Sublime Mexcan and Puerto Rican Fusion

Mole is one of Mexico’s greatest culinary treasures. when i was a kid, my parents would make mole often, bit i was never really a fan. As i’ve grown older, ive come to appreciate its rich flavor and the many regional variations that can be found through out mexico according to emily olivares in the history of mole, Mexico’s national tesoro , historical accounts show that mole like sauces were used by the aztecs in ceremonial preparations honoring xiuhtecuhtli, the Aztec god of fire.

As mentioned before my mother used to make us mole all the time as kids, At first my mother learned from my fathers family but began exploring as years passed. here are some examples of mole that you can buy at your local mexican/ hispanic/ international grocery store.

• Dona Maria Mole (most popular)
  • soybean oil TBHQ (Antioxidant)
  • Crackers ( most likely tortillas)
  • dried chili peppers
  • sesame seeds
  • sugar
  • peanuts
  • wheat bran
  • salt
  • fermented cacao etc
• teloloapan Casero ( my families favorite)
  • dried chilis
  • almods
  • cookies (wheat based , most likely tortillas)
  • sugar
  • raisins
  • sesame seeds (ajonjoli)
  • garlic
  • cinnamon
  • vegetable butter
  • pure canola oil
• La costena Mole ( variety)
• la preferida (variety)

PROCEDURE

POLLO EN MOLE (SLOW COOKED)

The first thing that you want to do before anything is prep your mole. whether that be buying at the grocery store or making it at home. with my dish. i had mole that prepared and kept frozen. if frozen make sure to leave out with enough time to defrost. after that it was straight forward.

next, we want to season our chicken and let rest in the fridge uncovered for about 30 min no longer than 3 hrs so that the chicken develops tight skin which will be great for a sear but also good for maintaining the chicken juicy and seasoned. at different restaurants that i have worked, the trick that they use is 1 portion salt and half a portion for pepper. This is helpful to have in your kitchen as you cook. I put it in a glass container with a lid to use whenever. anyways, make sure you season all sides of the chicken, as well as underneath the skin, but not breaking away the skin so much that it’ll tear when searing.

while the chicken is resting waiting to cook, we will work on onions and garlic. we want to do a Julienne on the onions, two ways, one a little thinner and another thicker. we will also get a small dice on the onion. we will use the thin slices for the chicken, thick slices for the beans and the small dice is for the rice. we will also do a rough mince on garlic to flavor all the dishes. we also want to set aside bay leaves and cilantro.

after prepping the tedious items the next step is to sear off the chicken quarters on a pan. using medium hi heat, place about a tsp of hi heat oil. i used beef tallow since i had some. when searing its important to know when to flip. you know its GBD (Golden Brown Delicious) when you try and flip the chicken and it doesn’t stick to the pan. if it stick then let cook longer. its important to be aware of the “flame” during this process, if you notice or smell that the chicken may be cooking unevenly or burning then lower heat. make sure to sear all sides of the chicken. this step inst done for aesthetic reason, however i did it this way to try and get as much of the chicken flavor in every piece of the dish. after searing. Place in slow cooker on the hi setting

once we remove the chicken, making sure tp work fast and to lower heat at about medium heat. we will saute the thin onions in the fond for about 5 min, we lower the heat and then ad in the garlic and let it cook for about a minute with the onion. making sure to NOT burn the garlic and moving often. once that garlic is fragrant remove both onions and garlic into the slow cooker.

after that there will still be fond on the pan, which we want. with the heat still on low we ill then get a cup of water at room temp and pour it in the pan, using a spatula to lift up the fond so it mixes well with the sauce we are creating. after that we will also add in the mole. making sure to keep stirring to make a thick sauce. if you need to let it simmer so it can reduce to a thicker sauce then do that. you don’t want a loose sauce since the chicken in the slow cooker will also be releasing liquids. i also add in a chicken bouillon and mix for it to break down.

once that sauce is to the consistency that you want, we then pour it all into our slow cooker. we add in dried oregano, cumin, bay leaves and lastly cilantro stems. we let that cook for about 3 hrs min.

MEXICAN STYLE RICE (ARROZ MEXICANO)

This process is a bit more tedious than the rest of the components of this dish. with this rice, the catch is constantly stirring, a watchful eye and a good nose. the first step is we wash our rice, for this dish i had basmati rice, however it is traditionally made with medium grain rice. we wash, making sure to tap the strainer as much as we can to get out as much water as we can. trust, you do not want to dump rice w water into a saute pan at hi heat. after the rinse we set aside.

using a wide saute pan on medium hi heat, add in about 2 tbsp of vegetable oil, we then wait for the oil to wrinkle, indicating its at temp. once we see that we then add in our rice. the rice wont move much at first but kept moving it with a spatula or a spoon. the goal is to get the rice to a nutty brown color. if you need to lower the heat to medium do so. if the heat is really high you can burn your rice and if you do that then you have to restart.once you see it start to change color, i then add in the small diced onion and add in jalapeno. alternatively, you can use any kind of chilli pepper for this, ive seen chile de arbol mostly. once the rice is almost to the right color we add in the garlic and let it cook with the rice for about a minute.

we then add in chicken stock with tomato sauce in the rice. since this is basmati rice the portions go 1 portion rice, 2.5 portion water. for medium grain rice it is 1 portion of rice for 2 portion of water. we also add in a packet of “sazon” which reinforces the red coloring from annato/achiote. then, we add in garlic, onion powder, oregano, cumin and we season TT with S&P. we mix it all and lower heat to medium heat, we let it reach a simmer, then add in cilantro and bay leaves. we cover and let cook at low heat for 25 min.

Refried Beans (Frijoles Refritos)

This is the most straight forward part of the dish. on hi heat, we saute onions and jalapenos with beef tallow. once they are GBD we lower the heat to medium and we add in some more garlic. same process. making sure to not cook until burnt and moving around. after the garlic becomes aromatic, add in your can of beans. we then add in oregano, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder and we season TT (to taste) with the salt and pepper. we stir and the ad a bit of stock or water. if using water, you can add in a chicken bouillon cube for extra flavor. stir, making sure to mix all the ingredients well.

Andreina Navarrete

Pollo en Mole (Chicken in Mole)

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Cook Time 3 hours hrs

Servings: 4

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Pollo en Mole (Chicken Mole)

• 2 cups mole sauce
• 4 ea chicken quarters
• 1 tdp Beef tallow
• TT S&P
• 1 ea Onions fine julienne
• 4 ea Garlic fine mince
• 2 ea bay leaves
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 bunch cilantro stems

Refried Beans

• 1 can Can of beans
• 1 tbsp beef tallow
• 1/2 cup chicken stock / water
• 1/2 ea onion julienne
• 2 ea garlic minced
• 1 ea jalapeno sliced
• 1 ea bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• TT S&P

Arroz Mexicano

• 1 cup medium grain rice
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup onion small diced
• 2 ea garlic minced
• 1 ea jalapenos sliced in half
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 oregano
• 1/4 cumin
• TT S&P
• Cilantro fresh bunch

Equipment

• cutting board
• butchers knife
• pressure cooker
• saute pans with lids
• spatula
• aluminum foil

Method

 

Pollo en Mole

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes to 3 hours.
2. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add beef tallow or oil. Sear the chicken on all sides until golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a slow cooker set to High.
3. In the same pan, sauté the sliced onions for about 5 minutes. Lower the heat, add the garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to the slow cooker.
4. Deglaze the pan with water / stock, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Stir in the mole sauce and chicken bouillon. Simmer until the sauce thickens slightly.
5. Pour the mole mixture into the slow cooker. Add oregano, cumin, bay leaves, and cilantro stems.
6. Cover and cook on High for approximately 3 hours, or until the chicken is tender.

Arroz Mexicano

1. Heat vegetable oil in a wide sauté pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted and golden brown.
3. Add the onion and jalapeño. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add tomato sauce, chicken stock, and sazón. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper.
5. Bring to a simmer, then add bay leaves and cilantro.
6. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed.
7. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.

Frijoles Refritos

1. Heat beef tallow in a sauté pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onions and jalapeños and cook until golden brown.
3. Lower the heat to medium, add the garlic, and cook until fragrant.
4. Add the beans and season with oregano, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
5. Stir in the chicken stock or water and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans reach your desired consistency.
6. Mash some of the beans if a creamier texture is preferred.

To Serve

1. Plate the Mexican rice and refried beans alongside the mole chicken. Spoon additional mole sauce over the chicken and garnish with fresh cilantro if desired.

Notes

• Store-bought mole works perfectly for this recipe, but homemade mole will provide the deepest flavor.
• The fond left behind from searing the chicken adds incredible depth to the mole sauce, so don’t skip deglazing the pan.
• Traditional Mexican rice is usually made with medium-grain rice, though basmati can be substituted with a slight adjustment to the liquid ratio.
• Beef tallow adds richness to both the chicken and beans, but vegetable oil may be used instead.

CITATIONS

The History of Mole, Mexico’s National Tesoro – Familia Kitchen