Ground Beef Enchiladas with Chili Gravy Pan Sauce

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Ground Beef Enchiladas with Chili Gravy Pan Sauce

Servings: 4

Prep time: 30

Cook time: 20

Fresh Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, diced, divided in half
4 cloves garlic, chopped or minced

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

12 corn tortillas

Pantry Ingredients:

1.5 tbsp pasilla chili powder
3 teaspoon ground cumin, divided

1/2 teaspoon oregano

Pinch ground allspice

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups beef broth

Instructions

Ground Beef Filling

In a large skillet, over medium heat - add the ground beef and the onions and begin to cook and break apart, about 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add 2 tsp of cumin, season with salt, pepper and set aside to cool for handling.

Chili Gravy Sauce

In a skillet over medium low heat, add 2 tbsp of flour and using a spatula, let the flour cook for about 2-3 minutes until beginning to brown. Add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper and stir to mix. The skillet is still dry at this point, and you are essentially blooming the spices.

Add 1 cup of the beef broth, and whisk vigorously to mix - the mixture should begin thickening slightly. Do not have your face above the pan - the spices could cause choking when the steam billows up. Add the 2 additional cups to the pan, and whisk, turn the heat to a low simmer and allow the excess liquid to simmer off until reduced by half - OR - by the thickness of the chili gravy you desire. I like mine a bit on the thinner side, but it's totally subjective.

Tortilla Preparation

In a small saute pan, heat over medium high heat. Brush each tortilla with a small amount of oil, and pan fry the tortilla 30-45 seconds on each side. This will allow the tortilla to cook just a bit and prevent cracking when rolling the enchiladas. Set aside.

Assemble the Enchiladas

On a cutting board or other flat surface, place one tortilla, add 2 tbsp of the ground beef, and about the same of the cheese. Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can without forcing it to break. Place in a casserole dish, seam side down. Continue stuffing and rolling until you are finished.

Pour the chili gravy over the enchiladas, top with the remaining cheese and 1/2 of the diced onion. Bake at 375 until the cheese is melty and you see the sauce bubbling around the edges.

Notes: This recipe uses the powder form of the spices for the chili gravy, if you have dried chiles available, you can make the gravy with this method. All in all, this is a bit of intensive cooking for about 30 minutes, but you won't regret you made them at all! Serve with traditional lettuce, and tomato diced, beans, rice or whatever you like with your enchiladas. This is actually a horrible photo - but instead of rice, we used potatoes and zucchini sauteed for serving along with some avocado.

Tinks Kitchen