How to Make Mole De Poblano

Mole de Poblano, the national dish of Mexico, is a chicken dish that uses mole, a sauce made from various chiles and pure dark chocolate. While you can use short cuts such as a pre-made mole sauce, the best Mole de Poblano results from using the freshest ingredients.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Food processor
• Large saucepan
• Paper towels
• One whole chicken
• Two onions
• Three cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp. lard
• 1.5 oz. mulato chilies
• 1.5 oz. ancho chilies
• 1 oz. pasilla chilies
• Six chopped tomatoes
• 1.5 oz. blanched almonds
• 1.5 oz. roasted peanuts
• 1.5 oz. sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp. coriander
• 1/2 tsp. aniseeds
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1.5 oz. dark chocolate
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Make your Mole de Poblano by cutting one whole chicken into eight pieces and place in a large saucepan with two sliced onions and three cloves of garlic. Cover the chicken with water, bring it to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is nearly cooked. Remove from heat, drain off the chicken stock, and remove the chicken pieces and allow them to dry on a paper towel.

2. Fry the chicken pieces in a skillet, using 1 tbsp. of lard that has been already melted in the pan. Cook each side of each of the chicken pieces until they are slightly browned.

3. Remove the stems and seeds from the various chilies, and then tear them up into small pieces. Boil the chilies for 30 minutes in 300 ml. of water, and then place the chilies and the water in a food processor and blend the mixture into a puree.

4. Add all of the remaining ingredients into the chili puree to make the Mole de Poblano sauce, including the chocolate. Blend everything together in the food processor until the consistency of the Mole de Poblano is smooth.

5. Take the chicken pieces out of the saucepan, leaving the lard inside. Pour the Mole de Poblano sauce into the pan with the remaining lard, and bring to a boil.

6. Place the chicken back into the pan, and simmer all of the ingredients for 30 more minutes, stirring frequently. Salt and pepper to taste.

7. Allow the Mole de Poblano to set in your refrigerator for at least 24 hours for the flavors to develop. Reheat before serving.

Tips & Warnings

• Serve the Mole de Poblano with flour tortillas, white rice, refried beans and guacamole to make the traditional meal.