Mole Poblano

Mole Poblano is a thick, rich red or brown sauce made with chilis, fruit, nuts, seeds and Mexican chocolate. It's the perfect mix of sweet and spicy for topping chicken, meat or enchiladas.

📝 Ingredients

• 1 Whole chicken cut into pieces
• 8 cups Water
• 1 Corn Tortilla
• 1 Slice day-old bread
• 1 1/2 cup Dried chilis (mulato, pasilla or ancho chiles)
• 1 Small white onion
• 3 Garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 cup Raisins
• 1 cup Almonds
• 1 cup Peanuts
• 1/2 cup Pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup Sesame seeds
• 1/4 tsp Coriander seeds
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 2 Cloves, whole
• 3 Large black peppercorns, or 5 small
• 1 disc Mexican table chocolate
• 4 cups Chicken broth
• 2 Chicken bouillon cubes
• 3 1/2 tbsp Vegetable or pork lard
• 2 tbsp Salt

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- For the Chicken ---
2. 2Place the chicken into a large cooking pot and pour in water to cover the chicken about an inch.
3. 3Bring to a boil over high heat, lower the heat and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until no longer pink inside.
4. 4--- Fry the Chilis ---
5. 5Before we blend the chilis, we lightly fry them in lard or oil to make sure they don’t taste bitter. First, cut the tops off the dried chilis, and remove the seeds and veins.
6. 6Place a large pot over medium-high heat. A clay pot will give you the best flavor, but if you don’t have one, just use any large pot. Add the lard or cooking oil to the pot and wait for it to melt.
7. 7Add the dried chilis to the pot in batches. You may see some of the chile seeds you missed release from the chilis in the oil.
8. 8Add the dried chilis to the pot in batches. You may see some of the chile seeds you missed release from the chilis in the oil.
9. 9Cook over medium heat for about a minute, drain and reserve the chilis.
10. 10--- Blend the Chili Purée ---
11. 11Add the fried chilis to the blender or food processor.
12. 12Set the blender on purée and blend the chilis into a paste, pressing down on the chilis periodically to ensure a smooth paste.
13. 13Your chili paste should be a deep red color, and nice and smooth.
14. 14--- Fry the Nuts and Seeds ---
15. 15Heat the same large pot over medium-high heat and add another tablespoon of lard.
16. 16Once melted or heated, lower the heat to medium and pour the almonds into the pot, followed by the peanuts and pumpkin seeds.
17. 17Stir constantly while toasting the nuts and seeds.
18. 18Once the seeds have darkened (about two minutes), use a strainer to drain the nuts and seeds. You’ll be left with the juices that the nuts and seeds have released in the pot.
19. 19Pour the drained nuts and seeds into a bowl and set aside.
20. 20--- Fry the Bread and Garlic ---
21. 21Add the bread to the pot and fry for one minute.
22. 22Stir constantly while cooking the bread.
23. 23Once the bread has turned dark brown, remove from the pot with kitchen tongs or a slotted spoon and set aside.
24. 24Next, add the three peeled garlic cloves to the pot.
25. 25Once the garlic has darkened, drain, remove from the pot and set aside.
26. 26--- Fry the Cinnamon and Raisins ---
27. 27Add the cinnamon stick to the same pot.
28. 28Once the stick has darkened, remove and set aside.
29. 29Add the raisins to the pot and fry for about 30 seconds, or until plump.
30. 30Drain raisins in a strainer and set aside.
31. 31--- Fry the Tortilla ---
32. 32Add the tortilla to the liquid in the pot.
33. 33Heat the tortilla for 10 seconds, flip and heat another 10 seconds.
34. 34Remove tortilla with tongs, let excess liquid drip into the pot and set aside.
35. 35Carefully pour the liquid from the pot into a bowl and set aside.
36. 36--- Toast the Seeds and Spices ---
37. 37Add the sesame seeds to the pot and toast for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
38. 38Next, add the peppercorns, cloves and coriander seeds.
39. 39Cook, stirring constantly, until the seeds and spices have darkened.
40. 40--- Blend the Mole Paste ---
41. 41Once the seeds and spices have toasted, transfer to a blender.
42. 42Break up the fried tortilla and add to the blender.
43. 43Add the toasted bread, cooked raisins, fried cinnamon stick and garlic cloves.
44. 44Sprinkle in the salt, then add in half of the toasted nuts and seeds.
45. 45Purée the ingredients, adding chicken broth as needed to make a paste.
46. 46Your paste should be a deep reddish brown color.
47. 47Pour the paste into a bowl and set aside.
48. 48--- Blend Another Batch! ---
49. 49Add the remaining toasted nuts and seeds to the blender.
50. 50Blend the nuts and seeds, pressing down the mixture periodically to ensure a smooth paste.
51. 51Transfer the paste to a large bowl and set aside.
52. 52--- Fry and Blend the Onions ---
53. 53Cut the onion into slices and then heat ½ tablespoon of lard in your pot.
54. 54Once the lard has melted, add the sliced onions.
55. 55Sauté the onions until golden brown and then transfer to the blender. Blend until smooth.
56. 56--- Cook the Mole Sauce ---
57. 57Pour the second batch of seed and nut paste into your pot.
58. 58Next, pour in the half of the first batch of mole paste and stir to combine.
59. 59Break up the tablet of Mexican chocolate, add to the pot and stir to combine.
60. 60Add the chicken bouillon cubes and stir until cubes melt.
61. 61Add the other half of the mole paste to the pot and stir, pouring in chicken stock until you've reached the desired consistency. Your mole should be of medium consistency — not too thick, not too runny.
62. 62Sprinkle in more salt, then simmer the mole sauce over medium heat until reduced by about an inch.
63. 63--- Serve Mole Poblano with Bone-In Chicken ---
64. 64Add the cooked chicken to the pot with the mole sauce and turn to cover with the sauce. If you prefer to serve over shredded chicken instead, skip down to the next section.
65. 65Place a piece of chicken on the plate, spoon over more sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
66. 66Your chicken with mole is ready to eat!
67. 67--- Serve Mole Poblano with Shredded Chicken ---
68. 68Separate the meat from some of your cooked chicken pieces and add to a plate. Spoon over the mole sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
69. 69You’re ready to dig into your mole poblano with shredded chicken! So good!