The Trick To Keeping Tortillas From Getting Soggy When Making Enchiladas

While preparing tacos and quesadillas at home is fun, some dishes like enchiladas are more difficult to get right. In fact, knowing how enchiladas are traditionally made in Mexico can help you succeed. Usually, the tortillas are lightly fried before they are used to make authentic enchiladas. This simple step allows the tortillas to crisp up a bit and creates a barrier so the tortillas will not soak up too much enchilada sauce (via Bon Appetit).

Apart from keeping your enchiladas from getting soggy, frying the tortillas also improves the dish in other ways, too. For example, slightly crisping the tortillas adds flavor because the proteins brown and the sugar in the tortillas start to caramelize. Cooking the tortillas in oil for a short time also helps add a richness to the dish without the tortillas retaining too much oil. 

Another tip you might want to keep in mind when making enchiladas is that in many recipes, yellow corn tortillas are best. White corn tortillas are more delicate and do not hold up as well as yellow corn tortillas for this sauce-heavy dish. It is also important to avoid using any kind of flour tortillas, because they can alter the taste and texture of the enchiladas (via Simply Recipes).

While you can fry the tortillas one at a time until you have as many as you need to make enchiladas, there is a faster way to accomplish this. Simply Recipe's trick is to place another tortilla on top of the one in the frying pan. When it is time to flip them, just flip both tortillas at the same time. Besides cooking them more quickly, the second tortilla on top of the first will let it absorb some of the fat from the first one.

No matter how you crisp your tortillas, just know that they are done when you see them bubble and are a little brown, though they will still be a little soft to the touch. Just have all of your other ingredients ready to go so you can dip the tortillas in sauce, stuff 'em, roll them up, and bake the enchiladas as soon as the tortillas are ready. That way, you can enjoy ASAP!