Enchiladas Mineras (Guanajuato Miners' Enchiladas)
Tortillas dipped in guajillo chile sauce and fried, rolled around fresh cheese and onion, then buried under fried potatoes and carrots, lettuce and pickled jalapeños, with chicken and a tomato salsa on the side.
Guanajuato was built on its mines, and its signature enchilada carries the miners' name. The state's tourism site says enchiladas mineras emerged in colonial times, when miners' wives made nutritious, economical and flavorful meals for the men in the mines, and that the recipe has changed since: it was originally filled with beans. Today the tortillas are dipped in guajillo sauce and fried, filled with cheese and onion, and served on lettuce with cooked potato and carrot, a piece of chicken, jalapeños and escabeche. The same page sends visitors to the Mercado Hidalgo, the fondas of the historic center and Doña Lupe, named Best Traditional Restaurant in México Desconocido's 2024 Best of Guanajuato awards.
The recipe here comes from Guanajuato ¡Sí Sabe!, the gastronomy program of the state's Secretariat of Tourism and Identity, which calls mineras a traditional snack eaten at night all over the state, on the street or in restaurants. Next door in Michoacán, Wikipedia's enchiladas placeras ("plaza" enchiladas) are a close cousin, also topped with vegetables and served with poultry.
Why it works the kitchen science
Dipping before frying
The chile sauce fries right onto the tortilla, so each one gets a seared, spicy skin and stays firm under the vegetables instead of going soggy.
Cooking everything in one pan of lard
The potatoes, carrots and chicken pick up the red, chile-flavored fat the tortillas leave behind, which ties the plate together.
Step by step
- Step 1
Soak the guajillos in warm water about 20 minutes, until soft. Meanwhile, put the whole potatoes and carrots in a pot of salted water, bring to a boil and cook 15 to 20 minutes, until soft. In another pan, cover the chicken with salted water, bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook over low heat 12 to 15 minutes, until it reads 165°F. Drain both, cool, then peel the potatoes and carrots and cut them into 1/2-inch cubes.
- Step 2
For the salsa, simmer the tomatoes, serrano and garlic in a little water 10 minutes, then blend with the oregano and salt.
- Step 3
Drain the guajillos and blend them with the garlic, cumin, oregano, salt and 1 cup of the soaking water until smooth. Strain into a wide, shallow dish.
- Step 4
Heat 3 tbsp lard in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, to about 350°F. Dip a tortilla in the chile sauce, let the excess drip off and fry it 15 to 20 seconds per side (it spatters). Move it to a plate, fill with about 2 tbsp cheese and 1 tbsp onion, roll it up and set it on a lettuce-lined platter. Repeat, adding lard as needed.
- Step 5
In the same lard over medium-high heat, fry the potato and carrot cubes 6 to 8 minutes, stirring gently, until browned in spots. Season with salt.
- Step 6
Add a little more lard and brown the chicken pieces about 2 minutes per side.
- Step 7
Top the enchiladas with the potatoes and carrots, the rest of the lettuce and the remaining cheese. Serve with the chicken, the salsa and the pickled jalapeños.
Enchiladas Mineras (Guanajuato Miners' Enchiladas)
Serves 4 · 12 enchiladas plus 4 pieces of chicken · 1 hr 30 min total
Chile sauce
- 15 dried guajillo chiles (about 3 oz), stemmed and seeded
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
- 1 tsp salt
Enchiladas
- 12 corn tortillas
- 8 tbsp lard or vegetable oil, divided
- 12 oz queso ranchero or queso fresco, crumbled, plus 2 oz to top
- 2 medium white onions, finely chopped
To finish
- 14 oz potatoes
- 14 oz carrots
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb), halved
- 1 small head romaine or other lettuce, shredded
- 1/2 cup pickled jalapeños with some of their vegetables (escabeche)
Salsa
- 4 ripe tomatoes
- 1 serrano chile, or to taste
- 1 garlic clove
- Pinch of dried oregano and salt
Method
- Soak the guajillos in warm water about 20 minutes, until soft. Meanwhile, put the whole potatoes and carrots in a pot of salted water, bring to a boil and cook 15 to 20 minutes, until soft. In another pan, cover the chicken with salted water, bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook over low heat 12 to 15 minutes, until it reads 165°F. Drain both, cool, then peel the potatoes and carrots and cut them into 1/2-inch cubes.
- For the salsa, simmer the tomatoes, serrano and garlic in a little water 10 minutes, then blend with the oregano and salt.
- Drain the guajillos and blend them with the garlic, cumin, oregano, salt and 1 cup of the soaking water until smooth. Strain into a wide, shallow dish.
- Heat 3 tbsp lard in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, to about 350°F. Dip a tortilla in the chile sauce, let the excess drip off and fry it 15 to 20 seconds per side (it spatters). Move it to a plate, fill with about 2 tbsp cheese and 1 tbsp onion, roll it up and set it on a lettuce-lined platter. Repeat, adding lard as needed.
- In the same lard over medium-high heat, fry the potato and carrot cubes 6 to 8 minutes, stirring gently, until browned in spots. Season with salt.
- Add a little more lard and brown the chicken pieces about 2 minutes per side.
- Top the enchiladas with the potatoes and carrots, the rest of the lettuce and the remaining cheese. Serve with the chicken, the salsa and the pickled jalapeños.
Adapted from Guanajuato ¡Sí Sabe!, "Mining Enchiladas" (Secretariat of Tourism and Identity of the State of Guanajuato), serves 4. We use its amounts: 12 tortillas, 15 guajillos, 350 g ranchero cheese plus 50 g to top, 2 onions, 8 tablespoons of oil or lard, 400 g each of potatoes and carrots, 2 chicken breasts and a salsa of 4 tomatoes, chile, garlic and oregano. The page gives no amounts for cumin, oregano or salt and no times or temperatures; those, the poaching of the chicken to 165°F and the salsa method are ours. Queso fresco stands in for ranchero cheese, which is hard to find in the US. guanajuato.mx. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- The tortillas are fried one at a time; set up the sauce dish, the skillet and the filling side by side before you start.
- Guanajuato's tourism page also serves mineras with a touch of escabeche (pickled vegetables).
- If you like, leave out the chicken for a meatless plate; the state's page calls mineras a snack.
- Rick Bayless's very similar enchiladas placeras dress the potatoes and carrots with vinegar and add a tangy cabbage slaw.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Miners' wives invented them. Folklore: Guanajuato's tourism site tells the story; we found no primary record.
- The first ones were filled with beans. Documented as Guanajuato's tourism site's account.
- Mineras and placeras are the same dish. Disputed: both are guajillo-dipped, fried enchiladas topped with potatoes and carrots; Wikipedia ties placeras to Michoacán's plazas and Guanajuato claims mineras as its own.
- The cheese must be ranchero. Folklore: the state recipe uses ranchero; queso fresco is the usual US stand-in.
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