Cheese enchiladas: the essence of Tex-Mex
Tex-Mex is not Mexican food. That’s right, even though many of the restaurants you see across Texas often call themselves Mexican they’re not. But that’s OK. When Diana Kennedy said that the food Texans were cooking was an abomination of her beloved la cocina Mexicana, Texans replied, “You’re correct. Tex-Mex is a cuisine of its own!”
As much respect I have for Kennedy’s work, she was rather draconian in her assessment of what was happening north of the border. And as Tex-Mex is practically a youngster in the grand scheme of world cuisines (it’s only been around for about 150 years), it’s still evolving.
Many traditional Mexican ingredients, such as epazote, huitlacoche, prickly pear, jicama and yes, even cilantro were absent on the classic Tex-Mex menu, which was a brown and yellow feast of tamales, tacos, enchiladas, and queso, sandwiched between mountains of rice and refried beans.
But today, many restaurants are going beyond the basics and including more authentic Mexican flavors. Squash blossom quesadillas? Of course! Black beans in chile con queso? Why not?
Yet despite the evolution of the cuisine, there will always be room in my heart for that Tex-Mex classic: cheese enchiladas. And no, I’m not talking about goat cheese enchiladas. And no, I’m not talking about radish, rajas, and queso añejo enchiladas. I’m talking about a plate of rolled corn tortillas stuffed with oozing yellow cheese, floating in puddles of brown-chili gravy. Yes, that kind of cheese enchilada. The Tex-Mex kind.
What makes these enchiladas so special? It’s the chili gravy, a Tex-Mex classic and said by food writer Robb Walsh to be the essence of the cuisine itself. (And if you don’t have Walsh’s definitive tome on the subject, The Tex Mex Cookbook: A History in Recipes and Photos, a must-have for all homesick Texans or fans of Texan cooking.)
Chili gravy is a mash-up between flour-based gravy and Mexican chile sauce. It’s a smooth and silky substance, redolent with earthy cumin, smoky chiles, and pungent garlic. It’s not fiery, as it was created by Anglos, but it does have flavor. And usually, there’s no meat in chili gravy—it’s just fat, flour, broth, and spices.
If you eat Tex-Mex outside of the state, the absence of this sauce is what makes the food taste wrong. It took me a long time to crack the Tex-Mex code, but when I found this recipe and made it for the first time, it was an epiphany: this was the flavor I’d been searching for.
On cold, bitter days, sometimes you just want to eat comfortable food, something to make you feel warm and cozy. And if macaroni and cheese or grilled cheese sandwiches are your usual comforts of choice, why not give these a try? They’re cheesy, not too spicy, and a true taste of Texas. Sure, you may have had cheese enchiladas, but unless you had them in Texas, they probably didn’t taste like these.
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Cheese enchiladas with chili gravy
Ingredients
Ingredients for the gravy:
- 1/4 cup lard or vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups beef broth, chicken broth, or water
Ingredients for the cheese enchiladas
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 8 corn tortillas
- 3 cups shredded Colby-Jack cheese
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- Pickled jalapeños, for serving
Instructions
- To make the gravy, heat the lard or oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and stir until it's lightly browned and fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute.
- Whisk in the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper until well combined. Pour in the broth, then whisk with the flour until well blended. Continue to whisk until the sauce thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Turn the heat to low and let the gravy simmer for 15 minutes. Add more broth or water to thin the sauce if it's too thick.
- Meanwhile, to make the enchiladas, preheat the oven to 450° F.
- Pour the vegetable oil into a baking dish or large cast-iron skillet. Place the tortillas in the baking dish (it’s okay if they overlap) and make sure they are covered with the oil. Place uncovered in the oven as it heats for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the tortillas are soft and warm. Remove the tortillas from the baking dish and cover. Pour 1/2 cup of chili gravy into the dish.
- To assemble the enchiladas, take a tortilla and place 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese and 1 tablespoon of the onion down the center then roll it. Place the rolled tortilla in the baking dish, seam side down. Continue with the remaining tortillas.
- After assembling the enchiladas, evenly pour over them the rest of the chili gravy. Sprinkle on top the remaining cheese and onions. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and cheese has melted.
- Serve warm with pickled jalapeños on the side.
OMG! I grew up in San Antonio and was transplanted to Nashville and let me tell you, there were NO good Tex-Mex places to eat. Actually there were NONE expect El Chico (and the one here wasn't as good as a Texas El Chico) Then out of no where a Chuy's popped up! I use to eat Chuy's at least twice a week while living in Houston! I was so glad to have them here, but I still wanted that good ole Tex-Mex! I found your recipe on here for the Chili Gravy!! YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM! I have had it twice this week! Sunday night and Tuesday night! Sunday was to test it and see how I liked it! It was good but on Tuesday night I tweaked the recipe a little and made the gravy less thick and then it was PERFECTION! It felt like I was back in San Antonio eating at the hole in the wall mexican place! Thank you for putting this out there!! I will be testing some other recipes too!
Brian
Franklin, Tn
I just made this recipe including the homemade chili powder (my nose is still burning even with all the windows open)! Fantastic! I am in Xalapa, Mexico where Diana Kennedy will be thrilled to know there is not a cheese enchilada within 200 miles. I made a recipe of these for me and my boyfriend (he's at work) and sadly there are only 2 left for him.
Made these, again, after many times. Always so, so good, and a hit with everyone.
Debbie–So glad they’re a hit!
I love love love Robb’s book but can’t find it at the moment (did I lend it out? maybe. did I “put it up”… lol likely) so I decided to google & refresh my memory on his version, which is exactly the same as mine, but as I use Mexican oregano I dial that WAY back it’s just too floral for me. But what I’m here for is to snicker about a review seen elsewhere that talked about how the besssttttt Sonoran Mexican restaurants blahblahblah and this recipe is terrrrrrrrrrrible. My first reaction is, and will forever be tied to something in Robb’s book: in a nutshell? YEAH, this is NOT Mexican food, it is our REGIONAL Tex-Mex and then I have to go make a drink because I have very strong feelings about the subject. 😉 Like would anyone say Louisiana andouille isn’t REAL French andouille? No. No they would not. (I am making a curious face right now… kind of self-righteous and Texan all at once. 😀
Really late to this topic, but I learned to make chili gravy in the late 1960s from a friend who grow up in west Texas. She never used flour to thicken hers, but either did the shortening thing with masa harina or thickened the broth in the blender with a couple of torn up corn tortillas added to the chicken broth. Tortillas were canned in Florida in those days because fresh ones were still unheard of, and I don’t think anyone had heard of a tortilla made with flour instead of corn, either. The taste is closer to that of canned enchilada sauce. I was really disappointed during a recent trip that took me through northeast Texas and a popular local chain served enchiladas made with flour tortillas–I sent them back!