Abuelas Chicken Mole Recipes

CHICKEN MOLE

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken pieces in the hot oil until golden brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Reduce heat to medium, and stir in the bay leaf, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, cloves, and cinnamon until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the tomatoes, brown sugar, and chicken broth, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once simmering, stir in the chocolate chips until melted, then return the chicken pieces to the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken is tender and no longer pink at the bone, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the raisins, and cook 3 minutes longer. Sprinkle with sesame seeds to serve.

SLOW-COOKER CHICKEN MOLE

Steps:

• For the chicken mole: Place the ancho and pasilla chiles, slivered almonds and pepitas in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Toast until the pepitas begin to pop and the almonds are deep golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the chiles to a small bowl and cover with boiling water; set another small bowl on top of the chiles to keep them submerged. Let soak for 30 minutes. Set the almonds and pepitas aside.
• Meanwhile, place the Mexican chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high power for 1 minute. Stir together the melted chocolate; unlike conventional chocolate, it will have a grainy, paste-like consistency.
• Add the melted chocolate to a food processor with the toasted almonds and pepitas and the onions, garlic, sesame seeds, tomatoes, raisins, vinegar, chipotle puree and pepper, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, cloves and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Drain the ancho and pasilla chiles and add them to the food processor. Process to a smooth sauce.
• Place the chicken breasts and legs in a 6.5-quart slow cooker and sprinkle liberally with salt. Pour the mole sauce over the chicken, spreading it to cover completely. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high power for 4 hours.
• For the radish salad: About 10 minutes before serving, toss the radishes, radish leaves, cilantro and lime juice together. Season with salt to taste.
• To serve: Place the tortillas over a medium flame (or on a grill or grill pan) and heat until charred in spots but still soft enough to fold.
• Carefully remove the chicken from the slow cooker to a platter. Spoon some mole sauce over the top; serve extra sauce in a bowl on the side. To the platter, add the radish salad, charred tortillas, and lime wedges. Garnish the chicken with the toasted sesame seeds.

EASY CHICKEN MOLE

Steps:

• To make the mole sauce, soak the chiles in 1 1/4 cups water for 15 minutes. Drain well and discard the soaking liquid.
• Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until translucent, 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender with the chiles, chocolate, chicken broth, peanut butter, sugar, oregano and tostadas and blend until very smooth. Transfer the sauce to a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper. Add the rotisserie chicken pieces and stir to combine.

CHICKEN MOLE

Steps:

• In a large pot, place the chicken, quartered onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, cilantro, and peppercorns. Cover with water by 2 inches and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes, occasionally skimming any foam that rises to the surface. Remove the chicken and set aside. Strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer and reserve for the mole.
• In a large heavy dry skillet, toast the chiles to a deep brown color over medium-high heat, turning, 1 to 2 minutes. Place in a bowl, cover with hot stock, and soak for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and transfer to a blender. Puree, adding chicken stock as necessary, to blend.
• In a large skillet or saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sesame seeds and peanuts, and cook, stirring, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels and add to the blender with the chiles. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft and starting to color, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the cinnamon, black peppercorns, cloves, and coriander seeds and cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add to the blender. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the tortilla pieces, and cook until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add to the blender with enough of the chile soaking liquid (or chicken stock) to puree to a paste.
• To the skillet, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add the paste and and simmer, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of chicken stock, the chocolate, and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and cook, stirring, to melt the chocolate. Add the cooked chicken and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, adding more stock, as needed, if the sauce becomes too thick, and basting the chicken occasionally as it cooks. Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning, to taste.
• To serve, spoon the rice into the center of a large platter. Arrange the chicken and sauce over the top, garnish with chopped cilantro, and serve with hot corn tortillas.

CHICKEN IN MOLE, PUEBLA STYLE

Steps:

• In a large stock pot, parboil the chicken in water seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. Drain, reserving cooking broth, and refrigerate until ready to assemble the dish.
• Prepare the Mole Poblano. Clean the chiles by removing stems, veins, and seeds; reserve 1 tablespoon of the seeds. Heat 1/2 cup of the oil in a heavy skillet until it shimmers. Fry the chiles until crisp, about 10 to 15 seconds, turning once; make sure they do not burn. Drain on paper towels. Put the chiles in a nonreactive bowl, cover with hot water, and set aside for 30 minutes. Drain the chiles, reserving the soaking water. Puree the chiles in a blender with enough of the soaking water to make a smooth paste. It may be necessary to scrape down the sides and blend several times to obtain a smooth paste. In a heavy Dutch oven heat an additional 1/2 cup oil over medium heat and add the chile puree (be careful - it will splatter). Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Puree the tomatillos in a blender. In a coffee or spice grinder, grind the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, and toasted seeds. Add the seed mixture and the garlic to the pureed tomatillos and blend until smooth. Set aside.
• Heat 6 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy frying pan. Fry each of the following ingredients and then remove with a slotted spoon: the raisins until they puff up; the almonds to a golden brown; the pumpkin seeds until they pop. If necessary, add enough oil to make 4 tablespoons and fry the tortilla pieces and bread slices until golden brown, about 15 seconds per side; remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon. Add raisins, almonds, pumpkins seeds, tortillas, and bread to the tomatillo puree and blend, using 1 to 2 cups of the reserved chicken broth, as needed, to make a smooth sauce. This may have to be done in batches. In a heavy Dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add the chile puree, the tomatillo puree, and the Mexican chocolate (be careful - it will splatter). Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring often. Add the remaining 5 cups of chicken broth, cook over low heat for an additional 45 minutes, stirring often enough to prevent the mixture from scorching on the bottom. During the last 15 minutes of cooking time, add the parboiled chicken and heat through. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve with white rice.

CHICKEN MOLE WITH FOUR CHILES

Steps:

• Remove the stems, veins and seeds from the chiles (you might want to wear gloves when you do this). Heat the lard in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the chiles, and cook and stir until the chiles are fragrant, about 1 minute, being careful not to burn them. Remove the chiles and place them in a large bowl.
• Stir in the onion and garlic, and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove and add to the bowl with the chiles.
• Break the flour and corn tortillas into pieces, and add them to the skillet. Toast on both sides, turning often, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove; add to the bowl.
• If needed, melt a small amount of additional lard in the skillet. Add the plantain pieces to the skillet, and cook and stir until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove plantain; add to the bowl.
• Stir the almonds and peanuts into the skillet, and cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Sprinkle in the sesame seeds and continue cooking until sesame seeds are lightly browned, 15-30 seconds. Remove; add to the bowl.
• Warm the tomatoes over medium heat in the skillet until heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Break the chocolate into chunks and stir into the tomatoes until melted. Pour the chocolate and tomato mixture into the bowl with the chile mixture; stir to combine.
• Working in small batches, puree the mixture in a blender until smooth, adding a small amount of water if needed to make a smooth sauce.
• Place the chicken into a large Dutch oven; pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover and simmer over medium low heat until the chicken falls off the bone, 2-3 hours.

ABUELA'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Marinate the chicken for approximately 10 minutes in a bowl containing the green peppers, oregano, garlic, black pepper, olives, celery, parsley, coriander, and thyme.
• In an iron pot, heat 3 tablespoons of oil, reserving 2 tablespoons for later use. Add sugar to heated oil and quickly stir. When sugar turns dark brown, add the chicken (without the vegetables), being careful with splattering oil. Stir, cover and let simmer at medium heat for 10 minutes, adding tablespoonfuls of water regularly to prevent it from burning. Add the vegetables. Add tomato paste and stir to combine. Add remaining water and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste.
• Add the rice and stir often to avoid excessive sticking. Once all the water has evaporated, cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer over very low heat. Wait 15 minutes, uncover and stir, before adding remaining oil. Cover and wait another 5 minutes. Taste rice for doneness; it should be firm but tender inside. If necessary, cover and leave another 5 minutes over very low heat.

AUTHENTIC MOLE FROM VERACRUZ MEXICO

Steps:

• Place the water, chicken base or cubes and chicken in a stock pot. Bring the water to a boil, turn the heat down to a medium simmer, cover and cook the chicken for 1 hour or until fork tender and the meat shreds easily.
• While the chicken is cooking pour the oil into a large saute pan. Heat the oil on medium heat. Once the oil is hot enough add in all ingredients from the dried chiles to the garlic clove. Fry the ingredients for 1 minute or until fragrant making sure not to burn the chiles.
• Strain the ingredients and discard all of the oil except for 2 tablespoons Place the strained ingredients possibly working in two batches in the blender.
• When the chicken is done, remove the meat from the broth and add in 2 cups of broth into the blender and half of the fried tortilla. Blend on high for 5 minutes.
• Heat the 2 tbsp of reserved oil on medium heat in the large skillet you were using before and pour in the blended mole.
• Then pour the other batch of chile and spices into the blender with the other half of the tortilla and 2 cups of broth and blend on high for 5 minutes.
• Pour the other batch of mole in the saute pan and stir to combine. Place the piloncillo and chocolate in the mole and stir until melted. Taste to adjust for salt.
• Add in the chicken pieces spooning the sauce over the chicken. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes to marry the flavors. Serve with fresh warm corn tortillas and white rice.
• Enjoy!

SUPER CHICKEN MOLE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add onions, and cook for a few minutes, then stir in tomatoes, and cook until they release all of their juice. Stir in the hot chile peppers, cilantro, black pepper and sugar. Bring to a boil, and let it cook for about 10 minutes to thicken.
• Add chicken breasts to the skillet, along with the oregano, cinnamon, cumin, bay leaf, chocolate and lime juice. Simmer over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken breasts are cooked through. Chicken breasts should have an internal temperature of 170 degrees F (75 degrees C) when fully cooked. Remove bay leaf, and serve chicken breasts smothered in sauce. Garnish with additional fresh parsley or cilantro.