ground beef enchiladas, a homemade beef gravy and a freshly grated cheese blend.
Down here in Texas, we know our way around a good authentic Tex-Mex enchilada, and this home chef is no exception. The key to a perfect beef and cheese enchilada is a combination of multiple factors: A good authentic Tex-Mex sauce, a flavorful ground beef filling and the cheese. Don't forget about the cheese. This recipe was developed with high expectations and seasoned taste buds, and it never disappoints.
Quite possibly the most important step to authentic Tex-Mex beef enchiladas is the sauce. So what is that Tex-Mex sauce made of? Well, it is an easy beef gravy that begins like all other gravies: With a roux. After the roux is ready, beef broth is slowly added, and the mixture is then seasoned with dry spices like cumin and chili powder. The gravy bubbles and thickens, and the end result is that savory and addictively delicious beefy enchilada sauce, perfect for smothering enchiladas, spreading onto rice and beans and scooping up with tortilla chips.
Next up, the enchilada filling. The filling is no time to skimp out on flavor, and if you like a good cheesy beef enchilada, this is the recipe for you. The filling begins with a finely diced onion, followed by the browning of some seriously seasoned ground beef. Once the beef is ready, it is transferred over to a mixing bowl, along with some freshly grated Cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese. Cheddar for flavor, Monterrey Jack for creaminess.
The filling is tightly rolled in a warmed corn tortillas, transferred to a baking dish and completely smothered with the Tex-Mex beef gravy. For an uber cheesy beef enchilada, the dish is finally topped with a more of the cheese mixture and baked.
This is an excellent dish for entertaining as it can be made ahead up until the point of baking, and refrigerated until ready to cook. Plus, this particular recipe feeds a crowd. I've served these up on countless occasions, and the feedback is unanimous: These will be the best enchiladas you'll ever have. Enjoy.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely diced
1 pound 80/20 ground beef
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons All-Purpose flour
3 ½ cups unsalted beef broth*
1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
Pinch of black pepper
16-20 corn tortillas
1 cup Cheddar cheese, freshly grated
1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, freshly grated
Method:
Preheat oven to 350° and have ready a 9x13” greased casserole dish.
Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for 5-8 minutes until softened. Add ground beef along with TAK’s Tex-Mex Blend, and break apart with a wooden spoon. Cook for 10 minutes, or until no more pink shows and completely cooked through. Remove from the heat and transfer meat mixture to a bowl. Set aside until ready to use.
Return sauté pan to stovetop over medium heat. Add butter and allow to melt. Sprinkle over flour and whisk to form a roux. Allow to cook 2-3 minutes. Begin to add beef broth a splash at a time, whisking thoroughly after each addition until all of the broth has been incorporated. Season with salt, cumin, chili powder and pepper. Cook for an additional 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally and allowing to thicken. Remove from heat and set aside.
Dampen two paper towels and wrap half of the tortillas in the towels. Repeat additional paper towels and the remaining tortillas. Heat in a microwave for thirty seconds to 1 minute, until warmed and pliable. Add 1 cup of the sauce to the bottom of the casserole dish. Add a ¼ cup each Monterrey Jack and Cheddar to the beef mixture and stir to evenly distribute. One at a time, add 2 tbsp of beef filling to a tortilla and roll tightly. Place seem side down in the dish. Continue to roll enchiladas, placing them side-by-side until you can no longer fit any more in the dish. Pour remaining sauce evenly over the enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, covered with aluminum foil for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes, uncovered. Allow to cool, serve and enjoy.
Makes 16 enchiladas.
*It is extremely important that you use Unsalted Beef Broth for this recipe. Otherwise, the salt content will be overwhelming.
Pair Tex-Mex Beef Enchiladas With:
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