Mole is one of the more complicated dishes found in Mexican cooking. The name is thought to come from the Nahuatl word molli, which refers to a mixture of ingredients ground together. Many variations of mole can be found throughout Mexico (some recipes call for as many as 100 ingredients!), with the most popular ones coming from the Puebla and Oaxaca regions. The following recipe is typical of the Puebla version of this wonderful dish.
Ingredients
- 4 oz Ancho Chiles
- 2 oz Pasilla Chiles
- 2 oz Chili Mulato
- 4 oz Peanuts, raw
- 1.5 lbs Tomatoes, ripe
- 10 lbs Turkey, cleaned
- 4 oz Lard
- 2 oz Pumpkins Seeds
- 1 lb White Onion, sliced thin
- 1.5 oz Garlic Cloves
- 0.5 lb Tomatillos
- 6 oz Raisins
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- ½ tsp Freshly Ground Black Peppercorns
- 2 qts Chicken Stock
- 5 oz Mexican Chocolate, grated
- Salt, to taste
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 325 degree F.
- In a dry sauté pan set over a medium-low flame, toast the chiles until they begin to turn fragrant and color slightly (be careful not to burn them!). Turn them so they color on both sides, and then remove the stems and set them aside (leave the seeds in the chiles just remove the stems).
- Place the peanuts in the same pan, and toast them until they begin to turn brown; take them out of the pan and set aside.
- Turn the heat up to a medium-high flame. Once hot, add the tomatoes to the pan and allow the skins to char. Turn them so they char in a few places, and then remove them from the pan and set aside.
- Fabricate the turkey into legs, thighs, wings, and breasts cut the breasts into 3 pieces each (you should have a total of 12 pieces) leaving the bones in and the skin on.
- Add the lard to a braising pan large enough to hold all of the ingredients, and melt over a medium-high flame until very hot.
- Season the turkey pieces and sauté them in the lard, turning as necessary, until they are golden brown on all sides; remove them from the pan.
- Drain excess fat from the pan, leaving about 2 Tbsp, and add the pumpkin seeds; fry them in the fat for 2 minutes, stirring the entire time.
- Lower the heat, and add the onion and garlic to the pan; sweat until tender and translucent.
- Add the turkey back to the pan, along with any liquid that may have pooled with sitting; also add the peanuts, tomatoes, chiles, tomatillos, raisins, cinnamon, pepper, and chicken broth (but not the chocolate!).
- Bring the entire mixture to a simmer, and then cover the pan with foil and a lid. Place the pan in the preheated oven (this step also can be done on the stovetop, which would be more traditional, but it is easier to control heat in the oven). Braise the mixture for 1.5 hours, and then remove.
- Remove the turkey pieces and the cinnamon stick from the pan (check the deepest part of the turkey to ensure that it has reached the proper internal temperature), and carefully transfer the entire contents of the pan to blender(s); purée to a smooth paste (alternatively, a burr-type shaft blender can be used to process the contents in the pan).
- Return the sauce to the pan and, over low heat, add the grated chocolate; mix in to melt. If the sauce is too thick, it can be thinned with stock at this point; if it is too thin, it should be reduced to the proper consistency.
- Check the seasoning of the sauce and adjust, if necessary.