Mole Negro de Teotitlan del Valle
| Ingredients | Amounts |
|---|---|
| For the chicken and stock | |
| Field-raised chicken, large, cut into serving pieces | 1 ea. |
| Onion, small, roughly sliced | 1 ea. |
| Garlic head, unpeeled, but cut around the middle | 1 ea. |
| Sea salt | to taste |
| For the mole | |
| Chiles guajillos, deveined and reserving seeds | 3 ea. |
| Chiles chilhuacle negro, deveined and reserving seeds | 2 ea. |
| Chiles ancho mulatos, deveined and reserving seeds | 2 ea. |
| Raisins | 2 Tbsp. |
| Sesame seeds | 2 Tbsp. |
| Blanched almonds | 3 ea. |
| French bread, dried, thickly slices | 1 slice |
| True cinnamon bark stick, 3" | 1 ea. |
| Whole cloves | 2 ea. |
| Allspice | 2 ea. |
| Nutmeg, 1/8"(about ¼ tsp. ground) | 1/8 ea. |
| Ginger, peeled, 1" | 1 ea. |
| Dried thyme | 3 pinches |
| Oaxacan or Mexican oregano | |
| Dried marjoram | 1 pinch |
| Bay leaf, medium | 1 ea. |
| Avocado leaf, large | 1 ea. |
| Tomatoes, roasted | 3 ea. |
| Tomatillos with husks, roasted | 8 ea. |
| Spring onions with stalk, medium, roasted | 2 ea. |
| Garlic heads with peel, roasted | 2 ea. |
| Lard, freshly rendered | 1 Tbsp. |
| Sugar | 3 Tbsp. |
| Mexican chocolate | 2 oz. |
| Chicken broth | 6 cups |
| Sea salt | to taste |
Method
- For the chicken and broth: Put the chicken into a large pot with the garlic and onions. Add water to cover (at least 8 cups) and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the chicken is tender, about 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the broth separately. This can be prepared in advance.
- For the mole: Toast the guajillo chiles on a comal for about 2 minutes; they will be almost charred. Toast the other chiles for less than a minute. Put the chiles in a bowl of hot water and let soften for about 10 minutes. Toast the chile seeds on a comal or in a heavy frying pan, shaking the pan continually so that they brown evenly. Then turn the heat up, and let them almost char. This will be a very smoky process with lots of chile fumes, so best done outside, if possible. Put the seeds into a small bowl and cover with cold water for about 30 minutes. Strain, and discard the water.
- Toast the bread and crumble it. Briefly toast the raisins until they puff up. Put into a bowl. Toast the almonds and sesame seeds until golden, about 3 minutes. Be careful as the sesame seeds will pop around. Quickly remove from the heat and put into the bowl. Lightly toast the cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger to bring out the aroma and add to the bowl. Lightly toast the thyme, oregano, and marjoram together and add to the other ingredients. Lightly toast the bay leaf and avocado leaf, setting the leaves apart from the other ingredients.
- In batches, grind all of these ingredients except the bay and avocado leaves together on a metate, spice grinder, or blender, adding broth if necessary. The mixture should be quite smooth. Put into a large bowl.
- Peel the tomatillos and garlic and put into a blender jar with the roasted tomatoes. Roughly chop the onion and add to the blender and process until smooth. Add to the chile mixture and stir well. In several batches, blend the mole together again until very smooth.
- Heat the lard in a cazuela or heavy pot, add the bay and avocado leaves and let them flavor the lard for several minutes. Remove the leaves and discard. Add the blended mixture and fry over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, for several minutes. Lower the heat and continue to cook and stir for about 20 minutes.
- Stir in the sugar and the chocolate; when dissolved, pour in the broth and continue cooking for about 40 minutes, adding more broth if necessary. The mole should just be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
- Add salt to taste, then the chicken, and cook until the chicken is hot completely through.