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Chimichanga

A fried tortilla roll filled with pulled chicken and cheese, served with a spicy sour cream sauce.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 41,516 recipes mention both. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Chimichanga

Oven250 degrees
Timeabout 5 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

  1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

  2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and add flour. Stir and cook for 3-5 minutes or until the raw flour smell is gone.

  3. Add heated chicken stock one-third at a time, stirring with a wire whisk for each third. This step will ensure no lumps.

  4. Add sour cream, chilies, cayenne, hot sauce and stir. If you like it spicy, use more hot sauce.

  5. Remove from heat or keep sauce on low heat until ready for service.

Roll the chimichangas

  1. Fill the center of each tortilla with warmed Mexican Pulled Chicken and both cheeses.

  2. Start rolling away from you in a tight roll until you reach the end, then flip the roll back to have seam side up.

  3. Fold each end up and over about an inch or so and bind with stainless steel clips.

Fry and serve

  1. Heat enough oil in a heavy-bottomed pot to 350 degrees using a thermometer to get to the correct temperature.

  2. Place two chimichangas in the hot oil, making sure they are completely covered by the oil, and cook until browned and crispy, about 5 minutes. Hold down with a metal strainer if necessary.

  3. Remove to paper towels and drain, then hold in warm oven.

  4. Heat oil back to 350 degrees and cook the other two chimichangas.

  5. With a pot holder or towel, gently remove hot binder clip.

  6. Place on serving platter and cover with the sauce.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together7,962 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Cream + saucetop 9% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together4,787 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Chicken + cheesetop 14% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together1,936 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour
Thickens the butter into a roux that gives the sauce body.
Chicken stock
Forms the liquid base of the sauce.
Sour cream
Adds richness and tang to the sauce.
Monterey jack cheese
Melts into the filling, adding creaminess and stretch.
Pepper jack cheese
Melts into the filling, adding creaminess and gentle heat.
Flour tortillas
Wrap the filling and become crisp and golden when fried.

The step that matters

Frying at 350 degrees. Oil that is too cool lets the tortilla soak up grease and turn soggy, while oil that is too hot browns the outside before the filling heats through. Holding the oil near 350 degrees and covering the chimichangas fully gives even browning and a crisp shell.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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