Cheese Enchiladas 

My mom is from Juarez and I have a regional suggestion from watching her make enchiladas, one of the few foods she cooked (my dad, a Hippy Okie from Frederick OK did most of the cooking in the house!) She dipped the corn tortillas in warm oil to keep them from cracking, gave a little shake to drip the excess oil, then immediately dipped them into the sauce before stacking on a plate to await the filling. TY for your story! I'm a Queer Mexican-American and reading your experience deeply moved me.

One can avoid the oil dipping by placing a pair of tortillas flat in a microwave oven, covering them with a damp paper towel, and heating them on high for 30 seconds (adjust the time depending on the power of your microwave oven). They'll come out steamy, hot and pliable.

Do you think this would turn out OK with a vegetarian broth? Your story deeply moved me, too, and made me hungry. Thank you. And congratulations!

Traditionally, corn tortillas are slipped through hot oil or lard (but definitely not fried), then through a chili-based sauce before they are typically (but not necessarily) filled with other ingredients and baked. You can use cheddar cheese if you insist, although it's hard to find in Mexico; you can use Velveeta if you must; in California, "Monterrey Jack" is common, often with raw onions and chopped olives. For enchiladas suizas, use tomatillo sauce and top with crema mexicana.

As many here have commented, enchiladas are passed through hot oil before rolling and saucing. The oil softens them so they dont crack, but more inmportantly it seals them so that the liquid in the sauce doesnt turn them to mush. It is a calorific but necessary step for traditional enchiladas.

As a native San Antonian, I implore you: do not make enchiladas with flour tortillas.

I make enchiladas with veggie Better than Bouillon and it's fantastic.,

I've always cooked enchiladas at 350 for 30 minutes (until bubbly) and endured slightly soggy (though tasty) enchiladas. I recently learned a different way of cooking them that has been game changing. 500 for ten minutes. Voila - cheese is melted, sauce is hot and slightly roasted, no soggy tortillas.

Simple New Mexico solution: do stacked instead of rolled enchiladas. You can have an egg on the top.

I found Carol’s comment to be quite harsh, but I am thankful that it led me to read Bryan’s article. My take is that there is no consensus on enchiladas within Mexico (excepting perhaps the formula Bryan provided). I also took from his article that he was providing a Tex-Mex recipe, which is a style unique unto itself. And what I grew up eating. Thank you Bryan. Also, the book Bryan quoted from (Tacopedia) is a must read.

Carlito, my mom is Mexican American and I’ve been making enchiladas with her since I was 10. You can use any broth you’d like. I also have made with vegan cheese for my daughter’s friend and came out beautifully.

My daughter-in-law from Huetamo, Mx taught me the secret is in the toppings! Dice onions, tomatoes, avocado, lettuce, cilantro. Sprinkle with lime juice. She would pull boiled chicken breasts into strands @2-3 inches long to wrap in the enchiladas; so much better than chunks. Cook enchiladas as above, cooking with sauce of choice, creama (sour cream thinned with milk) and a Mexican cheese.Serve the enchiladas, then smother them with toppings on the plate.

There are easier and harder, or at least messier, ways. Most tortillas recommend microwaving to soften. The traditional method is to dip in the sauce and then in hot oil: caramba! Make sure that you cover all exposed parts of the tortillas or it will become a tortilla chip. And.,.,,there are some awfully good bottled red chile sauces, at least here in santa fe, where the cheese of choice is cheddar.

One of my favorite NYT cooking articles I've read, thank you for your words and this recipe! Now I think enchiladas will be the perfect celebratory last meal before my son is born

Avoiding mess more than fat (though doubtless better with the fat), I toast my tortillas over the open flame of my gas stove, with a stack of 3 burner grates to hold it a bit up so the heat is more spread out. I get a little toasting, which tastes good, while at the same time making them pliable enough for rolling. My notes on the system: 1 Tortilla on burner 2 Fill/roll/place previous tortilla 3 Flip burner tortilla 4 Measure next tortilla's fillings 5 Tortilla to small plate (and back to 1)