Pork Verde Enchiladas
74 Comments Dec 09, 2019
Updated Oct 28, 2023
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Pork Verde Enchiladas made easy with slow cooker pulled pork and Finish the enchiladas off in the oven for a perfect dinner.
We love to make enchiladas on the weekend and serve them with homemade refried beans and Mexican rice.
Table of Contents
These beautiful Pork Verde Enchiladas start out in the slow cooker. I cook the meat all-night with seasonings, beer and a small amount of liquid smoke.
The next day I get everything ready to put together these enchiladas. I cook the tortillas in oil for a small amount of time to make them pliable, this is what Mexican restaurants do for their enchiladas too.
I add chopped cilantro to the green enchilada sauce to liven it up. Then I start assembling the enchiladas. Enchiladas are not hard to make, it just takes some time to get everything ready before you start filling them.
How to fry tortillas for enchiladas:
- Start by heating canola or vegetable oil in a skillet or deep cast iron pan.
- Add a corn tortilla to the pan and lightly fry on each side. This only takes a few seconds per side.
- The tortilla will not be crisp, it will now be soft and pliable and ready to make enchiladas.
- Lay each tortilla onto a paper towel-lined plate.
- Lightly sprinkle with salt if desired.
- Let the tortillas cool enough to handle
If you have not par-cooked tortillas for enchiladas before you may want to watch this video below. I learned from my mom growing up, but if I did not watch her I may have been confused about the small amount of time that they really need to cook.
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Pork Verde Enchiladas
Ingredients
For the Pork
- 3 lbs. boneless pork shoulder, (around 3-4 lbs)
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1/4 tsp. liquid hickory smoke
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup beer, use water if you can't use beer
- 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, 4-6 plump cloves
For the Enchiladas
- 16 yellow corn tortillas
- vegetable oil
- 28 oz green enchilada sauce
- 1/8 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 1/2 lbs. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Instructions
For the Slow Cooker Pork:
- In a large skillet set to medium-high heat add the oil.
- Once hot, brown the pork roast on all sides.
- Place in to the slow cooker with all the remaining ingredients over the pork roast.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 10 hours.
- Shred the meat with 2 forks, set aside.
For the enchiladas:
- Set a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add about an inch of oil.
- Cook each corn tortillas for about 2 seconds on each side, place them onto paper towels to drain the oil. (see notes)
- Get everything else that is needed to make the enchiladas ready. Mix the enchilada sauce and cilantro together in a small bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread a small amount of enchilada sauce in the bottom of the casserole dishes.
- Lay a cooked tortilla down in the sauce in the casserole dish, add about a 1/4 cup of pulled pork, a sprinkle of cheese and a drizzle of enchilada sauce, roll up the tortilla and put the seam down.
- Repeat this until all the meat is gone.
- Add a touch of enchilada sauce to the top of the enchiladas, add about a cup and half of cheese to the top of each casserole dish.
- Cover with foil.
- Bake for 35 minutes covered and then 20 minutes uncovered. If you like browned cheese on top (like mine), set the oven to broil and cook for about 5 minutes until the cheese is browned.
- Serve and enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
This is very good!
The recipe looks great! If I freeze the 2nd pan, does it go from the freezer to the oven and use the same cooking instructions? Thanks!!
I would thaw in the fridge before baking.
Excellent
I Made this recipe tonight and it was amazing! Frying the corn tortillas made them so flavorful and it was very easy to do. The only change to the recipe I made was I also used some Mexican blend cheese (in addition to the Monterey Jack) since I had so much of that on hand. My kids and hubby all loved this dish and we will be making again!
Can you assemble and freeze the 2nd pan?
Yes, that works well.
Love these enchiladas. The only change I make is I do half Monterey Jack and half pepper Jack cheese. Leftovers heated in the toaster oven are even better. Thanks for this amazing recipe.
So excited to try! Can you do pork in the crock pot on high? If so how long would you recommend?
It depends on the size. If it’s huge, you can do 6-8 hours on high. If its smaller 5-6 will work.
Hello, could you use red enchilada sauce? I’ve never had green enchilada sauce and am not sure I would prefer it. Thank you.
Yeah, many people use red sauce with pork. It will work great.
Biggest question in a restaurant in New Mexico “Red or Green” the both go with everything, it’s just personal preference.
If the meat is cooked. Why does.it need to be in the oven so long.?
It’s really not that long. You’ll want the enchiladas to be piping hot and browned on the top. Not just slightly warm.
I love this recipe! But I have a friend who doesn’t eat pork. Would the recipe work with chicken?
Yes! Chicken works great.