Step 1 of 10
Simmer the turkey or chicken in stock with a pinch of salt for 45 minutes until tender. Remove meat; reserve stock.
Step 2 of 10
Toast all the chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat, 30 seconds per side, until fragrant. Submerge in hot water for 20 minutes. Drain (reserve a cup of the soaking liquid).
Step 3 of 10
In the same dry skillet, toast separately: sesame seeds (until golden), pumpkin seeds (until they pop), almonds and peanuts (until golden), coriander and anise seeds. Set each aside.
Step 4 of 10
In a little lard, fry the plantain slices until golden. Set aside. Then char the tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic (skin on), and onion on the same skillet until blackened in spots.
Step 5 of 10
In a blender, working in batches with some of the stock and chile soaking liquid, blend everything: chiles, all toasted seeds and nuts, raisins, fried plantain, charred tomato/tomatillo/garlic/onion, all the spices. Blend until very smooth — strain through a sieve if you want the silkiest texture.
Step 6 of 10
In a heavy pot, heat the remaining lard until shimmering. Pour the mole paste in — it should sizzle hard. Stir constantly for 5 minutes — this is the *frying* step that develops flavour.
Step 7 of 10
Add 1 L of stock. Bring to a simmer. Cook 30 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce thickens and an orange-black oil rises to the surface.
Step 8 of 10
Drop in the chocolate. Stir until dissolved. Taste — adjust salt. The flavour should be deep, slightly bitter, faintly sweet, with the chiles in the foreground and the chocolate in the back.
Step 9 of 10
Add the cooked turkey or chicken to the mole. Simmer 10 minutes to marry.
Step 10 of 10
Plate: pieces of meat under a generous ladle of sauce. Scatter toasted sesame seeds. Serve with white rice and warm corn tortillas.
Ingredients 25
the meat
- 1 turkey leg + 1 thigh (about 1.5 kg), or 1.5 kg chicken thighs
the chiles
- 6 dried mulato chiles, stems and seeds removed
- 4 dried ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed
- 4 dried pasilla chiles, stems and seeds removed
- 1 dried chipotle chile (or 1 canned chipotle in adobo)
the seeds and nuts
- 60 g sesame seeds
- 40 g raw pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)
- 60 g whole blanched almonds
- 40 g raw peanuts (or substitute more almonds)
the fruit
- 40 g raisins
- 1 small ripe plantain, sliced 1 cm thick (or 1 thick slice stale bread)
the base
- 3 ripe plum tomatoes
- 3 tomatillos, husks removed
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 small white onion, quartered
the spices
- 1 × 5 cm canela (Mexican cinnamon stick)
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp anise seeds
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
the finish
- 90 g Mexican chocolate (tablet of Ibarra or Abuelita) or 60 g dark chocolate + 30 g sugar
the cook
- 3 tbsp lard (or neutral oil)
- 1.5 L chicken stock
- Sea salt to taste
the serve
- Toasted sesame seeds for garnish