Cheesy, saucy goodness

Cooking chicken in enchilada sauce gives it a major flavour upgrade

Enchiladas are one of the ultimate throw-together meals. Roll up meat or veggies in corn tortillas with some cheese, bathe the whole assemblage in sauce, add more cheese (always more cheese), bake and eat.

It’s a great way to repurpose leftovers into a dish that doesn’t feel like an afterthought.

But I don’t always want to leave my enchilada enjoyment to chance. Sometimes I want a “destination enchilada.”

Sure, you certainly improvise, even if you’re not using leftovers. But I set out to find my ideal balance of cheese, sauce, spice and bright flavour.

I also wanted to walk the line between making everything from scratch and making the dish relatively quickly and easily.

Try to get a good-quality sauce. Because I couldn’t resist trying to put at least a little of my own personal stamp on the sauce, I doctored it with hot sauce and lime juice to taste, which really made it shine. Store-bought sauce also gets a major flavour upgrade when you poach the chicken in it, a tip I picked up from a different enchilada recipe from America’s Test Kitchen.

Rotisserie chicken from the store would have further streamlined things. Still, the intermingling of flavours between the meat and the sauce is well worth the limited time and effort. The thighs cook in just 15 to 20 minutes, during which you can prep the other parts of the recipe, such as the grated cheese.

Speaking of cheese, my first batch was not cheesy enough for tasters, so I increased the amount by a third. The dominant cheese is mellow, melty Monterey Jack, and I saved half of it for the top. The filling includes cheddar for sharpness, along with cilantro.