Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas with Chili Gravy

Ingredients

• 12 corn tortillas, 6 inch
• 4 cups shredded mild yellow cheddar
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup beef fat or lard
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil, for softening tortillas

Before you cook

• Finely chop the white onion and set aside 1/2 cup for the filling.
• Shred the cheddar.
• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Steps

1. Melt the beef fat in a heavy skillet over medium heat.
2. Whisk in the flour and stir constantly for 4 minutes until the roux turns the color of peanut butter.
3. Add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, black pepper and salt and stir for 30 seconds.
4. Pour in the beef broth in a steady stream, whisking hard to keep the gravy smooth.
5. Simmer the gravy for 10 minutes, whisking now and then, until it thickens to the body of a thin pancake batter.
6. Heat the vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat.
7. Dip each tortilla into the hot oil for 5 seconds a side until it goes limp, and drain on paper towels.
8. Ladle a thin layer of chili gravy into a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.
9. Dip a softened tortilla in the warm gravy, lay it flat, and fill it with cheese and chopped onion.
10. Roll the tortilla up and set it seam side down in the dish, then repeat with the rest.
11. Pour the remaining gravy over the enchiladas and cover them with the last of the cheese and onion.
12. Bake for 20 minutes, until the cheese has melted into a single sheet and the gravy bubbles at the corners.
13. Rest for 5 minutes before serving so the enchiladas hold their shape on the plate.