Mole Poblano de Herencia
Domingo en Familia – The Sunday Gatherings and Holiday Rituals
A heavy cast-iron skillet drives this weeknight mole. The dried anchos blister on the hot metal, demanding forty-five minutes of focus and a standard supermarket blender to build a profoundly dark paste unbastardized by cocoa powder or peanut butter. We rely on animal crackers and blackened plantains for that essential sweet, starchy backbone, eating like kings and freezing the rest; come a rainy Wednesday, you whisk that frozen paste into hot broth, and you’re eating world-class enmoladas in fifteen minutes—Sunday’s exact depth, pulled from a weeknight skillet.
Ingredients
- dried Ancho chiles6 med
- dried Pasilla chiles6 med
- dried Mulato chiles6 med
- dried Chipotle chiles2 med
- chile seeds2 tbsp
- lard1/2 cup
- raw almonds1/3 cup
- raw unsalted peanuts1/3 cup
- sesame seeds1/4 cup
- stale corn tortillas2 large
- galletas de animalitos1/2 cup
- white onion1/2 large
- garlic cloves4 large
- very ripe plantain1 large
- raisins1/3 cup
- Roma tomatoes2 med
- tomatillos2 med
- Ceylon cinnamon stick1 small
- whole cloves4 small
- coriander seeds1/2 tsp
- anise seeds1/2 tsp
- black peppercorns1/2 tsp
- high-quality chicken broth10 cup
- Mexican table chocolate4 oz
- kosher salt1 tbsp
Method
- 01
Flash-fry the dried chiles briefly so they puff but do not burn.
In a heavy Dutch oven, melt a couple tablespoons of lard over medium heat. Fry the chiles in batches for just fifteen to thirty seconds a side. If they burn, the mole becomes hopelessly bitter, so keep moving.
- 02
Submerge the toasted chiles in hot broth to soften.
Transfer the toasted chiles to a massive mixing bowl, pour over 4 cups of hot chicken broth, and weigh them down with a plate to soak for 30 minutes.
- 03
Toast the nuts, seeds, and whole spices in the residual fat.
Add a little more lard to the pot and toast the reserved chile seeds, sesame seeds, and whole spices for a minute until fragrant. Scoop them into the chile bowl, then fry the almonds and peanuts until golden and toss them in too.
- 04
Sauté the aromatics, fruit, and thickeners until deeply caramelized.
Add remaining lard as needed to heavily brown the onion and garlic. Fry the plantain and raisins until the fruit puffs up and caramelizes, blister the tomatoes and tomatillos, and finally fry the tortillas and animal crackers until toasty, tossing everything into the resting bowl of soaked ingredients.
- 05
Puree the soaked ingredients in batches until completely smooth.
Ladle the soaked mixture and its liquid into a high-speed blender in batches, pureeing until velvety. For a truly refined texture, push the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl and discard the fibrous bits.
- 06
Fry the strained mole paste in hot lard to mature the flavors.
Wipe out the Dutch oven, get it hot over medium heat, and melt the remaining lard. Stand back and carefully pour in the strained mole puree—it will sputter violently—stirring constantly for ten minutes as the paste darkens to a rich, glossy chocolate brown.
- 07
Simmer the sauce with remaining broth and Mexican chocolate.
Stir in enough chicken broth to reach the consistency of heavy cream, drop in the chopped chocolate, and gently simmer on low for thirty minutes. Taste, season generously with salt, and serve draped over poached chicken.
Notes
Substituting Mulato Chiles.
If you can't track down Mulato chiles at a local Hispanic market, don't panic; just substitute with equal parts extra Ancho and Pasilla chiles.
The Weeknight Enmolada Hack.
The beauty of this massive batch is the leftover paste. Freeze it in quart containers. On a random weeknight, thin it with hot broth, dip in some tortillas, and fill them with shredded rotisserie chicken for effortless ancestral cooking.
From Cook Mexican in America.