West Texas Style Stacked Enchiladas were a staple in our home growing up. I don’t remember ever eating rolled enchiladas when I was young. We rarely ate out at restaurants, especially chain restaurants, where rolled enchiladas were typical. Stacked enchiladas were pretty much the only way I had seen them made until we moved from West to East Texas.
Enchilada night for us always consisted of stacked enchiladas piled high on a screaming hot plate that would burn a blister on your forearm if you accidentally touched it.
Yes, they were baked right on the plate. The blisters were worth it, though. They were probably my favorite meal my mother made when I was growing up.
Don’t worry, you won’t have to manage a screaming hot plate with this recipe, but you’ll have to manage to transfer the stacked enchiladas from a hot baking pan to a room temperature plate. A nice wide spatula will get the job done.
The Old Borunda Cafe in Marfa, Texas
The Old Borunda Cafe in Marfa, Texas is considered by many to be the first Tex-Mex Cafe in history, opening in 1887 by Tulia Guiterrez.
The restaurant was eventually taken over by her sister, Carolina Palomo Berunda, who ran it until 1938. At that point in time, it was taken over by her daughter Carolina Borunda Humphries, who ran it until 1985.
Old Borunda is generally credited for the well-known Dinner #1. The everpresent Tex-Mex enchilada, taco, tamale combination with rice and beans on the side.
Old Borunda is where stacked enchiladas come into play. Originally called Enchiladas Montadas on the Old Borunda Menu, they’re just called West Texas-style stacked enchiladas today.
Old Borunda was a favorite dining spot for James Dean and some of his crew when they were out in West Texas filming Giant.
According to Recipes 4 Rebels, the only thing on the menu of the Old Borunda Cafe at the time of Dean’s filming was Enchiladas Montadas. It came with a side of beans and tamales.
No alcohol was served, but you were allowed to bring your own beer, but no more than two.
What Are West Texas-Style Enchiladas?
Stacked enchiladas aren’t unique to only West Texas. New Mexico also has a version of stacked enchiladas that are very popular.
The difference between West Texas-style and New Mexico-style stacked enchiladas are the type of chiles used in the red enchilada sauce, and the West Texas-style almost always has ground beef in it. You’ll often find chicken and plain cheese in many of the New Mexico recipes.
You’ll also find quite a few more green chiles in the New Mexican version than you generally find in the West Texan one.
Besides being stacked instead of rolled, a significant difference between West Texas-style stacked enchiladas, and traditional Tex-Mex enchiladas is the enchilada sauce. Traditional Tex-Mex usually has chile gravy rather than red enchilada sauce like you’d find in Mexican food.
Being from a majority Mexican community deep in West Texas, our food was more Mex-Tex than Tex-Mex. Chile gravy wasn’t that common out there.
As far as the red enchilada sauce goes, the one I make, with cloves and a pinch of cinnamon, is more common in the state of Colima, Mexico (West of Mexico City), rather than Northern Mexico. I don’t know how it found its way into my kitchen, but it did.
Maybe one of the families that we spent so much time with early on was from Colima. If you want a more authentic West Texas flavor, you can omit the cinnamon and cloves.
Tips for Mastering Stacked Enchiladas
Below are a few tips for mastering stacked enchiladas:
- Fry the tortillas until they’re almost crispy. I understand that you may be on a diet, but this is about the only way to keep the tortillas from disintegrating. You shouldn’t skip this step.
- Always top your stacked enchiladas with a fried egg. Make sure that yolk is runny, too. This is a tradition for a reason. The runny yolk adds a creaminess that makes your enchiladas spectacular.
- Don’t overcook the green chiles. If you put your green chiles into your meat mixture too early, they almost dissolve before you’re done cooking the meat. Roasting them under the broiler to remove the skin is all the cooking they need. Just mix them in when the meat is done browning.
- Homemade enchilada sauce is always better. The canned stuff is okay for a quick meal, but I have never tasted enchilada sauce from a can that compares to homemade. Just make it in advance and freeze it. Thaw it out when you’re ready to use it.
Fresh Roasted Green Chiles
If you want to make your own fresh roasted chiles, just char them over a flame until they’re completely blackened, then put them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap until they’re cool. Peel off the blackened skin, remove the stem and seeds, then dice into a 1/8-inch dice.
If you don’t have a gas stove, you can blacken your chiles by roasting them on the top rack under your broiler (set on high and preheated for at least 10 minutes) for 4-5 minutes per side.
You get bonus points if you char your green chile over charcoal or, even better, a wood fire. The smoky flavor will make your enchiladas even better.
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Stacked Enchiladas – West Texas-Style
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 yellow corn tortillas
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil - more as needed
- 1/2 medium yellow onion
- 1 lb. ground beef chuck - 80% lean
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. Mexican oregano
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 3 4 oz. cans diced green chiles - Or roast two whole anaheim or Hatch chiles (preferred)
- 2 cups red enchilada sauce
- 12 oz. Monterrey Jack Cheese - shredded (pre-shredded cheese is evil)
Garnishes
- 2 eggs
- 3 tbsp. white onion - finely diced (optional)
- 2 tbsp. green onions - finely chopped (optional)
- sour cream - (optional)
- Salsa - (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle position. Spray your cookie sheet with oil.
- Preheat a cast iron pan over medium-high. Add vegetable oil, then fry the corn tortillas on each side until starting to crisp. Set aside.
- Add the diced onions to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally until translucent. Add the ground beef, chili powder, Mexican oregano, salt, and pepper, and cook until the beef is starting to brown, but pink in some spots. Add the green chiles and garlic, and cook an additional minute.
- Coat two tortillas with enchilada sauce, then place one on each side of the pan, leaving space between them, Add a scoop of the beef mixture to each, top with cheese, then another enchilada sauce dipped tortilla. Keep building layers until you've used all of the tortillas up. Top with any remaining meat mixture you have, ladle enough enchilada sauce to cover, then top with the remaining cheese.
- Place your enchiladas in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling.
- While the enchiladas are baking, add a couple of tablespoons of butter and a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil to a frying pan, and preheat over medium heat. Carefully add a couple of eggs, without breaking the yolks. When the whites of the eggs start turning opaque, cover with a lid and cook until the whites are fully set, but the yolks are runny.
- Remove the enchiladas from the oven and carefully slide a thin spatula under each stack to transfer to a plate (a thin metal spatula is very helpful here). Place fried eggs on top, then whichever garnishes you choose.
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