Most people have a “love-like” relationship with enchiladas. They either love them or really, really like them.
Regardless of your level of admiration, you respect them. And you should.
Enchiladas are the elder statesmen of the Tex-Mex menu. They’re trustworthy and reliable. They’re like your uncle who never forgets your birthday and always sends you a $20.
In honor of these humble dishes of comfort, dependability and yumminess, we offer a glimpse of the heritage of the enchilada and how it came to be what it is today.
Like its Tex-Mex brethren, enchiladas originated in Mexico, specifically from the lake region of the Valley of Mexico. The indigenous people of this area began a tradition of wrapping fish in small corn tortillas while, we imagine, wishing for a Corona.
Over time, enchiladas evolved into something more complex. The traditional process became placing a tortilla on a plate and smothering it with red chili sauce from a kettle. Grated cheese was added on top, then another tortilla, then more chili sauce, more cheese and then a topper of chopped onions, lettuce and an egg fried in hot lard. (If that doesn’t make you salivate, literally nothing else will.)
Enchiladas were mentioned in the first Mexican cookbook, El cocinero mexicano (“The Mexican Chef”), which was published in 1831, and in Diccionario de Cocina, published in 1845. The dish made its way to American cookbooks by the early 20th century, changing our lives for the better forever.
Currently there are two ways to make enchiladas: either dipping the tortilla in chili sauce and then frying it, filling it and rolling it; or frying the tortilla then dipping it in sauce, filling it and rolling it. Tomayto, tomahto.
What we love about enchiladas is that they allow for imagination and experimentation. They may have begun as fish wrapped in tortillas hundreds of years ago, but they have evolved into just about whatever you want them to be. The combinations are endless and the happiness is infinite.
Lucky for you, Fuzzy’s Taco Shop offers mouthwatering enchilada plates, which include your choice of any two enchiladas (chicken, beef, cheese, shrimp or veggie) with your choice of two sides. Come in today to get your history on.
