Turkey Mole Rojo Recipes

MOLE ROJO (RED MOLE SAUCE) FOR TURKEY OR CHICKEN

Steps:

• Start raisins soaking in warm water (20 minutes). Prepare the chiles: remove stems and seeds. On an ungreased cast-iron frypan (or in a 250 degree oven) dry roast them 5 minute, shake a cuple times, don't blacken them. Add water to a covered pan and simmer the roasted chiles very low for 30 minutes. Strain, cool.
• Husk tomatillos, wash tomatoes. Blacken in dry skillet or under broiler (or in gas flame on a fork) about 5 minutes. Dry-roast sesame in frypan 5 minutes until they finish popping, don't burn them. Saute almonds in the oil over medium heat until browned. Drain almonds, reserve oil.
• Puree the prepared tomatoes, tomatillos, sesame seeds, crumbled tortillas, and alonds in a blender to a fine paste. Add chiles, soaked raisins, roast garlic (peeled), stock, spices, puree all together fine. Melt chocolate in a little hot water, add to blender paste. Check the volume. Add enough water to bring it all to 5 cups during the blending process.
• Put all the oil in a high-sided pan and heat almost smoking hot. Refry the sauce over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring constantly. Don't let it get too thick, add more water or stock if necessary. Strain sauce through a seive. Serve warm, not hot, over chicken or (especially) turkey.

HANK'S TURKEY MOLE

Steps:

• Remove the stems and seeds from the chiles. Flatten them out as best you can and toast them on a comal or cast iron pan set over high heat. You'll want a spatula to hold them down. You'll only need to toast the chiles for a few seconds on either side; watch for blistering, and when you see it, you're good.
• Toss the toasted dried chiles into some warm water to soak, and, when they're soft, puree in a blender with some turkey or chicken broth. You want a consistency like thick BBQ sauce. Set aside.
• In a large, dry pan, toast - one at a time - the sesame seeds, pepitas, pecans and coriander seeds. Set them all in a bowl to cool, then grind into a paste in a spice grinder. Set aside.
• Put the 1/4 cup of lard into a large, heavy pot like a Dutch oven. Set the heat to medium-high and sauté the onions until they begin to brown a bit. Add the garlic and raisins, then sauté another minute. Turn off the heat and let this mixture cool a bit, then put it in the blender.
• Smash up the charred tortillas and put them in the blender. Add the ground nuts, seeds and coriander to the blender. Add the black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, charred tomato and tomatillos to the blender, and turn it on. Add enough turkey stock to make the blades work, and puree this mixture. It should be thick, but pourable.
• Pour this into the Dutch oven. Add a little more broth to the blender to get all the stray sauce sticking to its sides and pour that in the pot. Add the Mexican chocolate and all the pureed chiles, too, mix well and bring to a bare simmer. You want the mole to have the consistency of melted ice cream. Add salt to taste.
• Simmer this mole for 20 minutes. As this is happening, salt the turkey breast well. After 20 minutes has elapsed, submerge the turkey breast in the mole. Simmer gently until it's done. I do this by sticking a meat thermometer into the fattest part of the turkey breast, and I pull the meat when it hits 150°F.
• Remove the turkey from the mole and scrape most of the sauce back into the pot. Slice against the grain, then serve with the mole, some cilantro and sesame seeds as garnish.

TURKEY MOLE

Steps:

• Make the turkey: Put the turkey, onion, celery, cilantro sprigs, cloves, allspice, star anise, peppercorns and 1 teaspoon salt in a large pot; add cold water to cover. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until very tender, about 1 hour, 30 minutes. Remove the turkey with tongs and transfer to a plate to cool slightly. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl. You should have about 8 cups broth; if you have more, simmer until reduced to 8 cups. Skim the fat off the surface. Remove the turkey skin; refrigerate the meat until ready to use. (The turkey and broth can be made 1 day ahead; cover and refrigerate.)
• Make the mole: Preheat the broiler. Put the tomatillos, tomatoes, garlic and onion on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil, turning, until charred, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Remove the skins from the tomatoes and garlic.
• Heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the ancho and pasilla chiles in batches, turning, until softened, 30 to 45 seconds; transfer to a bowl. Fry the tortilla in the hot oil, turning, until browned, 4 minutes; add to the bowl with the chiles. Cover with water and soak 30 minutes, then drain. Add the chiles and tortilla to the bowl with the tomatillo mixture and set aside.
• Meanwhile, discard the oil in the skillet and wipe clean. Heat another 1/4 cup vegetable oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the almonds and fry, stirring, until golden, 3 minutes. Add the raisins and stir until plump, 30 seconds; transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon. Add the pepitas and fry, stirring, until they begin to pop, 2 minutes; transfer to the bowl with the almonds.
• Discard the oil in the skillet and wipe clean. Heat the skillet over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and toast, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes; transfer to a clean bowl to cool. Add 1 heaping tablespoon of the ancho chile seeds, the allspice, peppercorns, cloves, star anise and cinnamon stick to the skillet and toast, stirring, 2 minutes; transfer to the bowl with the sesame seeds and let cool. Grind the sesame-spice mixture in a spice grinder to make a fine powder.
• Put the fried almonds, raisins, pepitas, sesame-spice powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 2 cups of the reserved turkey broth in a blender and blend until smooth; transfer to a bowl. Working in batches, blend the broiled vegetables, fried chiles and tortilla, 1 teaspoon salt and 2 cups turkey broth until smooth.
• Heat the remaining 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pureed chile mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes (be careful-the mixture will spatter). Stir in the ground almond mixture and 2 cups turkey broth; bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Stir in the chocolate until melted. Add the turkey thighs and simmer until heated through, about 30 minutes. The mole should be the consistency of gravy; thin with more broth, if necessary. Season with salt. Serve with rice and tortillas.

TURKEY MOLE ROJO RECIPE

Steps:

• 1. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium low. Working in batches, arrange ancho and guajillo Chile's in a single layer in skillet; cook, turning once, until lightly toasted, about 30 seconds per batch. Transfer to a large bowl; add 3 1/4 qt. Warm water, and let stand until Chile's are soft and pliable, about 30 minutes. Drain Chile's, reserving 5 C. Soaking water. 2. Add peppercorns, cloves, and cinnamon to skillet, toast over medium-low, stirring constantly until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to a plate. 3, Add garlic and onion halves to skillet, increase heat to medium-high; cook, turning garlic often, until cloves are tender and charred, 12-15 minutes. Transfer garlic to plate with spice mixture. Continue cooking onion, turning once, until tender and charred, about 5 more minutes. Transfer to plate with spice mixture and garlic. Peel garlic cloves, discard skins. 4. Melt 1 T. Coconut oil in skillet, add raisins, and cook, stirring constantly , until raisins puff up, about 40 seconds. Stir in oregano and thyme, remove from heat. 5. Working in batches, process soaked Chile's, spice mixture, garlic, onion, raisin mixture, pecans, almonds, tomatoes with juices, sesame seeds, and 4 C. Reserved soaking water in a high speed blender, scraping down sides of the blender as necessary to loosen mixture, until mixture is the texture of a thick and coarse tomato sauce, about 1 minute 15 seconds per batch. Add splashes of reserved soaking liquid as needed to reach desired texture. Pour mixture through a wire mesh strainer into a large bowl; discard solids. 6. Melt remaining 2 T. Coconut oil in a 12 inch high sided skillet over medium. Care fully pour strained mole mixture. (It will splatter). Cook, stirring often, until warmed through, 7-10 minutes. Transfer mole mixture to a slow cooker. Cook uncovered, on high, stirring every 30 minutes, until mixture resembles consistency of wet sand, 6 hours and 30 minutes to 7 hours. Remove from heat; stir in brown sugar and salt. 7. Place turkey broth in saucepan. Bring to a boil over high; whisk in 2 C. Of the mole mixture. Reduce heat to low; simmer, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened, 20-25 minutes. Season to taste with brown sugar and salt. Serve mole sauce over warmed leftover turkey and garnish with sesame seeds. MAKE AHEAD: Prepare mole mixture through step 6; store prepared mole mixture, covered, in refrigerator up to 1 week or in freezer up to 3 months.

TURKEY MOLE POBLANO

Steps:

• Heat about 3 cups water in a microwave-safe bowl for 3 minutes.
• Heat a griddle or comal over medium heat. Toast pasilla chiles, guajillo chiles, ancho chiles, cascabel chile, and morita chile for about 1 minute. Turn chiles over and toast until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove stems and seeds. Place chiles in the bowl of water; cover and let soak, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Place tomatoes on the hot griddle. Cook until blackened on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a blender.
• Heat 1/4 cup oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Transfer onion and garlic to the blender using tongs, tilting the skillet to reserve the oil.
• Toast cloves, sesame seeds, and coriander seeds in the hot skillet until fragrant and lightly browned, 30 to 60 seconds. Place in the blender. Cook cranberries in the skillet until toasted, about 1 minute; place in the blender.
• Pour an additional 1/4 cup oil in the skillet; reheat over medium heat. Stir in peanuts and almonds; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add to the blender, reserving oil in the skillet.
• Place tortillas in the hot skillet; increase heat to medium-high. Fry until slightly crisped, about 1 minute; place on a plate. Add the remaining oil and chocolate tablet to the skillet; cook and stir until melted, about 2 minutes. Pour into the blender.
• Place softened chiles and 1/3 of the soaking liquid into the blender. Add salt, white pepper, cumin, and oregano. Blend until smooth. Tear tortillas and add to blender; blend mole until smooth.
• Pour mixture into a large pot over low heat. Stir in broth slowly and add cinnamon stick. Simmer until slightly thickened and flavors meld, about 1 hour. Remove cinnamon stick. Pour mole over reheated turkey.