Red Meat Chili Enchiladas

Watch how to make this recipe.

In a small skillet heat the oil over moderate heat until hot, but not smoking. Using tongs, dip the corn tortillas, 1 at a time, into the oil for 5 seconds to soften. Remove the tortillas from the oil, letting the excess oil drip off. Put them on a paper-towel lined sheet tray to absorb the oil as they cool. Once they are cool enough to handle, take 1 tortilla at a time and build the enchiladas.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Put a mound of the shredded meat (about 1/4 cup), a tablespoon of Jack cheese, a tablespoon of onions, and a pinch of chopped cilantro on each tortilla and roll up to enclose.

In a shallow 3-quart baking dish, coat the bottom with 1 cup of the chili sauce. Arrange the tortillas, seam side down, in a single layer in the dish. Pour the remaining cup of sauce over the enchiladas and cover them with the remaining Jack cheese.

Bake the enchiladas until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle the enchiladas with the remaining cilantro and serve with the Mexican crema and Cotija cheese.

Red Meat Chili and Chili Sauce:

On a sheet tray or baking pan, arrange the onion, tomatillos, tomatoes and garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Place under a broiler and char the vegetables, about 5 to 7 minutes. Keep an eye on them; you want them charred but not burned.

In a dry heavy bottomed skillet dry toast the chiles until soft and fragrant. Remove the chiles from the pan, discard the stem and seeds and plunge them into a bowl of hot water to soften.

Add the soaked chiles, roasted vegetables and the chicken stock to a blender. Blend the mixture until very smooth. If the mixture is too thick you can always thin it with a little of the chili soaking water. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

In the same skillet you toasted the chiles, toast the spices until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes, and then grind them in a spice grinder.

In a bowl, mix the ground spices with the 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil to form a paste. Rub this paste all over the flank steak and allow it to marinate for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, season the steak with salt and pepper, to taste.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Preheat a grill or a grill pan on medium-high. Grill the flank steak, for 3 minutes on each side, to char the steak.

Put the steak in a roasting pan, pour the chili sauce over the steak, and cover the pan with foil. Put the pan in the oven and roast for 1 hour.

Remove the steak from the pan, shred the meat and reserve the sauce.