# The Best Enchiladas You’ll Ever Make (Restaurant-Quality) | Epicurious 101 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJNT1gv4Wbo Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/bJNT1gv4Wbo Generated: 2025-12-17T17:42:01.432+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview Chef Saúl Montiel creates restaurant-quality Enchiladas Verdes con Pollo by simmering chicken with corn, onion, garlic, and bay leaves for 45 minutes to create a flavorful stock, mixing shredded chicken with corn for the filling, blending boiled tomatillos, serrano chiles, onion, garlic, cilantro, and chicken broth for the green sauce, frying corn tortillas briefly to keep them flexible, assembling the enchiladas with filling and cheese, covering them in the sauce, and topping them with crema, queso fresco, shredded lettuce, red onion, avocado, and cilantro. **Key Points:** - The chicken is simmered with corn, onion, garlic, and bay leaves for 40-45 minutes to create a rich broth for flavor. - The filling is made by combining shredded chicken with corn, ensuring the chicken remains moist by not overcooking it. - The Tomatillo Sauce involves boiling tomatillos, serrano chiles, onion, garlic, and cilantro, then blending them with chicken broth. - Corn tortillas are briefly fried in neutral oil on both sides (about 1 minute per side) to keep them flexible for rolling. - To assemble, the tortilla is filled with the chicken/corn mixture and cheese, rolled, and placed seam-side down on a plate covered in the green sauce. - The dish is topped with Mexican crema, queso fresco, shredded romaine lettuce, sliced red onion, avocado, and fresh cilantro for texture and flavor balance. ![Screenshot at 1:12: Chef Montiel adding celery to the pot containing chicken, onion, garlic, and bay leaves to create the flavorful chicken broth base for the dish.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/bJNT1gv4Wbo/00-01-12.png) **Context:** Chef/Owner Saúl Montiel of La Única Tacos y Tequila demonstrates how to make his mother's recipe for Enchiladas Verdes con Pollo, emphasizing the importance of using bone-in chicken parts for a flavorful broth and balancing the heat from the peppers in the sauce with sweetness from the corn. ## Detailed Analysis Chef Saúl Montiel provides a tutorial for making restaurant-quality Enchiladas Verdes con Pollo. The process begins with creating a rich chicken stock by simmering chicken pieces (using both white and dark meat for optimal flavor and moisture), corn on the cob, onion, garlic, and bay leaves in a Dutch oven for 40-45 minutes. After cooking, the chicken is removed to cool slightly before being shredded by hand into medium-sized pieces, avoiding overly dry or large chunks. The corn kernels are also removed from the cob and mixed with the shredded chicken to form the filling. Simultaneously, the green sauce (salsa verde) is prepared by boiling tomatillos, two serrano chiles, onion, garlic, and cilantro until the tomatillo skins break and change color slightly to reduce bitterness. These boiled ingredients are then blended with reserved chicken broth and salt until smooth. The chef stresses that the sauce should be slightly liquidy, not thick, as it will reduce later. Corn tortillas are quickly fried in neutral vegetable oil for about one minute per side to ensure they remain flexible for rolling. The assembly involves filling the warm tortilla with the chicken/corn/cheese mixture, rolling it up, and placing it on a plate already coated with the green sauce. The dish is then generously topped with more sauce, Mexican crema, queso fresco, shredded romaine lettuce, sliced red onion, avocado slices, and fresh cilantro. The final plating is designed to offer a perfect balance of flavors, textures, and colors, ensuring every bite is delicious. ### Chicken Stock Preparation - Simmer chicken pieces (dark and white meat used for flavor) with two ears of corn, onion, garlic, and bay leaves in a Dutch oven for 40-45 minutes to develop a rich broth. ### Filling Preparation - Shred the cooked chicken by hand into medium-sized pieces, avoiding dryness, and combine it with the kernels cut from the cooked corn. ### Tomatillo Sauce Creation - Boil tomatillos, two serrano chiles, onion, garlic, and cilantro in water until the tomatillos change color; blend these ingredients with chicken broth and salt to achieve a slightly liquid consistency. ### Tortilla Preparation - Briefly fry corn tortillas in neutral vegetable oil for about one minute per side to make them flexible, ensuring they do not burn. ### Assembly - Fill the softened tortillas with the chicken and corn mixture, roll them up, and place them seam-side down on a plate already coated with the green sauce. ### Plating and Garnishing - Top the enchiladas with more green sauce, drizzle with Mexican crema, and garnish with queso fresco, shredded romaine lettuce, pickled red onion slices, fresh avocado slices, and cilantro leaves. ![Screenshot at 0:01: Chef Saúl Montiel introducing the ingredients: chicken pieces and two ears of corn.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/bJNT1gv4Wbo/00-00-01.png) ![Screenshot at 0:12: The initial step of mixing the shredded chicken filling with corn in a glass bowl.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/bJNT1gv4Wbo/00-00-12.png) ![Screenshot at 0:41: Chef Montiel adding chicken pieces to the Dutch oven to begin making the broth.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/bJNT1gv4Wbo/00-00-41.png) ![Screenshot at 1:29: A graphic indicating the chicken and aromatics should boil for 40-45 minutes.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/bJNT1gv4Wbo/00-01-29.png) ![Screenshot at 3:26: The ingredients for the Tomatillo Sauce \(tomatillos, serrano chiles, onion, cilantro, chicken broth\) being added to the blender.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/bJNT1gv4Wbo/00-03-26.png)