Homemade Mexican Flautas

Homemade Mexican Flautas is one of my husband and mine all time favorite meals – EVER. They are a bit time consuming (about an hour) but 100% worth the effort. My husband would eat them weekly if I made them. This is the one plate that people always request that I make because they are just that amazing! 

The first time I had flautas was when I got to teach this amazing family. I was with Julia who was such a hard worker, fun to be with, and extremely talented.  We loved being around these guys, and LOVED Magdalena and Ana Rosa’s cooking. They invited us to eat over at least once and week and we never said no! I came home from the mission and after many tries perfected this recipe to what it is today, inspired by these wonderful women. You need to try these, like ASAP. You will be so happy you did.

Here is a picture of the Mexican ingredients you will need. I purchased all of this at Walmart, and I know you can get it all at a Latino Market. If you want the authentic Mexican flavors you will want to have Mexican Cream. This is sour cream but it is thin – like a watered down sour cream with lots of flavor. You will want the white corn tortillas. I have tried using the generic brands and honestly, they always seem to break, so I recommend not going that route. The Valentina is a hot sauce. You can use what you like, Tapatio is another we use, but Valentina is not as spicy for the kids. Lastly, you MUST have the Queso Fresco which is a crumbly cheese. It has a salty kinda tangy kick, and while it’s creamy by nature, it’s not too rich or buttery tasting. It is much milder than other crumble cheeses, and is the perfect compliment to this platter.

I always cook my chicken with an onion cut in 4ths and some kosher salt sprinkled over the top. Put it in the crockpot on high for 4 hours, but you can boil it on the stove for 25 minutes with the same effect. Remove the chicken from the broth and allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes. This eliminates drying out the meat. During that time I will cut my lettuce, dice my tomatoes, red onion, and crumble my queso fresco.

When cutting my lettuce (either iceberg or romaine) I slice it very thin. Check out my tip for the perfect Crisp Lettuce. This will make your lettuce nice and crisp, disinfect it, and give it the perfect flavor.

One thing that Magdalena always did was get about 1 cup of the broth from the chicken cooking. Add about 1 TBS of the Valentina or Tapatio depending on your tolerance for heat, and mix it well. You will use this to top the Flautas later.

Grab a large skillet and put about 1 TBS of canola oil and turn it on to medium. Once the meat has rested go ahead and shred it. I wear some plastic gloves and I use my hands because I find that works best for me. You will then grab a clean dish towel and wrap 6 white corn tortillas in the towel and put it in the microwave for 1 minute, then you will begin assembling your flautas. The tortillas can crack when they cool off, so you need to keep them covered if you are not assembling them. Put a small amount of chicken in the middle, and sprinkle a bit of cheese on top. I absolutely LOVE the queso fresco, but I started adding mozzarella to the inside of the flauta and it adds such a delicious element to them!  Roll up the tortilla and push a toothpick down the middle to secure the tortilla together.

Place the Flautas seam down and push the toothpicks all the way through. You will allow them to cook for 5 minutes. Remove the toothpicks and carefully flip them over to allow the other side to brown.

While the flautas are frying, I lay a bed of lettuce down on the plate, sprinkle a bit of tomato, and onion on top. When they are done cooking, I use tongs to pull them off and place them on the bed of lettuce.

Then you will add some of the Mexican cream down the middle and sprinkle some of the queso fresco, onion, and tomato on top. Right when you are ready to eat them, drizzle some of the broth/Valentina mixture over the top. I prefer eating it the way I was taught – with my hands! Grab a flauta and some of the lettuce mixture with each bite. You are a mess when its all said and done, but it is AMAZING!!!

I hope you love them as much as we do. Enjoy!

See the Happy!

Homemade Mexican Flautas

Print Recipe

White corn tortillas filled with shredded chicken and queso fresco over a bed of crispy lettuce. Topped with Mexican cream, red onion, tomato and a slight spice with Valntina hot sauce.

• CourseMain Dish

Servings	Prep Time
18 falutas	20 min

Cook Time	Passive Time
30 min	4 hours

Servings Prep Time 18 falutas 20 min

Cook Time Passive Time 30 min 4 hours

Homemade Mexican Flautas Print Recipe White corn tortillas filled with shredded chicken and queso fresco over a bed of crispy lettuce. Topped with Mexican cream, red onion, tomato and a slight spice with Valntina hot sauce. CourseMain Dish Servings Prep Time 18 falutas 20 min Cook Time Passive Time 30 min 4 hours Servings Prep Time 18 falutas 20 min Cook Time Passive Time 30 min 4 hours

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 yellow onion cut in 4ths
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 18 white corn tortillas I buy Guerrero brand
• 2 cups queso fresco
• 6 toothpicks
• 1 head iceberg lettuce thinly cut
• 1/2 red onion diced
• 1 tomato diced
• 1 cup chicken broth from when you cooked the chicken
• 1 TBSP Valentina or Tapatio

Servings: falutas

Instructions

1. Cook chicken in crock pot for 4 hours or on the stove for 25 mins. I sprinkle with kosher salt and add a yellow onion cut in 4ths in the crock pot. Let it rest for 15 minutes before shredding.
2. In the mean time you will thinly cut the lettuce and place it in a bowl of cold water with 1/4 cup of vinegar and let it soak for 15 minutes. Dice the tomatoes, onion, and crumble the queso fresco. After the 15 minutes is up, dump the water out of the lettuce and rise it once. Set the veggies aside.
3. Take 1 cup of chicken broth in a bowl, add the 1TBS of Valentina or Tapatio (more if you want it a bit spicy) and mix well.
4. Put about 1TBS of canola oil per batch of 6 Falutas in the skillet and turn it on medium.
5. Shred your chicken. Wrap 6 tortillas ( I cook 6 at a time) in a clean dish towel and put it in the microwave for about 1 minute. Take each individual tortilla out of the towel as you assemble them, keeping the others covered and warm. Put a small amount of chicken and a bit of queso fresco in the center of the tortilla. Roll it up and place a toothpick in the center of the seam to keep it together until you fry them.
6. Place the Flautas in the frying pan seam down pushing the toothpick through the other side, frying them for about 5 minutes. You will keep the toothpick in there until the 5 minutes is up. Once that hits the seam should be cooked and hard and will stay together. Gently flip the Flauta over and allow the other side to fry for 5 minutes.
7. While they are frying, lay a bed of lettuce down on the plate with a bit of onion and tomato sprinkled on top. When they are done cooking on both sides, remove them from the heat and place them on top of the bed of lettuce. Spread a bit of Mexican Cream down the center and sprinkle some tomato, onion, and queso fresco all over. Right when you are ready to eat, sprinkle a bit of the chicken broth mixture over the top. Eat them the way the natives do - with your hands! Enjoy!

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