How to prepare tortillas, fill and assemble enchiladas

What the sauce-and-fry method accomplishes

Ask a Mexican home cook how they make enchiladas and one common answer is to sauce and fry the tortillas first. Each corn tortilla gets a light coat of chile sauce, a few seconds in hot oil, then a filling and a fold or roll. The result is soft, seasoned tortillas that are ready to eat right away. No casserole dish and no oven time are needed.

This guide follows the enchiladas rojas Mely Martínez describes from her family's table, which she associates with Tampico. She is clear that these enchiladas do not need to be baked. She uses a 350°F oven only to keep finished batches warm while she works through the rest. That makes the method a good fit when you want to serve enchiladas fresh from the skillet, plated one batch at a time.

The more familiar baked style works differently. The tortillas are warmed, filled, rolled, covered with sauce and cheese, and baked together in one dish. That approach is covered further down, so you can choose whichever sequence suits your meal.

Ingredients for Martínez's enchiladas rojas

• 4 guajillo chiles, seeded
• 4 ancho chiles, seeded
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 12 corn tortillas
• 2 cups cooked shredded meat (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups crumbled fresh cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Equipment used in the method: a pan for toasting the chiles, a pot for simmering them in water, a blender, a strainer, a skillet for frying the tortillas, and an oven-safe dish if you want to hold finished batches warm.

Step-by-step: sauce, fry, fill and fold

• 1. Toast the seeded guajillo and ancho chiles briefly. Stop before they burn.
• 2. Simmer the toasted chiles in water for about 15 minutes, until soft. Take them off the heat and let them rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
• 3. Drain the chiles and discard the soaking water. Blend them with the garlic and 1/2 cup of fresh water.
• 4. Strain the sauce if it isn't smooth. Season it with the oregano, salt and pepper.
• 5. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Keep the rest of the 1/3 cup nearby and add it gradually as the pan runs low.
• 6. Lightly coat both sides of a tortilla with the sauce. Fry it for a few seconds per side.
• 7. Fill the tortilla with shredded meat if you're using it, then fold or roll it.
• 8. Top with the crumbled cheese and chopped white onion.
• 9. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. If you are cooking in batches, hold finished enchiladas in a 350°F oven to keep them warm. This is for holding only, not baking.

Two choices affect what you do next. First, the meat is optional, so you can fill with cheese and onion alone. Second, folding or rolling is your call; the method allows either.

Judging progress and correcting course

• Chiles: toast only briefly. If they start to burn, you have gone too far.
• After simmering: the chiles should be soft before they rest and go into the blender.
• Sauce texture: if the blended sauce isn't smooth, strain it before seasoning.
• Tortilla coating: aim for a light layer of sauce on both sides, not a soak.
• Frying: a few seconds per side is all each tortilla needs.
• Oil level: when the skillet runs dry, add more oil a little at a time rather than all at once.

The method gives timing for frying the tortillas, but not a specific visual sign that a tortilla is done. Use the few-seconds-per-side guide rather than frying until the tortilla changes color or crisps.

How baked enchilada assembly differs

Mark Hinds describes a baked approach. You prepare the cooked filling, the sauce and the tortillas before assembling anything.

• 1. Warm the tortillas in a lightly sprayed nonstick pan over medium heat for 20 to 30 seconds per side.
• 2. Spread sauce over the bottom of the baking dish.
• 3. Place filling on the lower third of each tortilla and roll it up.
• 4. Lay each enchilada seam-side down in the dish.
• 5. Cover with more sauce and cheese.
• 6. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Hinds gives two tips for texture. Avoid fillings that are very wet, and assemble the dish shortly before it goes into the oven. Both help the tortillas hold together instead of turning soggy.

Ferwer gives a separate baked example. It uses 8 tortillas, 2 cups of cooked chicken and 2 cups of grated cheese. You roll the tortillas around the filling, cover them with the prepared sauce and the remaining cheese, and bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes. Treat this as its own sequence. It does not include the sauce-then-fry step from Martínez's method.

Step	Martínez sauce-and-fry	Hinds baked
Tortilla prep	Light coat of sauce on both sides, then a few seconds per side in oil	Lightly sprayed nonstick pan, medium heat, 20–30 seconds per side
Filling	Optional cooked shredded meat	Cooked filling, not overly wet
Closure	Folded or rolled	Rolled from the lower third, placed seam-down
Sauce placement	On the tortilla before frying	In the dish, then on top
Finish	Cheese and onion garnish; served without baking	Sauce and cheese on top, baked at 350°F for 20–25 minutes
Oven role	350°F to keep batches warm only	Cooks the assembled dish

Planning example

Here is an illustrative example. Say you are feeding six people with Martínez's batch of 12 tortillas. Dividing 12 tortillas by 6 people gives each person 2 enchiladas. This is simple planning arithmetic, not a serving recommendation. Adjust the count for your own appetites.

Food safety for fillings and leftovers

USDA guidance covers cooked fillings and leftover enchiladas:

• Cool cooked food in shallow containers.
• Refrigerate within 2 hours, or within 1 hour if the surrounding temperature is above 90°F.
• Store at 40°F or below and use within 3 to 4 days.
• Reheat to 165°F before serving.