Dutch Oven Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Updated: Jan 11, 2021
Servings: 12 enchiladas
Storage Life of Ingredients: 1 year
I love the green chile sauce with chicken and cheese in these enchiladas. The homemade masa harina tortillas really make this dish.
Pictured Process
Make the masa harina tortillas (corn tortillas) following the blog post here. Heat up charcoal briquettes in your charcoal chimney.
Drain the chicken and the green chiles. Mix the chicken, green chiles, 1/2 cup cheese, and 1/4 cup enchilada sauce together in a small bowl.
Line the Dutch oven with parchment paper, making sure to cut down the paper if it goes over the top of the oven (it will make your food taste smokey if it is outside the oven). Parchment paper is optional, but it sure makes clean-up easier.
Pour some of the enchilada sauce on top of the parchment paper.
Pour 1/2 of the enchilada sauce that is left into a small saucepan and heat it up. Dip both sides of a tortilla into the sauce, place a tablespoon of the chicken mixture in the middle of the tortilla, and roll it up. Place the enchiladas seam side down in the Dutch oven.
Pour the remainder of the enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas.
Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups cheese over the sauce.
Place the lid on the Dutch oven. Using the Dinwiddie method of temperature control, place a ring of charcoal around the bottom perimeter of the Dutch oven. Follow the chart below for the size of Dutch oven you are using.
Dinwiddie Chart (Coals on Top for 350°)
8" 3/4 ring
12" 1 ring
14" 1 1/2 rings
16" 2 rings
For all oven sizes, place one ring under. This chart lists number of top rings only. As the charcoal burns, add more to maintain a constant ring size.
We are using a 12" Dutch oven, so we placed 1 ring around the bottom perimeter of the Dutch oven and one ring on the lid.
Oh, so good!
Storage Tips
Masa Harina: Masa harina flour will last 9-12 months in its own packaging on your pantry shelves. It usually lasts 1 year.
Canned Goods: Most canned goods last 2 years. Check the best by date on the cans as you do not know how long it has been sitting on the store shelves.
Home-canned Chicken: The USDA states that home-canned products should be used within 1 year. Always check to make sure they have sealed correctly before storing. When you open a bottle, check to make sure it looks and smells as it should. It is so convenient to cook with, mine are used within 6 months to a year. Store-bought canned chicken breasts can also be used. A bottle of home-canned is equal to 1 can of store-bought chicken.
Cheese: Freeze-dried cheese tastes like regular grated cheese. It melts in casseroles and is my cheese of choice for storage. Like crystallized eggs, freeze-dried cheese costs twice as much as the grated cheese you buy in the grocery store. Store half of the cheese needed for a year’s supply using freeze-dried, and the other half using packages of grated cheese, stored in the freezer. Freeze-dried cheese is good for five to ten years, so it only has to be replaced every five years. This is an estimated storage shelf life. You should always check the expiration date on the container or check with the manufacturer. Once the cheese is opened, place it in a freezer storage bag and keep it in the freezer. Label the bag with directions for reconstituting. One cup of cheddar cheese is equal to four ounces of frozen, shredded, cheddar cheese. There are ten cups in a #10 can of freeze-dried, shredded cheddar cheese.
