mole negro

Authentic Mole Sauce (Mole Poblano) made from toasting and blending sweet and earthy ingredients and spices into a smooth simmered sauce, served over chicken.

Mole Sauce

chicken (,

water

onion

garlic

bay leaves

salt

oregano

Chicken bouillon (powder

pasilla chiles

mulato chiles chilies

ancho chiles

sesame seeds (, divided)

almonds

peanuts

raisins

animal crackers

corn tortilla

bread French bread

white onion (, sliced)

cloves

black peppercorns

coriander seeds

cumin seed

whole aniseed

¼ -1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

plantain (or banana) (, peeled, sliced into ½ inch slices)

cinnamon

chicken bullion

Salt

chocolate

brown sugar (, taste)

broth

Tablespoons oil

Oil (, for frying)

Add chicken, garlic, onion, bay leaf, chicken bouillon, salt, oregano and water to pot. Bring to a low boil and cook over medium heat until chicken is just cooked through (to about 160 degrees F –we will continue to cook it in the mole sauce), about 30 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate, (reserving the broth) cover and set aside.

For the chicken:

Add the sesame seeds to a large dry skillet over medium heat and cook them, stirring constantly, until toasted. Be careful not to burn them. Set aside.

Use scissors to cut a line down all the chilies to open them up flat. Remove veins and seeds.

Add a few tablespoons of oil to the skillet over medium heat. In a separate large saucepan, add 2 cups of water and turn heat to medium-low.

Once oil in the skillet is hot, add one layer of chilies at a time to the skillet, frying on both sides for just a few seconds, careful not to burn them, then transfer them to the saucepan of water.

We will continue to fry most of the remaining ingredients, one at a time, so add a little oil between each batch, as needed, just to coat the bottom of the pan.

Fry the peanuts stirring often so they toast but don’t burn, about 45 seconds. Add to the pot. Repeat with almonds, then raisins, then animal crackers, then corn tortilla, and bread slices, adding each to the saucepan and pressing down as much as possible into the water.

Turn skillet heat to medium-high and add more oil if needed to coat the bottom of the pan. Add onion and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and fry for just a few seconds before spooning the onion and garlic into the pot. Add sliced plantain to the hot oil and fry on both sides, then add to the pot.

Reduce heat to medium and add peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, anise, and crushed red pepper to hot oil and fry for a few seconds, stirring constantly, then add to the pot.

To the saucepan with all of the ingredients, stir in 1 teaspoon oregano, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 ½ teaspoons chicken bouillon.

Add the chopped chocolate to a bowl and pour some of the chicken broth into it, to help it melt. Set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons lard or oil to a large saucepan. Once melted, remove from heat and set aside.

Working in batches, add everything from the pot with the chilies to a blender and add enough of the reserved chicken broth to allow the mixture to blend. During one of the batches, add ¼ cup of reserved toasted sesame seeds. Blend each batch for several minutes, until completely smooth, adding more chicken broth if needed.

Pour sauce through a fine mesh strainer (discarding what’s leftover in the strainer) into the pot with the melted lard.

After everything has been blended and strained to the pot, add the melted chocolate and broth mixture (you can blend it too, if the chocolate has not completely melted), to the pot. Add 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar, to start, then add more to taste, as needed.

Cook the mole sauce over medium-low heat for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring often. If the mixture is too thick, add more chicken broth (I usually end up using all of the remaining chicken broth). Taste and add salt or sugar, as needed.

Place chicken on a plate and ladle a big spoonful of sauce on top, then garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with Mexican rice and warm corn tortillas on the side.

For the Mole Sauce:

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/a5cwcYs9.mp4

Authentic Mole Sauce (Mole Poblano) made from toasting and blending sweet and earthy ingredients and spices into a smooth simmered sauce, served over chicken.

A flavorful recipe for Chicken Mole is made with Black Mole Sauce (Mole Negro)- smoky, spicy and nutty with dried chilies, and a hint of chocolate. A flavorful Oaxacan-inspired meal.

Chicken Mole Recipe 

Mole Negro Sauce

onions

chicken

cumin

coriander

chili powder

olive oil

broth or stock

Make the pickled onions

Make the Mole Negro Sauce(feel free to make this ahead)

Mix the salt and spices together in a small bowl. (Aim for 1 teaspoon salt per pound of chicken). Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with the salt-spice rub.

Heat the oil in a large oven-proof skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken until golden on both sides. Add the stock, then add the Mole Negro sauce, (saving a little of it up for touching up at the end). Give the pan a good shake and make sure the chicken is coated well and nestled in. It may seem like a lot of sauce, but the extra sauce will get mopped up, I promise!

Cover and place in the oven until the thighs are cooked all the way through,(165F) about 20 minutes.  Test a piece for tenderness, it should pull apart easily with two forks. You can either leave the thighs whole or lightly shred (best for tacos). If leaving whole, feel free to lather up with remaining Mole sauce.

Sprinkle with toasted sesame seed and cilantro.

This was REALLY delicious! I made the mole sauce 2 days in advance and the flavors came together beautifully. I've always loved the complexity of a good mole sauce but had never tried to make one before now. It whipped right up in the blender! I will definitely make it again.

Me and my family thought this was the best dish of 2021! Not too sweet and not too spicy, but rich with great depth of flavor. It’s a keeper, and my family, typically not Mexican food fans, have already requested a repeat performance! Thank you!

I made this and it was the best mole I’ve had-EVER! I am never disappointed with your recipes. They are spot on, delicious and present beautifully.

This was superb! I made the mole a little bit milder by adding a can of chopped tomatoes and extra peanut butter.  It was enjoyed by a wide variety of palettes, and there is ample sauce leftover for future use.  Delicious!

A HUGE hit with the family!  This was an incredible mole.  So rich and full if flavor!

How to make Mole Negro Sauce- a deep, smoky, slightly spicy sauce that hails from Mexico made with dried black chilies, warming spices and a hint of bittersweet chocolate. Trust me, you'll want to put this on everything. Vegan! Make this in 35 minutes!

chilies

prunes (or dark raisins)

onion-

6-10 garlic cloves- smashed

cumin (ground

coriander (ground

nutmeg

chipotle adobo sauce

peanut butter (or sub tahini paste, almond butter, cashew butter)

Tear the dried chilies apart (or cut with scissors) discard seeds and stems and place them in a dry skillet. Toast over medium heat until they begin to release their oils (they will take on a slight sheen), 3-4 minutes.

Place them in medium pot, add 4 cups of broth. Bring to a boil, cover, turn the heat down to low and simmer covered, 10 minutes.

Add the prunes, stir, cover, simmer on low 10 more minutes, turn the heat off, let cool, saving the liquid.

At the same time, saute the onions and garlic in 2 tablespoons olive oil, over medium heat, stirring often until deeply golden brown, about 10 minutes. Take your time here and let them get dark. Add all the spices and stir 1-2 more minutes, toasting the spices.

Place the cooked onion-spice mixture in a blender along with the chilies and prunes and all the liquid, and chipotles and the adobo sauce ( if using).  Feel free to add a little more broth to get the blender going. Blend until very smooth, scraping down the sides. If it feels very thick, loosen with more broth. It should be like the consistency of a thick smoothie. Once silky smooth, pour this back into the pan and heat over low heat, covering.

When warm, stir in the salt, peanut butter and chocolate. Once the chocolate is fully melted and incorporated, give a taste.

Adjust seasonings

Add more heat if you like (chipotle sauce or chipotle powder). Add more chocolate if you like. It should taste deep and smokey, slightly salty and slightly sweet. If it lacks depth, more salt may help bring out the other flavors or a tiny splash of soy sauce.  To add more sweetness, a tiny splash of agave or maple syrup will help here.  If you want it smokier, stir in smoked paprika or adobo sauce from the canned chipotles. If it is too spicy, add more peanut butter and broth and reseason with salt.

To loosen the sauce, feel free to add more broth or stock.

Absolutely wonderful and I didn’t even have all the right ingredients!   So happy I found this site.  I’ve been making many dishes to rave reviews, but this is my first time commenting.  
I love mole sauce and judge a Mexican restaurant by its mole.  I made the recipe as directed with two exceptions: I only had one type of dried Chile (ancho), and I was forced to substitute dates for the prunes/raisins.  I did have the chipotle in adobo sauce and took care to remove most of the seeds to control heat.  It came out perfect! Smooth, not too sweet with a small bite… some heat but not too much.  I used it in the chicken mole recipe. Loved it!

Wow. Wow. Wow. Amazing mole recipe! I've been keeping my eye on this recipe and was going to wait until more reviews were posted before attempting it... but I just went for it. The result was incredible and totally worth the risk! Used chipolte and acho chiles and the sauce is spicy, rich, and complex. My batch needed a bit more chocolate to even it out the flavors. This one is going in the make again folder for sure. Thank you!

I am relatively new to this website and loved this recipe so much that I had to leave a review. Excellent flavor with so much flexibility!

I followed the recipe exactly and even my husband took notice of the wonderful blend of flavors. I frequently order mole when dining out but I was so satisfied with this recipe that I can look for something else on a menu now. 

I am sure that an individual’s spice selection can impact the recipe negatively if using inferior products or old expired bottles. I always order from Penzey’s and found that using a blend of Adobe chili powder and Medium heat chili powder provided perfect heat (along with the adobe peppers/sauce) and the blend of dried peppers I found at Safeway.

The sauce is very rich and beautiful and freezes well. I made simple chicken enchiladas and froze the rest of the sauce and assembled chicken/veggie quesadilla with sauce on the inside with cheese for a quick dinner. I also mixed a small amount with sour cream to add a fresh green salad on the side. Thanks for making me look like a pro on my first attempt of making mole!

I am looking forward to sharing this beautiful creation with friends now that I have given it a try.

This is a wonderful recipe, especially because the author shares some details about each kind of chile pepper and gives some choices. I used 3 kinds of chiles, adding chiles negros, and I added fresh cherries (no pits) to the pepper pot, since I didn't have as many prunes as called for, and I added a few tomatillos to the onion mix... it seemed like the kind of recipe where I could experiment. I also boiled cut chicken in broth with bay leaves and onions, and then i put the sauce on the chicken in casserole dishes and baked at the end. The dish was FANTASTIC!  A rich, wonderful flavor and such an artistic experience! It did take a little longer than the recipe suggested, but I was taking my time, tasting everything, noticing how well the many flavors and smells connected... really a terrific recipe. THANKS!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/uH3y02xF.mp4

How to make Mole Negro Sauce ( aka black Mole sauce) a deep, smoky, slightly spicy sauce that hails from Mexico made with dried black chilies, warming spices and a hint of bittersweet chocolate. Trust me, you’ll want to put this on everything. Video 

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