? about making enchiladas

[foodfiend]

My rolled enchiladas consistantly fall apart.
I dip about 4 into the warm sauce, transfer to waxed paper, add the filling, and roll. Most of the time, the tortillas split apart and I can barely get them set into the baking dish. Lately, I've made a layered tortilla casserole rather than bothering with rolling, but I had the time today and it happened again. Splitsville. Anyone have advice for me?? Should I be softening them in oil first?

[cjs]

First of all if you're using commercial corn tortillas, be sure to go to the bottom of the stack and get the freshest possible.

Yes, I would warm first - maybe quickly zap them, dip one at time in sauce and quickly fill and roll. The only time I have trouble is when my tortillas are old. Good luck.

Anxious to hear if other have some hints for both of us.

[foodfiend]

Thanks Jean, I've made a note to warm the tortillas first, and only fill & roll one at a time. For lunch I reheated some leftovers and the only way I could get them out of the baking dish was to scoop! Still tasted pretty good, although looked like h*ll!

[karyn]

I agree with Jean. The problem is old tortillas, but it can be really hard to get fresh ones unless I make a trip to Buford Highway, where fresh tortillas are abundant. However, I have found an alternative recently that works great (and now I'm going to sound like a commercial!) Tortillaland is a company that makes uncooked tortillas that I can find in the refrigerator section of the local Kroger. They make both corn and flour tortillas and both are delicious. You do need to cook them in an ungreased skillet, so they involve an extra step, but I think it's worth it.

Alternatively, you might want to try frying the tortillas instead of just warming them and rolling. That's what my mom did when I was growing up. It works pretty well, but I thing the Tortillaland tortillas are much better.

[Trixxee]

I also have the same tearing problem. I have seen the Tortillaland flour but not corn tortillas.

Oh, I just remembered! Tony bought some fancy gourmet corn tortillas last time and that seemed to do the trick. They are pricier but so what. They're not THAT expensive.

[foodfiend]

Tortillaland tortillas-- they're available at a WalMart about a half hour from the new house so now they are on The List! Thanks!!!

[Cubangirl]

These are the instructions for tortilla part on Cook's Illustrated Enchiladas Verdes (which are excellent btw). They work well.
Lower temperature to 350° F. Place tortillas on two baking sheets. Spray both sides lightly with cooking spray. Bake until tortillas are soft and pliable, 2 to 4 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 450° F. degrees. Place warm tortillas on counter-top and place ⅓ cup filling down center of each tortilla. Roll each tortilla tightly and place in baking dish, side-by-side, seam-side down. Ten enchiladas will fit down middle of baking dish and remaining two will fit perpendicularly next to that row. Pour remaining tomatillo sauce over top of enchiladas. Use back of spoon to spread sauce so it coats top of each tortilla. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup grated cheese and cover baking dish with foil.

[foodfiend]

Now, that method seems a heck of a lot easier than prewarming the tortillas, then dipping each into the sauce (and dripping back to the counter), then rolling and transferring the wet tortilla to a baking dish... I am certainly going to try it. Thanks, Alina!

ps- I also found the recipe online (at Food.com as CI required me to sign up for a trial membership to "see" the recipe and I just didn't feel like it...) and am going to make this when we return to the new house and I have access to fresh tomatillos-- I like them so much better than the canned. Thanks again!

[cjs]

oh piddle, tomatillas - I'm going to miss a 2nd season of growing them.......... sigh. I'm with you, I just love them fresh off the plants.