WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: For hearty, flavorful beef enchiladas, we turned to traditional slow-cooked and shredded chuck roast. Cubing and browning the meat first helped develop a flavorful base for our braising liquid.
Sautéed onions and plenty of spices lent depth, while tomato sauce and wine provided rich color and just enough acidity to balance the beef’s richness. Once the beef was fully tender, we strained the braising liquid to use as our sauce. Next, we needed to warm the tortillas to make them pliable enough to roll around our filling. Although traditional recipes call for frying the corn tortillas one at a time, we found that brushing them with oil and microwaving them briefly worked just as well. Tangy cheddar cheese stood up well to the rich beef filling, and a bit more sprinkled on top gave our enchiladas a rich finish. Be sure to trim the beef well before cooking or the enchiladas may be greasy. Serve with sour cream, diced avocado, sliced radishes, minced cilantro, shredded romaine lettuce, and lime wedges.

Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds boneless beef chuck-eye roast, trimmed and cut into 1½-inch cubes
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 onions, chopped fine
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
• ¼ cup red wine
• 8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups)
• 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Pat beef dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown half of beef well on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes; transfer to bowl. Repeat with remaining beef using fat left in pot.
3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot. Add onions and ½ teaspoon salt and cook over medium heat until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in chili powder, cumin, coriander, cayenne, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until spices darken, about 2 minutes.
4. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato sauce, wine, and browned beef and any accumulated juices and bring to simmer. Cover, transfer to oven, and cook until meat is fork-tender, 2 to 2½ hours.
5. Transfer beef to large bowl and let cool slightly. Using 2 forks, shred into bite-size pieces; refrigerate for 20 minutes. Strain sauce through fine-mesh strainer, discarding solids. Combine chilled beef, 1 cup cheddar, and ¼ cup reserved sauce in bowl.
6. Adjust oven rack to middle position and increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Spread ¾ cup sauce over bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
7. Brush both sides of tortillas with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Stack tortillas, wrap in damp dish towel, and place on plate; microwave until warm and pliable, about 1 minute.
8. Working with 1 warm tortilla at a time, spread ⅓ cup beef filling across center of tortilla. Roll tortilla tightly around filling and place seam side down in baking dish; arrange enchiladas in 2 columns across width of dish.
9. Pour remaining sauce over top to cover completely and sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheddar over enchiladas. Cover dish tightly with greased aluminum foil.
10. Bake until enchiladas are heated through and cheese is melted, 15 to 20 minutes.
11. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.