For The Juiciest Beef Enchiladas, Lock In The Meat's Moisture With This Method

If you've never messed around with sous vide, it's a handy way to cook meat by sealing it up in a watertight bag and submerging it under water held at a precisely controlled temperature. It's becoming more common to hear folks say you should use sous vide to cook thick steaks, but what about the ground beef you use for dishes like enchiladas? We recently spoke to Sheila Lucero, the culinary director at Big Red F Restaurant Group in Colorado, who confirmed that cooking beef enchiladas via sous vide is a great way to keep them juicy.

According to Lucero, the act of sealing the ground beef and cooking at low heat are both major factors which protect the moisture in ground beef. "Unlike traditional cooking methods, where moisture is lost through evaporation and higher heat, the juices remain in the bag and are retained by the meat," Lucero said. "For enchiladas, that can result in a filling that stays tender and juicy throughout baking rather than drying out." She did warn that sous vide isn't popular with everyone since some chefs prefer the extra flavor which browning in a traditional skillet can provide. Even still, cooking at high temperatures can reduce moisture and flavor if you're not careful, and sous vide removes the risk of drying out some already lean ground beef.

A big advantage of sous vide is that you can leave it alone after setting the heat level, and Lucero says you'll still get consistent cooking. "Sous vide gives you excellent control over doneness and moisture retention, making it difficult to overcook the filling. It's also convenient because much of the cooking can be done ahead of time." The easiest way to sous vide without a vacuum sealer is with a Ziploc bag, but the heat can cause rips so it helps if you invest in an actual sous vide immersion circulator and proper sous vide bags.

There's still the risk of losing flavor because there isn't enough heat to brown the meat through the Maillard reaction (the chemical reaction which brings out deeper flavors in food while turning it brown). This is a common problem even when regularly cooking ground beef if you stir it too much while it's cooking, but with sous vide Lucero recommends you give the beef a quick sauté after the sous vide part is done. The meat will already be cooked, so this is just to brown it.

By the way, you'll want to season the meat before you place it in the sous vide bag. "For enchiladas, I might add kosher salt, garlic, onion, cumin, oregano, and a touch of chili powder or ground dried chile. I also would suggest a small amount of enchilada sauce," Lucero said. For extra spice, try spooning in a teaspoon of chili powder.