AllenOK
Executive Chef
I've had a desire to make a batch of this stuff for months now. I finally got all the ingredients together and made some. A couple changes I did, was that I used 3 Ancho chiles, but couldn't find any of the others, so I bought some dried Guajillo peppers and used 3 of those. The resulting sauce has a nice, brick-red color to it, and is fairly thick, although it's a little grainy. Next time I'll use pumpkin seeds that have been peeled/shelled, as most of the larger "fragments" I found where small pieces of pumpkin seed. One interesting thing is, next time I make it, I'll probably wear some kind of eye protection, as while I was stirring the pureed mixture before I added the stock, a little bit splashed straight up out of the pot and hit me square in the face, with a little getting in my eye. Luckily, it didn't hurt much, or for long. Maybe it just didn't get square into my eye, but on the eyelid.
Molé Sauce
Yields: ~ 1 qt
3 mulato chiles
3 Pasilla chiles
3 ancho chiles
6 T lard or oil, in all
¼ c pumpkin seeds, shelled
1/3 c blanched almonds
¼ c sesame seeds
½ t cinnamon
2 T roasted peanuts
1/8 t ground coriander
¼ t ground cloves
½ t cumin
¼ t ground pepper
¼ c raisins
3 garlic cloves, whole
1 handful corn tortilla chips
1 ½ oz (½ of a tablet of Abuelita brand) Mexican chocolate
2 - 2 ½ c chicken stock
1 t salt, or to taste
Put the chiles on a large cast iron skillet over medium heat until soft. Remove the stem and seeds. Open the peppers up, and put them back into the skillet, weight them down with a plate, and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes over medium heat. Pour the liquid and peppers into a bowl, and set aside to cool.
Heat 4 T of the lard in the same skillet, add the pumpkin seeds, almonds, sesame seeds, cinnamon, peanuts, coriander, cumin, cloves, and pepper, and cook, stirring constantly until they puff and begin to pop, remove. Set aside. Add the raisins to the pan, stirring until they puff, and add them to the nuts. Add the garlic whole, and fry until crisp. Set the garlic aside with the nut mixture.
Using a small blender, grind nuts, spices. garlic, raisins, the cooled chiles, ½ c of the chile liquid, and the tortilla chips until it reaches an even consistency.
Heat the remaining lard in the skillet, add the chile mixture, and fry for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, scraping the pan bottom as the mixture sticks, as this adds to the color and flavor of the sauce. Add the chocolate, broken into bits, the salt, and stir until melted. Slowly add the stock, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper as desired. For a smoother consistency, place in a blender and process until smooth.
After I made the sauce, I sauteed a chicken breast just until it was done. Then, I removed the chicken breast, and spooned in about 1/4 c of the sauce to deglaze the pan. I added the chicken back to the pan, and flipped it once, to fully coat the breast with the sauce. Finally, I plated the breast, and topped it with the remaining sauce. Needless to say, it was good! All I needed some Mexican rice and a nice cervesa fria.
Molé Sauce
Yields: ~ 1 qt
3 mulato chiles
3 Pasilla chiles
3 ancho chiles
6 T lard or oil, in all
¼ c pumpkin seeds, shelled
1/3 c blanched almonds
¼ c sesame seeds
½ t cinnamon
2 T roasted peanuts
1/8 t ground coriander
¼ t ground cloves
½ t cumin
¼ t ground pepper
¼ c raisins
3 garlic cloves, whole
1 handful corn tortilla chips
1 ½ oz (½ of a tablet of Abuelita brand) Mexican chocolate
2 - 2 ½ c chicken stock
1 t salt, or to taste
Put the chiles on a large cast iron skillet over medium heat until soft. Remove the stem and seeds. Open the peppers up, and put them back into the skillet, weight them down with a plate, and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes over medium heat. Pour the liquid and peppers into a bowl, and set aside to cool.
Heat 4 T of the lard in the same skillet, add the pumpkin seeds, almonds, sesame seeds, cinnamon, peanuts, coriander, cumin, cloves, and pepper, and cook, stirring constantly until they puff and begin to pop, remove. Set aside. Add the raisins to the pan, stirring until they puff, and add them to the nuts. Add the garlic whole, and fry until crisp. Set the garlic aside with the nut mixture.
Using a small blender, grind nuts, spices. garlic, raisins, the cooled chiles, ½ c of the chile liquid, and the tortilla chips until it reaches an even consistency.
Heat the remaining lard in the skillet, add the chile mixture, and fry for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, scraping the pan bottom as the mixture sticks, as this adds to the color and flavor of the sauce. Add the chocolate, broken into bits, the salt, and stir until melted. Slowly add the stock, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper as desired. For a smoother consistency, place in a blender and process until smooth.
After I made the sauce, I sauteed a chicken breast just until it was done. Then, I removed the chicken breast, and spooned in about 1/4 c of the sauce to deglaze the pan. I added the chicken back to the pan, and flipped it once, to fully coat the breast with the sauce. Finally, I plated the breast, and topped it with the remaining sauce. Needless to say, it was good! All I needed some Mexican rice and a nice cervesa fria.
