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Enchiladas Norteñas Estilo Monterrey (Chicken Enchiladas)

Chicken enchiladas prepared with a chile ancho sauce. This style is popular in the northern regions of Mexico.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 4 Servings

Ingredients

Ancho Enchilada Sauce

  • 6 large chile ancho stems and seeds removed
  • 4 cups water for cooking dried chiles
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cloves garlic sliced
  • 1/2 tsp. cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • Salt, to taste
  • 3 tbsps. oil

You Will Also Need

  • 2 med. carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1 med. russet potato. peeled and diced
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 2 cups previously cooked chicken, shredded
  • 12 corn tortillas

Garnish

  • 4 cups Shredded lettuce
  • 1/2 c Onion thinly sliced
  • 1/2 c Mexican crema
  • 1 c Queso fresco crumbled
  • 1 large Avocado, sliced
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, sliced into thin wedges
  • 1 Lime, sliced into small wedges

Instructions

  • Transfer chile ancho to a saucepan. Cover with 4 cups of water and heat to medium. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook for 6 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time. Remove from heat and let them sit for 10 minutes.
  • Drain the chile anchos and transfer to the blender. Add the 2 cups of chicken broth, garlic, cumin, oregano, pepper, and salt to taste. Blend on high until smooth and strain through a wire mesh strainer into a bowl.
  • Heat 3 tablespoons of oil to medium heat in a pan. Add the chile ancho sauce and continue cooking for 15 minutes or until the sauce reduces and thickens. If it's too thick, add a little more reserved broth. Taste for salt.
  • Transfer potatoes and carrots to 2 cups of lightly salted water. Cook for 10 minutes or until fork tender. Reserve. To the chicken, mix in 3 tbsps. of chile ancho sauce. Reserve.
  • This is a traditional way to prepare the enchiladas. Preheat 1/3 cup of oil in a large skillet to medium heat for 5 minutes. When ready, dip one corn tortilla into the chile ancho sauce and turn to coat evenly. Using the tongs, dip the tortilla in the hot oil and cook for just a few seconds on each side. Add more oil, as needed. Transfer to the serving dish and fill with shredded chicken. Roll as tight as you can. My honest opinion is that it’s more time consuming and harder to handle the tortillas when filling and rolling. See recipe notes for my easier version.
  • Transfer filled enchiladas to a baking dish covered with foil paper as you roll them to keep them warm. Garnish as you like with toppings listed.
  • Drain potatoes and carrots. Mix in a little of the chile ancho sauce. After you are done frying the tortillas, in that same pan, sauté the seasoned carrots and potatoes before serving with enchiladas.

Notes

If preparing queso fresco version, you will need 3 cups of crumbled queso fresco mixed with 1 cup finely diced white onion.  
To avoid burning my fingers when filling enchiladas, this method works better for me. I brush my tortillas with oil, place them in a heavy plastic storage bag and microwave them for 1 minute.  I fill them and roll them tight. I place rolled enchiladas in  1/4 c of preheated oil in a large skillet and place them seam side down for 1 minute. Then, using tongs, I dip the whole, rolled enchilada into the sauce, and then return it to the skillet with oil and  fry the enchilada. Turn as needed. Add more oil as needed. Transfer to baking dish covered with foil paper. This way you can fry many enchiladas at the same time. Easier! It will still spatter when fried, but enchiladas will be filled already.