Kaleo' Eats

Chicken Enchiladas

This wonderful dish is so popular, and I'm sure everyone has their own version and recipe on how it should be made. It is in essence a very simple comfort food that is so fulfilling that people love it. There are so many ways and variations to make enchiladas. I've probably made several different ways myself over the years so a definitive recipe is evolutionary. But for this recipe, I will make my current version of pollo (chicken) enchiladas. Which uses pulled or shredded chicken that been braised or slow cooked for hours. 


Ingredients:
4-5lbs Split chicken beast (bone-in or boneless)
8-8" Flour tortillas
1 large Spanish or Vidalia onion half juliened half chopped
3-4 Roma tomatoes diced
8 oz Package of Mexican blend cheese or other.
2-cups Chicken broth
1-8oz can Tomato sauce
1/2 cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped
4 Garlic cloves chopped
1              larger Jalapeno pepper
1 tbs Olive oil
1 tbs Hot sauce
1 tbs Chili powder
1 tsp Coarse black pepper
1 tsp Ground cumin
1 tsp Salt

Instructions
Season the chicken with salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin on both sides, place in a large pan baking or broiling pan skin side down. Add half the julienned onion to the chicken and around in the pan. Add the half of the chopped jalepeno peppers and 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro, pour in the chicken broth 2 of the chopped tomatoes. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the over at 225ºF for 3 hours.
At one and half hours, turn chicken over and baste, continue cooking.

After cooking, the chicken should easily come off the bones, shred with two forks or your fingers, place chicken in a separate bowl. Strain the stock from the pan through a sieve and reserve. I use the bones and remnants to make chicken stock for later use.

Salsa
In a large skillet, under medium high heat, add the olive oil and remaining chopped onions, sauté till tender add the chopped garlic and remaining Jalapeno pepper, add 4 ounce laddle of reserved stock add the diced tomatoes stirring continuously, add more stock. Add the can of tomato sauce and and season with chili powder, cumin salt and pepper. Add a pinch of chopped cilantro reduce heat and simmer.

Laddle 1 cup  of the sauce onto the shredded chicken and mix. Place tortilla on a flat surface and add chicken to the centerfillin it side to side. add a sauce, sprinkle with cheese and fold. Place the enchilada in a baking pan seam side down. Continue the steps until pan is full with enchiladas. Spoon sauce over enchiladas and cover with the shredded cheese. Bake in oven 375º for 30 minutes, serve hot. Bon Appetite!

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