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Arizona Chimichanga
- Intermediate
- 60 min
- roughly 3 of 4 for cost
Leads with a warm current of chile, richness that coats and comforts, settling low and earthy.
Ingredients
- 4 large flour tortillas
- 600g shredded beef or chicken, cooked in red chile
- 200g refried beans
- 150g cheese, grated
- Neutral oil for frying
- For topping: red or green chile sauce, sour cream, guacamole, lettuce
Equipment
Deep-fry pot · Grater / zester
The skills inside
Allergen screen
Found: gluten · dairy
Screened for: gluten, dairy, egg, nuts, peanuts, fish, shellfish, molluscs, soy, sesame, celery, mustard, lupin, alcohol. Not screened: sulphites.
Screened by keyword from the ingredient list, not reviewed by a person; check every label for what the list cannot show.
Method
- Warm the tortillas so they fold without cracking.
- Spread refried beans, then pile shredded chile meat and cheese in the center of each.
- Fold into tight sealed burritos, tucking the ends in.
- Fry seam-side down in 180C oil, turning, until deep gold and crisp all over.
- Drain and smother with chile sauce, sour cream, guacamole, and lettuce.
How to tell it is going right
This dish has no standard of its own yet. It is judged on the technique it exercises: checked at the pan, while there is still something to be done about it.
Deep frying 96 recipes
- The oil was at temperature before anything went in, measured rather than guessed, and the vessel is no more than two-thirds full.
- Everything went in dry. Surfaces are patted down and any coating is not dripping, because water hitting hot oil erupts and is the one accident this technique actually has.
- The oil recovers between batches. It is back at temperature before the next load goes in rather than falling further with each one.
- A steady vigorous bubbling that slows as it finishes: the bubbles are the food’s own water leaving, so a piece that has gone quiet has stopped drying out and is done.
- Seasoned or finished in the first seconds out of the oil, while the surface is still hot and will hold what lands on it. Anything applied to a cooled crust sits on top and falls off.
Where it goes wrong Too much went in at once and the oil temperature collapsed. The crust forms slowly while the food sits in warm fat absorbing it rather than shedding steam, and it comes out heavy and greasy instead of crisp, which no amount of draining afterwards will fix.
At the Table
- The Pour
- Cabernet Sauvignon or Malbec
- Also Right
- Tempranillo (Rioja Reserva)
- From the Taps
- Amber ale
- Zero-Proof
- Sparkling water, make room
Tannin binds to seared protein and fat: each bite softens the wine, each sip resets the palate: the steakhouse equation.
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