These spicy, smoky, Crockpot Shredded Beef and Smoked Gouda Enchiladas get their intense flavor from slow cooked, seasoned flank steak, and are transformed into the ultimate crispy cheesy dinner after a quick trip in the oven with some melty cheddar and smoked gouda.
JUMP TO RECIPEEnchiladas are the ultimate Mexican comfort food, and a great family dinner.
For this recipe, I use one of my favorite crockpot Mexican beef preparations and turn it into enchilada filling AND sauce for these Shredded Beef and Smoked Gouda Enchiladas. I season and sear some flank steak, add some canned diced tomatoes and chilis, chicken stock, onions, garlic, tequila and a few spices. All you need is a crockpot and a blender, and you're in business.
Do I need to fry the tortillas?
The short answer is technically, no. However- not only does frying the tortillas make the more pliable/easier to work with, it also imparts a lot of flavor. The result is a super flavorful enchilada with melt-in-your-mouth corn tortilla flavor.
Do I have to blend the sauce?
It's entirely up to you! I have done these enchiladas with a chunky sauce and with the puréed version, and while most people seem to favor the smooth texture you get with a blended sauce, this sauce is still super delicious straight form the crockpot.
How do you roll the Beef and Smoked Gouda Enchiladas?
I just place some filling in center, leave a bit of slack at the top and bottom, and wrap the tortillas around the filling, closing the ends over each other and placing that seam down in the pan (like the photo below).
Can I leave out the tequila for these Beef and Smoked Gouda Enchilladas?
The tequila adds great flavor to the sauce, but if you'd rather not include it, the sauce still tastes great without it!
Crockpot Shredded Beef and Smoked Gouda Enchiladas
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil, plus more for tortillas
- 1 lb flank steak
- 10-12 small/medium corn tortillas
- ½ cup smoked gouda cheese, shredded*
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- cooking spray
Dry rub for steak
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
Crockpot/Sauce
- 1 red onion, sliced thin*
- 1 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilis
- 1 14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ spice rub (see instructions)
- 2 tablespoon tequila*
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 2 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- Make your dry rub. Combine salt, pepper, cayenne, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and cumin. Set half aside for later use, and coat flank steak with half of dry rub evenly, coating whole steak in seasoning.
2. Sear the meat. Heat a frying pan over high heat and sear the flank steak on both sides until meat is well browned, about 2 minutes per side.
3. Transfer meat to crockpot and add sliced onion, diced tomatoes with green chilis, fire roasted diced tomatoes, tomato paste, low sodium chicken stock, apple cider vinegar, remaining half of spice rub, tequila, bay leaf, and garlic. Cook on high for 2 hours, or until steak easy pulls apart with a fork.
4. Remove steak from crockpot and set on a cutting board until cool enough to shred, Once cool enough to handle. shred the meat between 2 forks and place into a medium mixing bowl.
5. Make the sauce. While meat cools, remove bay leaf from crockpot, and add cornstarch slurry to thicken sauce (whisk 2 tbs cornstarch with 2 tbs water and stir into crockpot). Cook 3-5 minutes, or until thickened. Transfer contents of crockpot to a blender and pulse until smooth.
6. Make the filling. Add ¼ cup sauce, 2 tbs sour cream, ½ cup shredded cheddar and all of the shredded smoked gouda to bowl with shredded flank steak and toss to combine. Set aside.
7. LIGHTLY fry the tortillas. In a large, deep frying pan, heat ¼” canola oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, lightly fry the tortillas until very light golden and still soft/pliable- about 30 seconds per side (DO NOT CRISP). Transfer to a large tray or cookie sheet to cool enough to handle. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
8. Assemble/Fill. Spray a 9x12 baking dish with cooking spray. Pour enough sauce to coat the bottom well. One at a time, add about 2-3 tablespoon of the flank steak filling to the center of each tortilla, roll and fold over, placing in the dish seam side down (see photo above). It is ok of the enchiladas touch/are close together in the pan. Once all tortillas are filled, cover with enough sauce to moisten the tops of the enchiladas, but leave the edges of the tortillas uncovered. (You may have extra sauce, but it freezes well!)
9. Bake. Top with remaining ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese and bake, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with lime wedges, fresh cilantro, and sliced avocado.
*Substitutions:
A white or yellow onion can be substituted for a red onion.
Smoked provolone or cheddar would also work here, but you can also leave the smoked cheese out and just do cheddar and these are still really tasty!
Tequila is optional, but adds great flavor.
© Jawns I Cooked. All images & content are the sole property of Jawns I Cooked. Please ask permission prior to using my photos. If you would like to share one of my recipes, please link back to this post and re-write the instructions in your own words.
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