00:00Hello, this is Chef John from Foodwishes.com with Cornbread Crepe Chicken Enchiladas.
00:09That's right, instead of using tortillas, we're making crepes with a cornbread batter
00:13that only takes minutes to put together, and then we'll wrap those around the easiest
00:18shredded chicken filling ever, which together made what my wife Michelle called the best
00:23chicken enchiladas she's ever had.
00:25So with that, let's go ahead and get started with this super simple filling, which begins
00:30by adding two jars of green salsa to a saucepan, and then we'll rinse those jars out with some
00:35chicken broth, and add that as well.
00:38And when you pick this out, you want to make sure the first two ingredients include tomatillos
00:42and green chilies, or green chilies and tomatillos, and yes, your favorite green enchilada sauce
00:48would also work, since it's basically made out of the same stuff.
00:52And then to that we will add some boneless skinless chicken thighs, and we will poke those down
00:57in, and set our heat to medium high.
00:59And while we're waiting for this to start to simmer, we can add our salt.
01:03Oh, and do me a favor, don't try to use chicken breast for this.
01:06I mean, you can, and it will work, but it's not going to be nearly as good.
01:11But anyway, once that starts to simmer, we'll reduce our heat to low, and we will cook this
01:15for about an hour and 15 minutes, or until our chicken is falling apart tender.
01:21Okay, we're going to be shredding this, so make sure you're simmering it long enough.
01:25And once that happens, we'll remove the chicken to a bowl, letting as much sauce drain back
01:30into the pan as possible.
01:31And once that's been accomplished, we'll set the chicken aside, and we'll crank our heat
01:36to high, since I think we want to reduce this sauce for about five or six minutes, just to
01:41thicken it a bit, and concentrate the flavors.
01:44And once we feel like that's happened, and our sauce is looking a little something like
01:48this, we'll turn our heat to low, and then we'll ladle out about a cup and a half of the
01:53sauce, which we will eventually use to top our enchiladas.
01:57And then the sauce that's left in the pan, we'll use to mix with our shredded chicken,
02:01which is going to be the next step.
02:03And to do that, we'll grab a couple forks, and we will start shredding, and we will continue
02:08shredding, until that chicken is very, very shredded.
02:12And for me, the finer, the better, since that's going to absorb the most sauce, and I think
02:17produce the best texture.
02:18But if you want your chicken left in bigger pieces, go ahead.
02:22I mean, you are, after all, the Larry, of your bird.
02:24But in any event, we'll go ahead and transfer that into our sauce, and give everything a
02:29nice stir.
02:30And then we'll simply keep that on low heat, until we're ready to use it.
02:34And yes, you can definitely make this ahead, and it will probably be even better the next
02:38day.
02:39But anyway, once our chicken's set, we'll make our cornbread crepes, which could not be
02:44any easier.
02:45Since all we need is one egg, a little bit of sugar, a little bit of salt, some baking
02:51powder, and of course, a few shakes of cayenne, for good luck.
02:55And what we'll do is give this a very quick whisk, for about 20 seconds, before we add
02:59the rest of the ingredients, which is going to be some cornmeal.
03:03And I'm using a medium grind, but fine would also be fine.
03:06And then we'll also need some all-purpose flour, as well as some milk.
03:11And that's it.
03:12We'll simply whisk this together.
03:13And the great news about this crepe batter, is that once it's mixed, we only have to let
03:18it sit for a couple minutes before we use it.
03:20So by the time you heat your pan over medium-high heat, and brush it with a little bit of
03:25melted
03:25butter, that batter's going to be ready to use.
03:28And what we'll do is transfer in about a quarter cup of batter for each crepe.
03:32And as usual, we'll swirl the pan around so it coats the bottom.
03:36Oh, and pro tip, since that cornmeal tends to settle a little bit in the batter, make
03:41sure you give it a little bit of a whisk before each portioning.
03:44And then we'll cook that first side for about a minute or so, or until the batter on the
03:48top of the crepe stops looking wet.
03:51And we'll go ahead and give that a flip, and we'll cook the other side for about a
03:55minute or so, or until very lightly browned.
03:58And by the way, once you get rolling, you can probably reduce the heat down a little
04:02bit closer to medium, so these don't get too dark.
04:06And that's it.
04:06Once done, we'll transfer that onto a plate.
04:09And then just like when we're making corn tortillas, we'll go ahead and cover that
04:13with a towel, which is going to hold in the heat and finish the cooking process.
04:17And our crepes will stay nice and soft and supple.
04:20And we'll continue cooking and stacking and covering until our batter's gone.
04:25And we only need six crepes for the recipe, although the batter probably will make about
04:30seven, which is why this last one looks a little ragged around the edges, since I scraped
04:35all the excess batter from the bowl around the edge of the crepe.
04:38And once those are done, we'll simply let those steam under the towel for a few minutes
04:42while we prep our pan.
04:44And since this was an experiment, and I wasn't quite sure if I had enough sauce, I did add a
04:49little more salsa verde to what we took out of the pan, although in hindsight, I'm not
04:53sure if I actually needed it.
04:54But anyway, what we'll do is take a casserole pan or a baking dish, and we'll ladle some
04:59of that sauce in the bottom and spread it out evenly, at which point we can roll up
05:04our enchiladas, which we'll start with a crepe, of course, on which we will transfer some
05:09pepper jack cheese, or of course, the cheese of your choice.
05:13And we don't need too much.
05:15A couple tablespoons is plenty.
05:16And that's it, we'll divide our filling into six equal portions.
05:20And yes, I did use a scale to get it exact, but you can just eye it if you don't
05:24care.
05:25And you're not taking contractually obligated pictures.
05:28And yes, these are going to be huge.
05:30But believe you me, when you eat one of these, you're going to be very glad they're as big
05:35as they are.
05:36And then once rolled, we'll place that seam side down in our pan, and we will continue
05:41on until it's filled.
05:42And when something like this is going to be a tight fit, I always like to finish by
05:46squeezing one in the middle instead of on the end, although I'm pretty sure that makes
05:51no difference at all.
05:52And then we will grab our sauce, and we'll ladle some over the top.
05:56But do not, under any circumstances, cover the entire enchilada.
06:01Okay, these aren't real enchiladas, where the tortilla is fried first and dipped in sauce,
06:06and they're made to order.
06:07All right, this is a baked casserole style.
06:09So we just want to mostly sauce down the middle, so that at least half of the surface area is
06:14exposed, since I just think that's going to look nicer, and we're going to have a better
06:18texture when this bakes.
06:19And then we'll finish up with a generous scattering of cheese right over the sauce,
06:24at which point these are ready to pop into the upper center of a 425 degree oven for about 10
06:31to 15 minutes,
06:32or until our cheese is melted, our fillings hot, and they hopefully look like this.
06:38Oh yeah, those are beautiful.
06:40But let's make them a little more beautiful by spooning some red chili salsa down the middle.
06:46All right, not too much, just basically like a racing stripe, which is going to provide a flavor
06:51and visual contrast, especially if we're going to drizzle some sour cream over the top,
06:56which I definitely am.
06:58And then I finished up with some torn cilantro leaves, and my cornbread crepe chicken enchiladas
07:03were ready to enjoy.
07:06So I grabbed not one, but two spatulas, and I served up.
07:10Yes, you know you're dealing with an oversized enchilada when you need two spatulas.
07:15And then I could have enjoyed this as is, but I decided to add a little more of the sauces,
07:19as well as some sour cream, plus one more pinch of torn cilantro.
07:24And then I grabbed a fork and dug in to what Michelle and I agreed were some of the best
07:29chicken enchiladas we've ever had.
07:31In fact, as I said in the intro, Michelle said these were literally the best chicken enchiladas
07:35she's ever had.
07:36And while the flavors will be similar to enchiladas made with regular corn tortillas,
07:41these wraps really did taste like thin pieces of cornbread, which I thought was a perfect pairing
07:46with our green chili chicken.
07:47And while these crepes were more than sturdy enough to hold the filling, they were much more soft
07:52and tender and supple than your typical tortilla, which is one of the main reasons I think you guys
07:57are going to enjoy these so much.
07:59Not to mention, these crepes are very versatile, since if you're not making enchiladas, you could
08:04use them to wrap around fresh fruit as a dessert, or serve them like a flatbread, which we did
08:09with our reverse barbecue chicken.
08:11Having said that, I am hoping you do use them to make enchiladas, since these were truly amazing,
08:16and I really do hope you give this a try soon.
08:20So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts, a printable written recipe, and much
08:25more info as usual.
08:27And as always, enjoy!
08:31And as always, enjoy!
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