Join us for a culinary adventure as we show you how to create Chef John's Easy Shrimp Enchiladas. This step-by-step video tutorial will guide you through the process of making these delectable enchiladas. From preparing the succulent shrimp to crafting the perfect enchilada sauce, you'll master the art of a savory and satisfying Mexican-inspired dish. With Chef John's expertise, you can effortlessly whip up a restaurant-quality meal at home that's sure to impress.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00 Hello this is Chef John from foodwishes.com with the best easy shrimp enchiladas.
00:08 That's right the secret to making these shrimp enchiladas easy and the best is
00:13 the addition of something we might have made fun of our parents for using in a
00:16 casserole. And of course I'm talking about canned soup. But like so many other
00:22 things when we do it it's okay. So with that let's go ahead and get started with
00:28 the other star of the show. And that would be a couple pounds of some big
00:31 beautiful peeled and deveined shrimp and raw shrimp to be exact. And what we'll
00:36 do is season those very simply with a big pinch of salt plus a little shake of
00:41 cayenne. Then we'll go ahead and give that a thorough tossing with our tongs.
00:45 Before we head to the stove where we have a skillet set over medium-high heat
00:49 to which I've added about a tablespoon of avocado oil. Although any kind of high
00:55 heat oil will work. And what we'll do is sear these shrimp very quickly on both
00:59 sides. And by the way we're gonna want to do this in a single layer so we'll do
01:03 it in batches. Since if we dump all the shrimp in they'll just start to boil in
01:08 their own juices. Which is not gonna get us what we're really after. And as I
01:12 remove this first batch from the pan you're gonna see exactly what that is.
01:16 And in the business we call it a fond but it's that caramelized goodness on
01:21 the bottom of the pan that we get when we sear or pan-fry protein. So yes we're
01:26 improving the flavor of the shrimp but much more importantly we're improving
01:30 the flavor of the pan. And after that first batch is removed we'll probably
01:35 want to add a little more oil to the pan and swirl that around before we add the
01:39 rest. So that's exactly what I did. And then I seared the rest exactly the same
01:44 way. And then once we eventually have all our shrimp seared and they've been
01:49 removed to a bowl or plate we can transfer those into the fridge until
01:53 we're ready to use them. And yes we'll also want to remove any rogue tail
01:56 shells if we see them. And once our shrimp are set we can lower our heat to
02:01 medium. At which point we can transfer in our diced poblano peppers or the pepper
02:07 of your choice. As well as some diced onion and of course a nice big pinch of
02:11 salt. Which is not just a season but as you may know that's gonna draw moisture
02:16 out of the vegetables. Which is gonna start to dissolve and release that
02:20 goodness from the bottom of the pan. And that always adds a tremendous amount of
02:24 extra flavor to whatever we're making. And what we'll do is cook those veggies
02:28 stirring for a few minutes or until those onions start to soften up a little
02:32 bit and turn translucent. And once that's been accomplished and things are looking
02:37 a little something like this we can go ahead and add our spices. Starting with
02:41 some kind of dried chili powder. And it's gonna kind of look like I just added
02:44 some cocoa. Since I'm using the dark and mysterious ground ancho chili. But any
02:50 chili will work. We will also toss in some smoked paprika, some ground cumin, a
02:56 little bit of ground chipotle, followed by some freshly ground black pepper. And
03:01 then last but not least a little bit of dried oregano. Preferably Mexican but
03:06 oregano from anywhere will work. And we'll go ahead and give everything a
03:10 stir. And then cook this for another couple minutes just to kind of wake up
03:15 those spices and continue to soften and sweeten those veggies. And then what we
03:20 need to do at this point before we go any further is remove exactly eight
03:23 spoonfuls of this mixture to a bowl. And that's because we're gonna make eight
03:28 enchiladas. And we want some of this inside with the cheese and shrimp. So
03:32 we'll remove some of that now and set it aside. And then after that we'll go ahead
03:36 and add a nice big splash of water. Which will prevent the bottom from
03:40 caramelizing any further. And I know it does look dark but it's not burnt. That's
03:45 mostly for my chili powder being so dark. But anyway we'll toss in some water
03:49 which is gonna further deglaze the bottom. And then we'll continue on by
03:54 adding some minced garlic. Which we could have added with the spices if we hadn't
03:58 forgotten. But in this kind of thing that's not really a big deal. And then
04:03 we'll follow that up with our secret ingredient. A couple cans of store-bought
04:07 lobster bisque. Which yes looks absolutely dreadful. In fact make sure no
04:13 one is in the kitchen when you add that. And at this point I'm gonna go ahead and
04:17 give that a stir. Since I can barely stand to look at it. And what we'll do is
04:21 go ahead and turn our heat up to medium-high. And of course anytime we use
04:25 a canned or jarred product we always want to rinse out the inside with a
04:29 little bit of cold fresh water. And then go ahead and add that in. And the good
04:33 news is, as this heats up and we whisk everything together it's gonna smooth
04:38 out and look significantly better. And then once this mixture does start to
04:42 simmer we can reduce our heat to medium. At which point we'll let it simmer for
04:46 about five minutes or so. And then depending on which brand a lobster bisque
04:50 you bought we might want to add in a tablespoon or two of tomato paste. Okay
04:55 some bisques are very tomatoey and we might not need this. But the one I used
04:59 was on the creamy side and didn't have much. So I did add some tomato paste to
05:04 mine. But I trust you so I'm gonna let you be the judge. But anyway I stirred
05:09 that in and like I said we'll let this simmer for about five minutes or so. Oh
05:13 and I almost forgot. At some point while this is simmering we'll want to take our
05:17 shrimp out of the fridge. And we will pour in any and all accumulated juices.
05:21 Which people that don't know how to cook would throw away. But that ain't us. And
05:26 that's it after simmering for about five minutes our sauce is done. And all we
05:31 have left to do would be to turn off the heat. And of course taste it for
05:35 seasoning. As well as stir in the last ingredient some freshly chopped cilantro.
05:40 And once that's been stirred in and we're completely happy with everything
05:44 about the sauce. We can go ahead and grab a ladle and then very very carefully
05:49 transfer about half into the bottom of whatever baking dish we're going to use.
05:54 Which for me is this 15 by 10 inch casserole. And I know it wasn't pretty but
06:00 by using that canned lobster bisque not only did we avoid making a homemade
06:04 creamy enchilada sauce from scratch. But you know what lobster bisque tastes like?
06:08 Really good extra sweet shrimp bisque. So yes we save time but we're also gonna
06:14 get some extra delicious flavor I think. So we will ladle half in now and save
06:18 the rest for the top. At which point we can move on to rolling up our enchiladas.
06:23 Which you're gonna start with some flour tortillas. Ideally about six to seven
06:27 inches in size. And before we stuff I like to brush both sides with a little
06:32 bit of avocado oil. Which kind of waterproofs them and I believe gives us
06:37 a better texture once baked. And then once that's set we'll apply some freshly
06:41 shredded cheese. And I'm going with half cheddar half Monterey Jack. And then
06:46 we'll top that with four shrimp. Which we will place nice and tightly together.
06:50 And then we will grab our reserved onions and pepper mixture. And we'll
06:55 place a spoon over the top. Although it might not stay on the top but it doesn't
06:59 matter since we're gonna be rolling everything up. But before we do let's top
07:04 that with a little more cheese. And then we can go ahead and carefully roll this
07:08 up. Which we want to do fairly tightly but not too tightly. Otherwise our
07:14 tortilla might rip. Which would make it a tear-tia. But we don't want a tear-tia.
07:21 So be careful. And as usual we'll want to end up with a seam on the bottom. And
07:26 that's it. Once rolled we'll carefully pick that up. And we'll transfer it on
07:30 top of our sauce. And then we'll go ahead and do that seven more times. And this is
07:35 such a simple recipe I actually think the hardest part is figuring out how to
07:39 fit these in your dish or pan. Okay I don't have anything that has the right
07:43 shape and size where I could fit eight in a row. Which would be better for my
07:47 brain. But I can fit six. Which leaves just enough room to fit the other two
07:52 going the other way. And yes if you have to you could just use two smaller dishes
07:56 and put four in each. And just divide the sauce between the two and that will
08:01 totally work. And then speaking of sauce let's go ahead and top these evenly with
08:05 the rest. And once we've done that we will finish up by adding some more
08:09 shredded cheese to the top. Which for me at least is not going to be a ton.
08:14 You go ahead and add as much as you want. I mean you are after all the Victor
08:17 Wenbenyama of how much cheese to put on. But we put a decent amount inside. And I
08:24 don't like when there's a solid layer of cheese on the top of one of these things.
08:27 And you can't even tell there's enchiladas underneath. So I'm just gonna
08:31 apply a relatively light sprinkling. And that's it. Once cheesed these are ready
08:36 to transfer into the center of a 450 degree oven for about 20 to 25 minutes.
08:42 Or until the top starts to brown and our sauce is bubbling. And it hopefully looks
08:47 like this. Oh yeah check it out. Because we did not over cheese this actually
08:53 looks like a gorgeous dish of baked enchiladas. And then for best results we
08:58 should probably let this rest for about 10 minutes before serving. Just to let
09:02 things firm up a little bit. And while that was happening I went ahead and
09:06 garnished the top with some thinly sliced jalapeno rings. Plus some nice
09:11 thin slices of radish. And then I finished up with a sprinkling of
09:15 cilantro. And after impatiently waiting for about 10 minutes I grabbed a spoon
09:20 and I served up. And I think one of these would be a perfectly sized portion for a
09:25 normal person. Which is why I'm gonna plate up two. And as you can see if
09:31 everything goes according to plan we should have a good amount of extra sauce
09:34 at the bottom of the dish. So after we plate up we can spoon a little more of
09:38 that over the top. And then there's a thousand ways you could finish this. But
09:42 the way I finished was by adding on some more jalapeno and radish. And then
09:47 because these enchiladas are fairly rich I think some fresh lime wedges on the
09:51 side is a great idea. Since the acidity is really gonna brighten things up. And
09:55 speaking of acidity I am pretty much unable to eat enchiladas unless there's
10:00 some sour cream on top. And then the same goes for a little splash of hot sauce.
10:05 And then once I had that chalupad I finished up with some cilantro. And what
10:11 I'm calling the best easy shrimp enchiladas were ready to enjoy. So I
10:16 squeezed over a little bit of lime and I grabbed a fork and dug in. And that my
10:22 friends without a doubt is the best shrimp enchilada you will ever taste. Or
10:27 I guarantee or your money back. And it sounds kind of funny to describe this as
10:32 tasting rich and meaty. But thanks to that fabulous fond we formed in the pan
10:36 when we started. And of course our secret ingredient lobster bisque. This really
10:41 does have a much more savory and deeper flavor than your typical much lighter
10:45 shrimp enchilada. And yes of course you can use corn tortillas instead. But I do
10:50 much prefer the flour tortillas. Just as long as you don't forget to brush them
10:54 with a little bit of oil. Which I think helps to maintain a very pleasant
10:57 texture. And believe it or not we end up with something that's almost pasta like.
11:01 Oh and as you're watching me take these fairly big bites you might be thinking
11:06 shouldn't we cut the shrimp in half to make these a little easier to eat. Well
11:10 you certainly could and I wouldn't say not to. But that just adds a step. And if
11:16 I was sitting in front of these eating them like a civilian instead of reaching
11:19 across the counter I wouldn't have much trouble cutting these shrimp in half
11:23 with my fork. So don't be fooled by me making these look hard to eat. And I
11:27 really think the whole shrimp is the way to go. But whether you cut your shrimp or
11:32 not, or maybe sneak on a little more cheese, or add something to the inside I
11:36 didn't even think of. I truly think these are incredible and I really do hope you
11:41 give them a try soon. So please follow the links below for the ingredient
11:46 amounts, a printable written recipe and much more info as usual. And as always
11:53 enjoy!
11:55 you
11:57 you
11:59 you
12:01 you
12:03 you
12:05 you
12:07 you
12:09 you
12:11 [BLANK_AUDIO]