Taco Enchiladas with Cornmeal Crepes

Mid-April. Spring is fully here, the backyard is green, the aspens are out, and the grill is running four or five nights a week because this is what April and May are for. I've been making carne asada almost weekly — the skirt steak marinade has gotten better over the years as I've adjusted the ratio of lime to garlic to cumin, the specific amount of time in the marinade (two hours maximum, no longer, the citrus starts breaking down the proteins after that and you lose the texture). I made it Tuesday for tacos, Thursday for rice bowls, and on Friday I made it specifically as a test to see if I'd gotten the timing right. I had. Lisa confirmed this by finishing her portion and reaching across for whatever was left on my plate, which is the clearest endorsement she gives.

Diego's baseball season is back. I've been going to the games without coaching — just sitting in the bleachers, watching, not analyzing out loud. He's at the age where the dad in the stands analyzing is worse than useful. I watch. I appreciate. I say "good game" or "tough one" at the end, which is appropriate. The coaching instinct is always on. I'm just using it internally rather than externally. This is a skill I've been developing for four years and I'm maybe sixty percent there.

I started doing something new in team meetings this week — just five minutes at the start of each meeting, asking one player to tell the room something that's hard for them right now. Not football. Life. I got the idea from the conversation I had last year about grief, about what it meant to be present for my players as people and not just as football assets. The first few players looked surprised. Then a sophomore linebacker talked about his parents' separation and the room listened and I said, "Thank you, man. That takes guts." We moved on to film. Something shifted. I can feel it shifting.

After three rounds of carne asada in one week and Lisa’s wordless endorsement of clearing my plate, I wanted to do something different with the same flavors I’d been perfecting. These taco enchiladas wrapped in cornmeal crepes let me use that dialed-in marinade—the lime, the garlic, the cumin, the two-hour window—inside something that feels like a full meal rather than a grab-and-go taco. It’s the kind of thing you make when you’ve figured out the foundation and want to build on it, which is where I seem to be with a lot of things right now.

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 6

For the Carne Asada Filling

1 1/2 pounds skirt steak
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For the Cornmeal Crepes

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for the pan

For the Enchilada Sauce

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Salt to taste

For Assembly

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup diced white onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Sour cream for serving
Diced avocado for serving

Instructions

Marinate the steak. Combine lime juice, garlic, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Add skirt steak and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 2 hours—no longer, or the citrus will break down the texture.
Make the cornmeal crepes. Whisk flour, cornmeal, and salt together. In a separate bowl, beat eggs with milk and melted butter. Pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk until smooth. Let batter rest 10 minutes. Heat a lightly buttered 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup batter, swirling to coat the pan. Cook 1 to 2 minutes per side until lightly golden. Repeat to make about 10 crepes.
Grill the steak. Heat grill to high. Remove steak from marinade and pat lightly with a paper towel. Grill 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Rest 5 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain and chop into small pieces.
Make the enchilada sauce. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute. Slowly whisk in chicken broth and tomato sauce. Add chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder. Simmer 10 minutes until thickened. Season with salt.
Assemble the enchiladas. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Fill each crepe with chopped steak, a sprinkle of diced onion, and a tablespoon of cheese. Roll and place seam-side down in the dish. Pour remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake 5 to 10 minutes more until cheese is melted and bubbling. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.
Serve. Top with fresh cilantro, sour cream, and diced avocado.

Nutrition (per serving)

Taco Enchiladas with Cornmeal Crepes — When the Marinade Finally Clicks