Mole Poblano: Cook-Off 9

[touaregsand]

Which ethnicity is this?

Dutch food is 'ethnic' to me... 

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it's a shop that has a lot of different sections: japanese, thai, surinamese, indian, chinese, mexican, american (that's ethnic to me , they sell crisco, jiffy etc.). It's a very small shop with an amazing variety of ingredients!

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I was teasing (I suspect you know that). It used to be true that "Asian market" was meaningless maybe 15-20 years ago, but now at a Korean market in LA one can find Chinese, Japanese and to get back on topic Mexican ingredients. And there is a market we just call the Middle Eastern market, because we just don't know what to call it. They sell halal meat and pork. Oh yeah, they sell Asian and Mexican ingredients as well. So I know of the type of 'ethnic' market you are referring to.

I think I'll be making a mole that has nuts in it definately, a range of spices and a touch of chocolate. That's the style I grew up eating so I'm partial to it.

[twhalliii]

We are having a big (14 person) dinner on Sunday and I am on the hook for Chicken Mole. I did it to myself because I've loved the stuff ever since I tried it at a luncheon in Mexico, and I love a good challenge in the kitchen. So, I'll be trying Abra's recipe.

Off to shop!

Tom

Edited May 19, 2005 by twhalliii (log)

[Jake]

I was afraid this would be the next cook-off. I so want to make this, as I love the stuff, but living in Kingston, I know I won't be able to find most of the ingredients. Heck we don't even have any Mexican restaurants here. I do have some Ancho chilies, but other then that the only chili's I can get are Jalapenos, Thai and Scotch Bonnets.

Man this sucks...I love mole poblano, and I try to get it every time I'm in NYC. Does anyone know of a place that will ship to Canada, or a Canadian online merchant?

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A quick road trip to Toronto will do the trick. I've had no problem locating Mexican ingredients including all types of dried chilis, many fresh, mexican orgegano, crema, chocolate etc. etc. etc. (Also has the advantage of being cheaper than mail order, and you can buy fresh.)

[kanljung]

I also live in an area that is totally void of any mexican stores, but at least I've been able to track down some chilies.

I was lucky enough to stock up on some pasillas the other week, so yesterday I went out hunting for anchos and mulatos. Ancho chilies are available in most well stocked green grocers around here so I had no problem finding those. Then I found some chilies that I suspect may be mulatos. The jar that I picked them from was marked "poblano" and they looked more pointed than my anchos.

I won't even try to find any mexican chocolate, instead I will use a 99% chocolate as suggested by fiftydollars.

I will be using either this recipe or a recipe from The New Complete Book of Mexican Cooking by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz. Both of these recipes ony contains ingredients that I can get hold of here.

[Chufi]

So, I thought I'd kick off this cook-off.. tonight was mole night.

I came home from work, and made chicken stock and rendered some lard while making dinner for my husband and stepdaughter.

Then on to mole!

I used the recipe that Abra linked to, although I have to admit I did some cheating. I had no mulato chilies, so I used anchos and pasillas, and some of the other chiles (noras and choriceros) that I pictured upthread.

No plantain so I added some green ordinary banana.

No tomatillos, and because I've seen recipes for mole without tomatillos, I just left them out and added a bit more tomato.

No mexican sugar or chocolate.. so I used dark sugar and the darkest chocolate I could find.

Here are the simmered chiles, after pureeing, being sieved. Next to it, the nut mush.

I have to explain that I do not have a blender. I pureed everything in my old food processor, which makes a pretty course texture, so I had to put batch after batch of unappetizing brown mush through a sieve In the end the texture is still not as smooth as I would have liked, but ah well.

Another thing. I could not get this sauce to come to a gentle simmer. It kept erupting like a volcano, leaving brown tracks all over the kitchen walls. Not until after sugar and chocolate were added, did it simmer away nicely, looking like this:

Oh and this is what my counter looked like halfway through the process. I am normally a pretty tidy cook, but you have to be extremely organized to stay tidy while making mole.. I did not succeed

Did I mention it tastes wonderful?

Susan, I would not worry about the cloves. It really does not taste like cloves (and I love cloves). Mole is one of those magical dishes that tastes of everything, yet of nothing in particular, it is just one big round earthy complex flavor.

Ok I have one more question. Now that have a pot of mole.. what do I do with it?

I remember last time I made it (years ago, not as good as this one) I served it with some sauteed chicken. Other suggestions (for easy dishes please )

Edited May 20, 2005 by Chufi (log)

[Richard Kilgore]

For those looking for more background information on moles, you may want to check out our Mexico forum, where discussions regarding moles flourish.

[Chris Amirault]

After making her great-looking mole, Chufi asked a question about what the heck to do with it. Let's hear about what you're serving your mole on and with: turkey a la tradition, or something else? And are you also serving rice? tortillas? tamales?

[legourmet]

After making her great-looking mole, Chufi asked a question about what the heck to do with it. Let's hear about what you're serving your mole on and with: turkey a la tradition, or something else? And are you also serving rice? tortillas? tamales?

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I serve mole on chicken with rice and cooked bananas. Another mole serving is rabbit with tamales and nopales cactus. For an appetizer I mix mole with creme fraiche or sour cream and serve it as a dip for fresh raw vegetables cut into strips.

(carrot, cucumber, celery, kohlrabi)

[Chufi]

So, my mole is sitting in the fridge and I have invited some friends over for a "mystery dinner" (if I had said "come over for mole" , they would have no idea what they would get).

I think I will saute some chicken pieces and then cover them with mole and heat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving. Good idea?

I will serve them with my own, maybe not authentic, but mexican inspired side dishes: mexican rice, corncakes, guacamole, black beans and green salad.

Will report back tomorrow.

Meanwhile, my mole is feeling a bit lonely. I would love to see some other experiments!

Edited May 22, 2005 by Chufi (log)

[TongoRad]

I haven't participated in the mole cookoff mainly because I just had some last week in a restaurant- with cheese encheladas. It's a great way to serve it, I just love how the flavors interact with the corn tortillas. Another stuffing I like is smoked duck- talk about rich...

Now that you have your mole the enchilada part should be easy. Enjoy!

[Abra]

I agree with TongoRad - cheese enchiladas are a great use for mole. We also love it with pulled pork, as well as the more traditional turkey or chicken. Mole sems to go beautifully with foods that are somewhat fatty and/or unctuous, but it's also delicious just as a dip for tortillas, or on rice. Or gently scramble some eggs to put on your rice and then top it all with mole. I can't wait to try legourmet's idea of mixing it with creme fraiche as a dip - that's one use I've never imagined.

[Chris Amirault]

I think I will saute some chicken pieces and then cover them with mole and heat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving. Good idea?

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That is, I believe, the traditional way to serve the turkey, too.

Meanwhile, my mole is feeling a bit lonely. I would love to see some other experiments!

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Too sick this weekend to cook, but next weekend, or perhaps Memorial Day, you will be joined!

[Chufi]

Dinner: chicken in Mole Poblano, guacamole, corn cakes with chipotle creme fraiche, rice. There were also black beans and a green salad but they're not in the pic.

It was wonderful.

[kanljung]

Yesterday a large part of my day was taken up by making mole. This was the first time that I've made any sort of mole and I've never tasted mole before, so besides what I've read I didn't know what a treat I was in for.

I used the ingredient list from a recipe in The New Complete Book of Mexican Cooking by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz with some modifications but applied the methods of the recipe that abra linked to. The reason for doing this was that the former recipe has less hard to find ingredients but the methods of the later sounded more intriguing, even though it involved more work.

After my modifications, the ingredient list was:

5 ancho chilies

3 pasilla chilies

4 mulato chilies

canola oil

2 onions

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 teaspoon ground anise

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

2 tbsp sesame seeds

2 stale ~6" tortillas

450g tomatoes

120g flaked blanched almonds

50g raisins

40g unsweetend chocolate (99%)

1 teaspoon dark brown sugar.

Some commets about the ingredients: I used canola oil instead of lard since I thoguh that it was enough work involved with the mole without redering any lard. I substituted mexican chocolate with 99% french chocolate. Since the fresh tomatoes still aren't very good I mixed fresh tomatoes with good quality whole canned tomatoes.

So. on to the mole making process:

I started off with poaching a nice corn-fed chicken together with a quartered onion and a head of garlic. In this way I got some chicken to serve with the mole and chicken broth to use when making the mole.

Next I prepared the chilies:

I fried them briefly in some canola oil and then I removed the seeds and veins of them. I put them in a pot with some simmering water and let them soak for 30 minutes.

After reading a thread about anchos and bitterness, I decided to not use the soaking water and rinse the soaked chilies in cold water before using them.

Then I put the rinsed chilies in a blender together with some chicken broth and pureed them. After this the recipe called for the chili puree to be fried in lard or oil. The splattering of the chili puree as it hit the hot oil in the pan sent chile stains all over the place. It has been suggested that a deep stock pot should be used to reduce this problem, but I guess that my pot wasn't deep enough.

In the next step I dry roasted the flaked almond and the sesame seeds. I then pureed them in the blender together with some chicken broth and then put the puree in the now simmering chili puree.

Then on to sauteeing the tomatoes, which then were pureed with the raisins and some broth. This was then added to the simmering mole.

Next step was to roast onions and garlic in a dry skillet. After they had been softened and browned they were pureed with the dry spices and some broth and then added to the mole.

Then I fried the tortillas in some oil and again: puree in blender with broth and add to mole

At last the chocolate was added to the simmeriering mole. After it had melted, some more broth were added and the mole simmered for another 30 minutes.

The resulting mole:

Today I reheated the poached chicken in some of the mole (diluted with some more broth). I served this with some Arroz alla mexicana (also from the Ortiz book).

The mole was really delightful. It was really as complex tastewise as it had been described. In its undiluted state, it reminded me a little bit of the nutty paprika taste of the catalan romesco sauce.

Now I've got a large supply of mole to put in the freezer, so I would also welcome suggestion on what to do with it other than use it with chicken. Carnitas and mole, would that work?

[Chufi]

Yesterday a large part of my day was taken up by making mole.

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Yeah, it's a lot of work isn't it?

Re the bitterness: When I tasted the stock I cooked the chiles in, it was quite bitter and that worried me. But the finished sauce does not taste bitter at all.

Your sauce looks great. In fact, it looks very much like mine..

[Abra]

Kanljung, is it just a lighting trick in the photo, or were you using fresh chiles? They look so green in your pictures. Normally mole is made with all dried chiles.

[kangarool]

No tomatillos, and because I've seen recipes for mole without tomatillos, I just left them out and added a bit more tomato.

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How important are the tomatillos to a good mole? I have access to all other ingredients except these. I could get a can of tinned tomatillos shipped down from a Mexican food importer in Sydney, but question if it's worth the cost time and effort (I want my mole now!)

Are there any substitutes for tomatillos? Googling provides no answers that I could find. I'm not sure, but I think they would provide a tartness or slight sourness that might offset the richness of the other ingredients. I don't think just adding a bit more tomato will provide what's otherwise missing ... but then I don't know what else could be added in their place. Or, is their omission no big deal in the grand scheme? Any suggestions?

[kanljung]

Kanljung, is it just a lighting trick in the photo, or were you using fresh chiles?  They look so green in your pictures.  Normally mole is made with all dried chiles.

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I used all dried chilies. The flourescent lights above my countertop has given my pictures a yellowish tint.

[kanljung]

Yesterday a large part of my day was taken up by making mole.

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Yeah, it's a lot of work isn't it?

Re the bitterness: When I tasted the stock I cooked the chiles in, it was quite bitter and that worried me. But the finished sauce does not taste bitter at all.

Your sauce looks great. In fact, it looks very much like mine..

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Thanks, Chufi.

When I tasted the chili stock I thought that it was way too bitter to go into the mole. Even though I didn't use the chili stock I still felt a slight bitternes in the pure chili puree, but it also disappeared as the mole was simmered and other ingredients were added. In hindsight, maybe I should have used the chili stock. I know that the chilies that are used in a mole aren't that hot, but I wonder if I didn't let some of the heat slip away when I discarded the chili stock.

Edited May 23, 2005 by kanljung (log)

[Abra]

Well, mole isn't supposed to be hot, or even very warm. I think optimally it just lightly glows in your mouth. Bitterness is usually the result of the chiles having been scorched in the toasting process. It's very easy to do, since they're so delicate.

Lots of moles are made without tomatillo, so I wouldn't let that be a deal-breaker. I happen to really like what they do to the sauce, but you can make a great mole without them. And you're right, kangarool, adding extra tomatoes wouldn't do the same thing at all.

[twhalliii]

No photos, but I followed Abra's recipe to the letter, save a few substitutions--

-- Canola for lard-- it made the sauce lighter than I expected, but it was delicious anyway

-- Ibarra chocolate, I used 9oz instead of 6 and it did not overwhelm

-- Piloncillo was unavailable, so I used the Mexcan dark brown sugar that comes in the hard packed disc (also starts with a 'P' can't remember the name)

I also added a little white wine in with my chicken stock. To be honest, the flavor of the sauce is so complex and deep, who knows how much of a difference it would make. All I know is the sauce was a smashing success when I served it with a roasted pork tenderloin and chicken breasts (some at my party didn't eat pork). We served it with saffron rice w/ tomato and onion, chili con carne, and watermellon and avocado salad. All 14 guests tried a little of everything and everyone loved the mole.

Also, though it took me a little bit of time to make (4 hours), it wasn't THAT hard to make. I got into the rhythm of chop, sautée, blend with broth, add to pot; chop, sautee, blend with broth, add to pot. I used one cutting board, one sautee pan, one blender, one knife. In between each round, I rinsed everything, but since it was all going to the same place, I didn't pay too much attention. After the the last ingredient, I washed the appliances the board and the knife, chilled the molé, and re heated next day adding more hot broth to thin it. I would absolutely make this again and I feel like what, on paper, seemed an intimidating process was actually a lot of fun. Plus, added bonus, I didn't taste the sauce during cooking because it was supposed to be gross tasting until done, and when I finished, I ended up adding one extra disc of Ibarra for a richer flavor, and that was that. Fun!

Thanks for sharing this recipe and for the chance to share.

Tom

Edited May 24, 2005 by twhalliii (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Hunting around for a good way to render lard, I found Linda's (fifi's) great recipe in RecipeGullet. Click here for it! I'll be taking those first steps this weekend, I think....

edited to grumble: Just called Whole Paycheck, and they told me that they don't carry white pork fat, or fatback, or kidney fat, or anything like that. "We get it all prepackaged," the man said.

Sigh.... I need me a real butcher....

Edited May 25, 2005 by chrisamirault (log)

[jeniac42]

I've pretty much fallen off the face of eGullet over the past year, but I'm back, and good timing, too. I've always wanted to learn to make mole, since it's one of my favorite sauces. It's just too bad I'm in Pittsburgh now and not Columbus, because there aren't nearly as many sources for all the ingredients here.

If I can find everything I need, I plan to make the recipe Abra linked to on Monday.

[Abra]

I just ask the local butcher to save me pork fat until he has 5 lbs. It's free, and it makes fine lard. The other fats may be even better, but this is easy to get and the results are delicious.

[Chris Amirault]

I just ask the local butcher to save me pork faat until he has 5 lbs.  It's free, and it makes fine lard.  The other fats may be even better, but this is easy to get and the results are delicious.

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"easy to get"?? ... sigh ...

Well, I just called a bunch of butchers, as well as the two Whole Foods, Stop & Shop, and a few other places: no dice. Do you think I could buy a couple of shoulders or butts, trim them, and use that fat? (Yes, I'm suggesting buying meat so that I can trim off the fat to use. I'm sure I'll find a dish for a couple of picnic shoulders.... )