Chuckie Enchiladas in the Shirley Warmer

OK... Confession Time. I have never made enchiladas. I'm not even sure if I've ever eaten enchiladas. I see em all the time at restaurants, but then there's steak tacos, or burritos, Carne Asada, Tortilla Soup, and so on.... So much Mexican food that I love.. Enchiladas never really appealed to me that much. They look... Soggy. Anyway. That's what the throwdown is this week so I figured I'd give it the ol college try. In my usual style, I skimmed about a dozen recipes and did my own thing once I had the jist of it, so if I'm way off the mark, sorry! I cook my own way to what I think I will like.. Don't care much if its authentic or "right"..

Anyways, here goes. Started out with a big ol chuckie, and a new pitmaster.. He shows a lot of interest in cooking, so I try to get him in on the act when I can Its great fun to do it together too. Aaron Franklin look out, He's coming for you in about 15 years...



Then he went out and made sure we were stocked for the day..



Chuckie went on



Then I had these peppers and tomatoes...



Most enchilada recipes I read had a red sauce, so I read a few, then wrote a "best of" recipe.. Needed a cup of tomato sauce for it, so I smoked some romas - here they are after an hour on the Shirley



Diced them and put em in a sauce pan with some salt, garlic, and a little red wine.



Simmered for an hour or so... Then hit with the emersion blender



Prepped all my spices for the enchilada sauce..



My Recipe -

1 chipotle and a Tbls of adobo
3 cups chick stock
3 tbls EVOO
3 tbls Flour
1 Cup Tomato sauce
3 tbls chili powder
1 tbls smoked paprika
1 tea garlic powder
1/2 tea cumin
1/2 tea oregeno
1/2 tea onion powder
1 tea salt
1 tea cayenne (or more to taste)
1 tea ancho

Heat the oil, fry the flour for a minute or 2, add the tomato sauce and spices. then add the broth a bit at a time, while stirring. Oh, and Puree the chipotle with some broth in a blender, then add it at the end...



Skinned and diced the peppers -




fast forward a few hours.. chuckie is probing tender.. Threw it in a pan with some onions and some Dark horse Fore Smoked Stout..



An hour later I pulled the chuckie



Briefly fried the tortillas in a hot cast iron. I also learned today that only corn tortillas are acceptable for enchiladas.. So says the "internet"..



Started the building process.. Each one contained Sharp cheddar and chihuahua cheese, some of those smoked peppers, black beans, corn, chuckie, and some enchilada sauce. I did not dip the tortillas in sauce. Just sounded like too much sauce for me..





Once the pan was full, I added some more sauce, and lots more cheese



Then it went back into the smoker for 30-40 minutes.. after 30-



Time to eat



I also learned that enchiladas are a hot mess as far as photography goes... Not pretty... Added some homemade Salsa Verde too. Great addition!



These did not suck! I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked em.

I also have to say, I love my Shirley (Or Charlie as Julian has named her) what a fantastic smoker. Very easy to use and really does put out some killer product. I wasn't sure how I'd like cooking in the warmer, but it was very nice and used less fuel to boot.

Funny side note - Julian was acting as pitmaster today, so he really wanted to feed charlie when she was hungry. I would let him know when, and he'd run out, select a split, and toss it in.. Well, the FB door is a damn tight fit. You really got put your weight into it to get her closed. It was awesome.. He sat there and fought that door for a good 5 minutes each time, but never gave up. Finally got it closed, and then walked back to the house with a swagger seldom seen in 8 year olds. made me chuckle... thanks for lookin!

Not too bad once I had the metal warmed up.. A split every 30-45 kept her at about 300 according to my maverick. The tel tru in the door was saying 225-250, so I'm going to do some testing today, try to see if one or the other is off a bit

lantern said:

Fantastic post and cook!:clap2:









....It's also nice to see someone with the EXACT opinion of enchiladas!:laugh: I've never understood their purpose when I can achieve the same flavors with more crunch and texture in other dishes. It is true that they can be made to not suck, but IMO without the grand effort you just put in they fall behind other mexican dishes. Now, mind you......NOT as far behind as tamales are, but behind.:laugh::laugh:

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Dude! I am so with you! That's eerily hilarious. I've never understood tamales :crazy: