Chicken Mole

adapted from the Sunset Crockery Cookbook
via the San Jose Mercury News

I've always wanted to find a mole recipe that I could do at home. This one was targeted to an all day simmer in a crock pot. My crock pot is out at the local Goodwill so I zipped this up in about 3 hours.

Since first writing this I have recovered a crock pot and made this in it. I let it simmer for five hours. It seemed thin after I removed the chicken, but when the shredded chicken was added back it acquired a nice consistency.

Nice to note that this recipe is gluten free!

A. sesame seeds 1/4 cup  
slivered almonds 1/2 cup  
California chili, dried 1 Anaheim, New Mexico, etc.

Toast the sesame seeds in a small, hot frying pan until golden brown; watch them closely. Remove from pan. 

Put almonds in pan and toast them to a golden brown. Remove from pan. 

Don't cheat on these steps, the golden brown color imparts a lot of flavor.

Put the chili in the pan and heat until it is softened well. Remove from pan and remove the stem.

 

B. yellow onion 1 large Chopped.
garlic 3 cloves Crushed.
raisins 1/3 cup  
chili powder 2 tablespoons  
coriander, ground 1/2 teaspoon  
cloves, ground 1/4 teaspoon  
anise seeds 1/4 teaspoon crushed
cinnamon stick 1  
almonds from above    
sesame seeds from above    
chili from above    


In a six quart oven proof pot with lid, (or your trusty crock pot) combine onion, garlic, raisins, chili powder, coriander, cloves, anise seeds, cinnamon, chili, almonds, and sesame seeds.

C. chicken thighs, bone-in 4 pounds With skin.
diced tomatoes 14 ounce can Don't get a flavored can. Look for a can without calcium added; calcium causes the tomatoes to hold their shape when cooked.
water 2 cups  
  tomato paste 1/4 cup  
  tequila 1/4 cup  

Rinse the chicken, pat dry, and place on top of the mix. 

Pour in tomatoes. Pour in 2 cups water.

Mix tomato paste and tequila, pour over the chicken.

Cover and cook at 325 for 2 hours. Check every 20 minutes to make sure there is still liquid in the pot.

Or crock pot it on high for two hours and on low for three.

 

D. unsweetened chocolate 1 ounce Chopped up.

When chicken is tender, remove it to a plate. 

Remove cinnamon stick and the stem of the chili. 

Use a hand held stick type puree device or a food processor and go at it until the mixture is smooth. (NOTE: if you do this in a blender - not recommended - do NOT put the top on the blender. If you do you will shoot mole all over the place and quite possibly suffer serious burns yourself.)

Add the chocolate and blend it again for 15 seconds. Wait a few minutes for the chocolate to melt from the heat of the mix. Then whirl the mixture a few more times until well blended.

Remove and discard the skin. Shred the chicken into a large serving dish. Pour the mole sauce over it. Prepare to enter heaven.

Serve with corn tortillas and more tequila.  Cooked chayote squash makes a nice accompaniment.

 

September 2006 Update:

I made this for the vegan crowd on Spyrock and switched tofu for the chicken. While it was tasty, it lacked in two ways. First, there was not enough difference in texture. Charlie corrected this the second night by adding cashews just before serving. Secondly, while it was good, it didn't have that savory mellowness that I expected. We hypothesize that the fat in the chicken helps the spices to blend. For vegetarians I'd suggest adding two tablespoons of butter or even just vegetable oil.

October 2006 Update:

I seem to be on a mole kick. This time I did the vegan version with two tablespoons butter. This time at the end I added three cups of chopped pecans. Served over rice, this was excellent.

September 2008 - Made this for Mom while dad was in the hospital. We made half the recipe and used two legs and two thighs. She loved it.

March 2009 - Crock Pot Lady adapted this recipe and found it delicious too. Thanks to her for linking back to me as well.