These Cheesy Beef Chimichangas Are To Fry For!

With a title like the one you clicked on, you know you’re in for an ooey-gooey cheesy ride! You know those burritos you can get from many places? The kind from your corner store that is fried and goes well with taco sauce, or the ones that are frozen and ready to microwave (but hopefully you cook them in the oven instead.) Well, chimichangas are basically those types of burritos, but like 10x better! They’re easy to make but take time. However, this is a recipe that even those who are picky will be able to enjoy since the ingredients are pretty basic and everything else added is a topping or side.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups Ground beef (You can up this recipe by using finely chopped-up skirt steak.)
• 9 8in. Flour tortillas (As with most things if it’s homemade it’ll be better, but if not use a good soft brand of tortillas)
• 1 cup of Colby and Monterey Jack cheese sticks cubed
• ¼ teaspoon of ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons of melted butter

OPTIONAL:

• ¼ teaspoon of dried oregano
• ½ cup of onion finely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

There are two routes to cook these. One uses just the oven if you’re trying to be conscious about how or what you eat. The other way is the original way to cook this dish.

1. If using the oven, begin by turning it on to 425 F.
2. Cook your meat and season as you normally would for tacos with the ground cumin or to your preferred taste. However, when cooking the ground beef try to mush it up as best as you can while cooking it so it’s not so clumpy. If using other meats, cook until done without worrying about breaking them up in the pan.
3. If you’re using onion add it once the meat is almost done so that it can cook together. Finish cooking over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.
4. Once the meat is cooked pull it from the heat and set it aside.
5. If you’re making any sides to go with this dish now would be a good time to focus on those while the meat cools off enough to handle by hand.
6. Once the meat is cool enough to handle by hand if you chose to use another type of meat other than ground beef go ahead and finely chop it up. If you used ground beef skip to the next step.
7. Next, spoon the meat onto the tortillas, and sprinkle the cubes of cheese in them as well. You can just put the whole stick of cheese in, but it’ll take a tad bit longer to melt. Cutting them into cubes helps them to melt faster and more evenly.
8. With the mixture in the middle, fold in two ends of the tortilla and roll them up like a burrito ensuring the meat stays in. Once folded, brush lightly with the melted butter.

From here, there are two routes you can take:

1. If using the oven, set the chimichangas seam side down on a 13×9 baking dish and bake until crispy and browned, or for about 15 minutes.
2. Stick a toothpick or two in the tortilla to help it stick together, and deep fry the chimichangas for about 3-5 minutes when the oil is around 350 F. The result should be that they turn a beautiful golden brown.
3. Once done, let cool for a little while and enjoy!

SIDE NOTE:

Remember, you don’t need to cook the chimichangas for very long when you bake or fry them. Everything is already done, you’re basically just melting the cheese and closing in the meat at this point. Additionally, you can try using chicken instead of beef, but anytime you use anything other than beef make sure to finely chop it up into small pieces. These would go great with some salsa and or sour cream. If you like spicy, you could also add some of your favorite chopped peppers (I use serrano) when cooking the meat.