Finally, whisk in the coffee and the stock (veggie or chicken work equally well here) over medium high heat and let it simmer. Add a little water or broth (one-fourth to one-half cup) if necessary to make a thick but pourable sauce. Once simmering, remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to make it nice and smooth. It’s a dense, rich mole with intense chile flavors. In a cooking class dedicated to mole at the Academia Falcon in Guanajuato, my classmates and I ground up fried bolillo roll, plantain, tomato, peanuts and cloves and stirred this into mole paste from the local market, along with freshly made chicken broth, sesame seeds, additional chocolate and sugar. 6 tomatillos, dry roasted on the comal. The internal temperature of your pork should reach 145 F. Remove from the grill and let rest 10 minutes. The recipes you will find here are healthier, low carb variations of classic comfort foods that soothe the soul. 3 ½- to 4-pound pork shoulder roast, fat trimmed, 6 cups chicken broth, divided, plus ¼ to ½ cup if needed, 5 tomatillos, husked and chopped (about 1 cup), ½ cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds), hulled, 1 bunch cilantro (tough lower stems removed), 7 poblano chiles, seeds removed, chopped (4 cups chopped), Shrimp Saganaki With Halloumi and Harissa, Sesame Cold Noodles With Crab and Crunchy Vegetables, Chopped Pear Salad With Buttermilk Dressing. It was like nothing I had ever eaten. Filed Under: Chicken~Pollo, Mole, Sauces, Traditional Mexican Recipes Tagged With: Chicken, Molé, Mole Verde, Pepian Verde, Sauces, Traditional Mexican Recipes. To prepare enchiladas: Combine shredded chicken with a little mole sauce. This is a great recipe to test out and dial in your Big Green Egg and get a good feel for temperature control too. It used to be that when you did find them, they were pedestrian, often hastily made with commercial pastes. Make this meal complete by making these other Bon Appeteach recipes too. On one of the main streets of Xico are shops that sell rich brown Xico-style mole paste -- cooks use this as a shortcut to cooking the labor-intensive dish. Pour the sauce over the top and sprinkle with pepitas. I like to cook the sauce first, then use a little bit of the mole to coat the pork tenderloin completely. Its ancestor was an aristocratic, chocolate-flavored concoction served to the emperor Moctezuma. Learn how your comment data is processed. Set aside for smoking. I also love a good (keto) cocktail and never believe in drinking alone! Read More…, Get all the latest directly to your inbox. In a pot on medium heat, saute the onion and olive oil for 3-4 minutes. Let the mixture come to a simmer then turn off the heat. Ladle generously with extra warm molé sauce. Let the coals get hot for about 10 minutes or so and close the lids to bring it up to the internal temp of 225 F. Once you reach this temp, place your ConvEGGtor attachment into the grill so the ceramic half moon stones are both in place to keep this cook 100% indirect. I hope youâll learn a little something while youâre here. Prep the pork tenderloin by removing any silver skin and patting it dry. All Rights Reserved. Some versions are spicy, others mild. In Puebla, a cozy little restaurant called La Gardenia garnishes rice with mole sauce. Serve with Mexican rice and fresh garnishes. Coat the entire pork tenderloin on all sides in an even layer to create a nice crust. Fill warm corn tortillas first and then lightly fry them, turning as needed, until soft. Use a thermometer to check the temperature and once it hits around 140 F you can remove it and tent it to rest around 10 minutes or so before slicing so the juices can redistribute. Add the pork shoulder and sear on all sides. We will make this over and over! This is my journey and I can't wait to see what the future holds. Add in the garlic and cook for a minute and mix in the fire roasted jalapeno (I include the seeds but they can be removed if desired). But traditionally meats were cooked in the sauce that suffused it with flavor. It still enjoys that honor. Add some of the molé sauce to pan with filled tortillas. The result is a very fresh, light tasting sauce that makes a perfect pairing with pork. Even the type of chocolate used can vary. The only thing wrong with this recipe is that I do not prepare it often enough! More than a century later, in Sor Andrea’s inspired hands, it became a sumptuous dish, delighting the viceroy and earning its standing as Mexico’s national dish. Get the full recipe below and read through for all the helpful tips and techniques to making this successfully on your grill at home! Traditional mole sauces could take days and well over thirty ingredients. All opinions are my own. Thank you! I have some friends who refuse to eat any foods that are green in color. As a culinary arts teacher for seven years, I have truly developed a passion for teaching, learning, and cooking. Stir in the almond butter, cocoa powder, and coffee. Place on serving plate. Some are very sweet, and others rely on only the sugar blended into Mexican chocolate tablets. If the sauce is too thick, you could add a little more broth. In Oaxaca, mole negro is a popular filling for tamales; you can find them in L.A.'s Oaxacan restaurants (such as Guelaguetza) or Oaxacan delis. if it's too thick, add a little more water. I had the grilled chicken already and it was delicious in this recipe as well. Mole is a popular sauce found in Mexican cuisine and is often known for being made with chocolate. Pro tip: Trim off the thin, tapered edge on the pork tenderloin. Next, I like to mix in the jalapeno and the almond butter. 1 Fire Roasted Jalapeno, skin removed and diced, 2 tbsp Coffee (save some from your morning brew), 2 Pork Tenderloins, trimmed and patted dry. Let the sauce simmer for another 10 minutes. Let it come back up to temp again so you’re ready to grill! The moles are basically the same style in Puebla, Veracruz and Guanajuato, where I bought a homemade paste that was so good I never cooked with it but ate it just the way it was, spread on a warm tortilla. Pour 2 cups chicken broth into the pan and cover. Because it was labor-intensive and expensive, it eventually became the fiesta dish, spreading to other regions. Not everyone has the time or skill to blend their own sauce, so even in Mexico, cooks use the pastes, which include the basic components -- chiles, chocolate, nuts and spices. Intrigued, I ordered it. This is a low and slow cook, but the beautiful thing about pork tenderloin is that it usually cooks in less than an hour give or take. Leftover mole sauce makes excellent enchiladas or a condiment for rice, eggs, and other dishes. But it’s not just for saucing meats; mole is also used in many other ways. The dish’s name came from mulli or molli (sauce) in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. Mole Verde de Pollo~ Chicken Braised in a Green Mole Sauce, of previously cooked chicken. Mole sauces usually get their body from a thickener, such as tortillas or bread, or both. Salt to taste. Even though we were beginners, the result, which we used to sauce the boiled chicken, was sensational. It’s just one of those recipes. blend all together. Enchiladas de Pollo en Mole Verde-Enmoladas. I would say this recipe does a great job of giving you a mole you will love and one that is also keto friendly and lower in carbs too! Her recipe offers an efficient sequence for roasting tomatoes, chiles, seeds, spices and other ingredients in a skillet, then pureeing, simmering and adding chocolate and thickener. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven. In Mexico, it is common to hand-select the components of the chocolate, which include cacao beans, almonds, sugar and spices, and have them ground to taste. Sweet, fragrant with spices, chile-infused yet elegantly balanced, it was a peak taste, a landmark in my search for great mole. It goes killer with this pork recipe! From Yerika Munoz, executive chef at Frida Mexican Cuisine in Beverly Hills. Then lightly and evenly coat all sides of the pork tenderloin and let sit while you preheat your grill. To serve: Ladle the chicken with plenty of mole sauce and garnish with extra toasted pepitas and cilantro. Mole Verde de Pollo, also called pipian, is chicken braised in a delicious green Mexican-style sauce. Place in a 325-degree oven and cook until the meat is extremely tender and easily pulled apart with a fork, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Add the onion, garlic and tomatillos and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Place the rub ingredients together in a bowl and mix. Mole sauces usually get their body from a thickener, such as tortillas or bread, or both. After we enjoy the mole with the whole pieces of chicken, I will shred all of the remaining meat. (It’s available at www.mexicochoco.com; other brands are widely available in L.A.). And mole negro requires dried chiles not available here, such as the chilhuacle, so for authentic flavor, it is necessary to use a paste from Oaxaca. Join me on this journey as I also learn new foods and cooking techniques. Slice in thin medallion sized pieces and fan out. The one state where moles are different is Oaxaca, the “land of the seven moles.” There you find mole negro (black mole), as well as red, green and yellow moles and moles estofado, coloradito and chichilo. I had 4 leg quarters that were previously grilled and I cut them in half to make 8 pieces, Preheat 3 tablespoons of grapeseed or olive oil to medium heat in a deep skillet. At this point I also sift in the cocoa powder and mix everything together to create a nice paste. Blend on high until smooth, set aside. Today you can find moles made not only with chicken, but also with pork. The addition of smoke added to both the mole sauce and the pork tenderloin is what absolutely makes this recipe a true winner. Today’s chefs tend to use chicken; for convenience’s sake, it is often roasted or boiled separately, then sauced with the mole. I always will suggest that you poach your chicken pieces in water to yield the best homemade chicken stock. Most pork tenderloins come prepped but may need some basic trimming. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I say this over and over. Particularly good were those at Dona Josefina, a restaurant in the mountain town of Naolinco, and those at Meson Xiqueno, in the colonial town of Xico. This recipe was written in partnership with Big Green Egg. 1:54. Step 3: Add in the remaining 2 cups of broth, oregano, epazote and previously cooked chicken pieces. I find sugar free almond butter a good lower carb substitute to using other grains or corn meal to thicken while still giving that noted nuttiness you often find. They went to Puebla to research the dish, then added their own refinements, boosting the chocolate flavor by adding ground toasted cacao beans as well as Mexican chocolate tablets. I returned to Mexico many times after that mole-awakening, often exploring regions where mole was important, particularly Puebla, Oaxaca and Veracruz. Though this cocoa based sauce often looks extremely intimidating (and it can be), I wanted to create an easier way (with less ingredients) to get some delicious mole-like flavors but in a lot less time and for a lot less work. One of the specialties of Maria Lopez of the Guelaguetza restaurants in Koreatown is coloradito, a sweet, lightly colored Oaxacan mole. A woman from Puebla told me that she uses animal crackers. Dedicated to my parents Ramiro and Blanca. Astonished by its richness and intensity -- chocolaty and spicy at the same time -- I wiped every trace from the plate and even brought home the plate (in those days, El Refugio sold its dinnerware). Mix until a thick paste forms and slowly whisk in the stock. And the Oaxacan migration that has mushroomed over the past two decades has brought the seven moles from that state to ours. I simplified it and added baby spinach to give it a deep green color. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12423-green-mole-with-chicken Blend on high until smooth. Let the mixture cool slightly, then blend in batches until smooth. Enjoy your company because the main part of your meal will already be done. Sor Andrea had to prepare her mole for a viceroy, but my class was luckier. © Copyright 2020 Lauren Nagel. Like Oaxacan mole verde (green mole), ours is made with fresh chiles rather than dried, but it comes from a Mexico City-born chef. Mayordomo, the famous chocolate producer of Oaxaca, has recently begun to export the red and black mole pastes that formerly were sold only at its outlets in downtown Oaxaca.