Categories: Latin, Meat

Ingredients

• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Salt
• 1 1/4 pounds top blade steaks, trimmed according to picture at left
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese or mild cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapeño chiles
• 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Directions

1. Combine garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in small bowl. Pat meat dry with paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook meat until browned on both sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer meat to plate. Add onions to pot and cook over medium heat until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomato sauce and water and bring to boil. Return meat and juices to pot, cover, reduce heat to low, and gently simmer until meat is tender and can be broken apart with wooden spoon, about 1 1/2 hours.

2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Strain beef mixture over medium bowl, pressing on mixture to break meat into small pieces and extract as much sauce as possible; reserve sauce. Transfer meat to medium bowl and mix with 1 cup cheese, cilantro, and jalapeños.

3. Spread 3/4 cup sauce in bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Microwave 6 tortillas on plate on high power until soft, about 1 minute. Spread 1/3 cup beef mixture down center of each tortilla, roll tortillas tightly, and set in baking pan seam side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas and beef mixture (you may have to fit two or more enchiladas down the sides of the baking dish). Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas and spread to coat evenly. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese evenly over enchiladas, wrap with aluminum foil, and bake until heated through, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until cheese browns slightly, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve.

4. Make Ahead: Although it’s best to roll and bake the enchiladas right before serving, the beef filling and the sauce can be prepared through step 2 and refrigerated in separate containers for up to 2 days.

5. TRIMMING BLADE STEAKS: After testing various beef cuts, we found that blade steaks (which are cut from the chuck) had enough marbling to produce silky, flavorful shredded beef for our enchiladas. The only trick is to cut away the center strip of gristle, which is very easy to do because the strip is in plain sight in the middle of each steak. Simply halve each steak lengthwise and then slice away the gristle, as shown here.

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