Abuelas Chicken Mole Recipes

CHICKEN MOLE

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken pieces in the hot oil until golden brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Reduce heat to medium, and stir in the bay leaf, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, cloves, and cinnamon until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the tomatoes, brown sugar, and chicken broth, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once simmering, stir in the chocolate chips until melted, then return the chicken pieces to the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken is tender and no longer pink at the bone, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the raisins, and cook 3 minutes longer. Sprinkle with sesame seeds to serve.

CHICKEN MOLE WITH FOUR CHILES

Steps:

• Remove the stems, veins and seeds from the chiles (you might want to wear gloves when you do this). Heat the lard in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the chiles, and cook and stir until the chiles are fragrant, about 1 minute, being careful not to burn them. Remove the chiles and place them in a large bowl.
• Stir in the onion and garlic, and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove and add to the bowl with the chiles.
• Break the flour and corn tortillas into pieces, and add them to the skillet. Toast on both sides, turning often, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove; add to the bowl.
• If needed, melt a small amount of additional lard in the skillet. Add the plantain pieces to the skillet, and cook and stir until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove plantain; add to the bowl.
• Stir the almonds and peanuts into the skillet, and cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Sprinkle in the sesame seeds and continue cooking until sesame seeds are lightly browned, 15-30 seconds. Remove; add to the bowl.
• Warm the tomatoes over medium heat in the skillet until heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Break the chocolate into chunks and stir into the tomatoes until melted. Pour the chocolate and tomato mixture into the bowl with the chile mixture; stir to combine.
• Working in small batches, puree the mixture in a blender until smooth, adding a small amount of water if needed to make a smooth sauce.
• Place the chicken into a large Dutch oven; pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover and simmer over medium low heat until the chicken falls off the bone, 2-3 hours.

AUTHENTIC MOLE FROM VERACRUZ MEXICO

Steps:

• Place the water, chicken base or cubes and chicken in a stock pot. Bring the water to a boil, turn the heat down to a medium simmer, cover and cook the chicken for 1 hour or until fork tender and the meat shreds easily.
• While the chicken is cooking pour the oil into a large saute pan. Heat the oil on medium heat. Once the oil is hot enough add in all ingredients from the dried chiles to the garlic clove. Fry the ingredients for 1 minute or until fragrant making sure not to burn the chiles.
• Strain the ingredients and discard all of the oil except for 2 tablespoons Place the strained ingredients possibly working in two batches in the blender.
• When the chicken is done, remove the meat from the broth and add in 2 cups of broth into the blender and half of the fried tortilla. Blend on high for 5 minutes.
• Heat the 2 tbsp of reserved oil on medium heat in the large skillet you were using before and pour in the blended mole.
• Then pour the other batch of chile and spices into the blender with the other half of the tortilla and 2 cups of broth and blend on high for 5 minutes.
• Pour the other batch of mole in the saute pan and stir to combine. Place the piloncillo and chocolate in the mole and stir until melted. Taste to adjust for salt.
• Add in the chicken pieces spooning the sauce over the chicken. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes to marry the flavors. Serve with fresh warm corn tortillas and white rice.
• Enjoy!

ABUELA'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Marinate the chicken for approximately 10 minutes in a bowl containing the green peppers, oregano, garlic, black pepper, olives, celery, parsley, coriander, and thyme.
• In an iron pot, heat 3 tablespoons of oil, reserving 2 tablespoons for later use. Add sugar to heated oil and quickly stir. When sugar turns dark brown, add the chicken (without the vegetables), being careful with splattering oil. Stir, cover and let simmer at medium heat for 10 minutes, adding tablespoonfuls of water regularly to prevent it from burning. Add the vegetables. Add tomato paste and stir to combine. Add remaining water and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste.
• Add the rice and stir often to avoid excessive sticking. Once all the water has evaporated, cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer over very low heat. Wait 15 minutes, uncover and stir, before adding remaining oil. Cover and wait another 5 minutes. Taste rice for doneness; it should be firm but tender inside. If necessary, cover and leave another 5 minutes over very low heat.