Authentic Oaxacan Mole Negro

About This Recipe

Mole negro is Mexico's most revered and complex sauce, a cornerstone of Oaxacan cuisine and one of the most sophisticated culinary creations in all of world cooking. It begins with a foundation of dried chiles — mulato, ancho, chihuacle negro and pasilla — that are toasted, rehydrated and blended with toasted seeds and nuts, charred onion, garlic, tomato, tomatillo, spices, stale tortilla, plantain, raisins and, crucially, dark Mexican chocolate. The result is a sauce of extraordinary depth, with layers of smoky, bitter, sweet, earthy and subtly spicy flavor that no single description can capture. Making mole negro from scratch is a project measured in days, not hours. Each component is toasted, charred, fried or cooked separately before being blended in stages and simmered together in lard until the sauce is dark, glossy and impossibly rich. In Oaxaca, mole negro is made communally for weddings, funerals and festivals — the labor itself is part of the ceremony. Home cooks in Mexico keep their family mole recipes as closely guarded secrets. Served over turkey (the traditional mole negro bird) or chicken, on enchiladas, or alongside black beans and rice, mole negro rewards the time investment with a dining experience unlike anything else in Mexican food. Even a simplified home version using quality paste as a base will deliver something remarkable. Make it for a special occasion and it will become one of the great dishes of your cooking life.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 4chihuacle negro chiles(toasted, soaked)
• 4ancho chiles(toasted, soaked)
• 4mulato chiles(toasted, soaked)
• 2pasilla chiles(toasted, soaked)
• 1chipotle chile in adobo
• 4 ozMexican dark chocolate (Ibarra)(chopped)
• ¼ cupsesame seeds(toasted)
• ¼ cuppepitas (pumpkin seeds)(toasted)
• ¼ cupblanched almonds(toasted)
• 3 tbspraisins
• 3roma tomatoes(charred)
• 4tomatillos(charred)
• 1white onion(halved and charred)
• 6 clovesgarlic(charred)
• 1stale corn tortilla(torn and fried golden)
• ½ripe plantain(sliced and fried)
• 1 stickMexican cinnamon (canela)
• 4cloves
• 8black peppercorns
• 1 tspdried thyme
• 1 tspdried marjoram
• 4 cupsturkey or chicken broth
• 3 tbsplard or vegetable oil
• 1 tbspsugar(or to taste)
• salt(to taste)

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast and rehydrate chiles

   Wipe chiles with a damp cloth. Toast each chile in a dry skillet over medium heat 30 seconds per side until fragrant. Submerge in hot water 30 minutes. Drain, reserving soaking water.

2. 2

   Char vegetables

   Char tomatoes, tomatillos, onion and garlic directly over a gas flame or in a dry cast iron skillet until blackened in spots. The char is essential flavor.

3. 3

   Toast nuts and seeds

   Toast sesame seeds, pepitas and almonds separately in a dry skillet until golden and fragrant. Fry tortilla pieces and plantain slices in oil until golden.

4. 4

   Blend in batches

   Blend rehydrated chiles with a little soaking water until smooth. Blend nuts, seeds, fried tortilla and plantain with broth. Blend charred vegetables separately. Blend spices with a little broth.

   Blend each component until completely smooth — uneven texture in mole is noticeable.

5. 5

   Fry the mole

   Heat lard in a very large, heavy pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chile puree — it will splatter dramatically. Stir constantly and fry 5–8 minutes until darkened. Add nut-seed puree, then vegetable puree. Fry each addition.

6. 6

   Simmer and finish

   Add remaining broth, chocolate, sugar and salt. Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, 45–60 minutes until sauce is thick, dark and glossy. It should coat a spoon thickly.

   The long simmer is where the flavors marry and the sauce develops its characteristic depth.

7. 7

   Serve

   Serve over roasted turkey or chicken pieces with sesame seeds on top, rice and fresh tortillas.

Variations

• •

  Mole Rojo: a simpler red mole using ancho and guajillo chiles without chocolate.

• •

  Mole Amarillo: yellow mole of Oaxaca using costeño amarillo chiles and tomatillos.

• •

  Mole over Enchiladas: use thinned mole as sauce for chicken-filled corn tortilla enchiladas.

Storage

Mole negro keeps refrigerated 2 weeks and freezes up to 6 months — it actually improves with age. Reheat gently with a splash of broth.

Frequently Asked Questions