These Chilaquiles combine homemade red enchilada sauce with fried corn tortilla wedges, and are then topped with slow-roasted pork.
What are Chilaquiles?
Last week, I tried a new roasted pork recipe. It was the bees knees, lemme tell ya! I ended up with a ton of leftovers from it.
I love experimenting with leftovers! I went to YouTube to find ways to use that delicious pork. Three hours later, after seeing someone eat 150 Oreos and learning how to dry-age a steak, I stumbled upon Chilaquiles!
Chilaquiles is a traditional Mexican breakfast dish. It consists of leftover corn tortillas simmered in a sauce, and garnished with your favorite toppings.
How Do I Make It?
Chilaquiles either contains “Salsa Rojos” or “Salsa Verdes”. I decided to go with Rojos since tomatillos can be difficult to find.
I simply threw some roughly chopped onion, tomatoes, garlic and jalapeño in a food processor. Then I added the chicken broth until I reached my desired consistency, and finished the sauce with some salt & pepper.
This method tastes much fresher than any store bought version you would find. It also contains much less sodium! Once the sauce is prepared, set it aside for now.
Next up are the homemade tortilla chips. If you take one thing from this recipe, let it be making your own chips!
Start by preheating a large skillet with 1/4-1/2 inch of neutral flavored oil (I used avocado oil). Cut your corn tortillas into 8 wedges each. Then cook them in batches in the oil, adding more oil as needed. Finish them off by topping with flaky salt and drying on some paper towels. That’s it!
When I finished the tortilla chips, I started simmering the sauce in a large pot. The goal was to thicken the sauce. This may have caused it to thicken too much. Mine turned out to be more of a salsa, which I loved! It’s funny how mistakes sometimes yield even better results!
If you want it to be more of a sauce consistency, just add more chicken broth to the pot.
After you’ve thickened the sauce and the tortilla chips are prepped, then you just combine them in the pot! Mix the two until the chips are thoroughly coated and begin to soften. Then you’re done!
I topped mine with queso fresco, diced avocado, cilantro, pumpkin seeds and the roasted pork. Topping this dish with a fried egg would also be delicious!
Is it healthy?
The answer to that question is: it depends. Every individual is different in terms of the nutrients they require to reach their desired fitness and health goals.
For someone trying to drop quite a bit of fat, the higher carbohydrate content in this dish may not work for them. For the person either trying to build some muscle, or just wanting to live a healthier lifestyle for longevity, this may be perfect for them.
This dish is made much healthier since we made everything from scratch! Jarred sauces and store bought tortilla chips are often MUCH higher in sodium. They will also contain various preservatives and sweeteners to enhance the flavor.
Don’t be intimidated by the cooking time in the recipe. Most of that time is from the roasted pork. You may not have the time or desire to use the pork in this recipe. Feel free to replace with fried eggs, chicken, beef, tofu, beans, or omit altogether. The possibilities are endless here!
Roasted Pork Chilaquiles
Ingredients
Slow-Roasted Pork
- 3 lbs Pork Loin Roast
- 5 cloves Garlic peeled and cut in half lengthwise
- 1 tbsp Liquid Smoke
- 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
Chilaquiles
- 1/2 cup Avocado Oil for frying
- 12 Corn Tortillas cut into 8 wedges each
- 8 Roma Tomatoes chopped
- 1 Yellow Onion chopped
- 2 Jalapeno Peppers sliced and seeds removed
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 2 1/2 cups Chicken Broth divided
- 1 tbsp Avocado Oil
Instructions
Slow-Roasted Pork
- Preheat oven to 325˚F.
- Using a paring knife, make ten 1-inch slits all around the pork and insert a garlic clove half into each slit.
- Rub pork with the liquid smoke and apply salt evenly.
- Double-wrap tightly in foil, place on a baking sheet, and bake for 4.5 to 5 hours, until very tender and you can shred it.
Chilaquiles
- For the homemade tortilla chips, heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add about a quarter of the tortilla wedges and cook, flipping once, until lightly brown and crisp. Drain the freshly fried tortilla chips on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Repeat this process until all tortillas are fried, adding more oil if needed.
- For the sauce, place the tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, and garlic in a blender or food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pour in 2 cups of the broth. Blend until smooth.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes (the consistency of the salsa will vary depending on the size and juiciness of the tomatoes). Add additional broth to thin out the sauce, if needed. Taste and season with salt as needed.
- Add the tortilla chips and stir carefully to coat the chips. Cook until the tortillas are heated through, about 3 minutes. Taste and season with salt as needed.
- Serve warm garnished with the roasted pork, avocado or guacamole, crema, queso fresco, cilantro, and/or fried eggs, if desired.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Info
Chilaquiles Roasted Pork
This looks like an awesome dinner, I’ll try it soon, thanks Jonathan