This, along with the many posts in this thread, pretty much answers the question in the title. So I don’t mind a little hijack.
Morgenstern: Did you ever eat at Casa [de] Miguel at MYF? When I was a kid (early-'70s) I loved their ‘La Cucaracha’. I liked that they named a dish after vermin. Anyway, it was a gigantic sincronizada made with, like, 14" flour tortillas and served with a mound each of sour cream and guacamole, with diced tomatoes and some shredded cheese on top. I make them at home sometimes.
Casa Muchado? Don’t remember it being Casa Miguel. And yep, sat on the veranda and watched the planes land and take off. I don’t really remember the food other than it was pretty good.
Wrap about a dozen of them in a dampish (okay wet) paper towel. Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Unwrap them grab one quick and rewrap, so they don’t dry out while you process enchilada #1. (It will burn your fingers, be warned.) I usually process it by putting it on a plate, adding the sauce & filling, then rolling it off the plate into the baking pan. Then open the wet paper towel, quickly grab another one, and so on.
I used to let one tortilla sit in the simmering enchilada sauce while I processed the one before it, and that had about a 50 percent split-open rate. The microwave method has about a 5% failure rate (well, we will eat them anyway), and it seems to be the lower in the paper towel you get, the more likely the tortilla will split. But I’ve gotten a whole panful with no splits.
I usually get my tortillas at Fiesta; they’re like $1.95/100 for corn, and flour ones are cheaper (don’t often buy them).
FYI… for flour tortillas, the Guerrero “fresqui-ricas” ones are excellent, if a bit more work because you have to actually cook them yourself in a frying pan. But they’re not gummy or anything like that, which is a huge plus in my book.
I make enchiladas all the time. I lightly fry in oil dry them with a towel and roll them up. Splitting has never been an issue. It might be the brand you are buying?
