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Mole negro oaxaqueño

Name: Mole negro oaxaqueño
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: MX
Ingredients: 1.8 kg whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (or turkey thighs); 2 litres water; 1/2 white onion, plus 1/2 for the sauce; 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled, plus 2 more for the sauce; 2 tsp salt, plus more to taste; 6 dried mulato chiles, stemmed and seeded (seeds reserved); 6 dried pasilla chiles, stemmed and seeded (seeds reserved); 4 dried chilhuacle negro chiles, or extra pasilla/mulato, stemmed and seeded (seeds reserved); 2 dried chipotle (meco) chiles, stemmed and seeded; 2 ripe tomatoes; 2 tomatillos, husked; 30 g sesame seeds, plus extra to garnish; 30 g blanched almonds; 30 g raw peanuts; 30 g raisins; 1 corn tortilla, torn; 1 slice stale white bread, or 1/2 ripe plantain, sliced; 1 canela (Ceylon cinnamon) stick; 3 whole cloves; 5 black peppercorns; 1/4 tsp anise seeds; 60 g dark Mexican chocolate (such as Abuelita), chopped; 1 tbsp sugar, or to taste; 80 ml lard or neutral oil; 1 litre hot water, for soaking the chiles

60m

Prépa

120m

Cuisson

Portions

Difficile

Difficulté

Sauce noire et complexe à base de piments séchés brûlés, de noix grillées et de chocolat, mijotée avec du poulet.

#mexican#oaxaca#mole#chile#chocolate#chicken#festive

Portions

8portions

Ingrédients

Nutrition

calories540

protein34g

carbs26g

fat33g

fiber6g

Par portion

Étapes

Simmer the chicken

Put the chicken, water, onion half, garlic cloves and salt in a large pot (at least 6 litres) and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook 35-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Lift out the chicken, then strain and reserve the broth; discard the onion and garlic.

1.8 kg chicken
2 litres water
1/2 onion
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp salt

✅ C'est prêt quand : chicken reaches 74 C / 165 F, no pink near the bone

⏱40:00

Char the chiles

Toast the chiles a few at a time on a dry, hot comal or heavy skillet, pressing flat, 30-45 seconds per side, until blistered and almost black but not burnt to ash. In the same dry pan, burn the reserved seeds 1-2 minutes until black and smoking, then rinse the ash off under water. Soak the charred chiles and seeds together in the hot water for 20 minutes until softened.

6 mulato chiles
6 pasilla chiles
4 chilhuacle negro chiles
2 chipotle chiles
1 litre hot water

✅ C'est prêt quand : chiles are blistered almost black and soft after soaking

⏱20:00

Char the vegetables

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Toast nuts and spices

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Blend and strain

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Fry and simmer mole

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Finish with chicken

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Simmer the chicken

1.8 kg chicken
2 litres water
1/2 onion
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp salt

✅ C'est prêt quand : chicken reaches 74 C / 165 F, no pink near the bone

⏱40:00

Char the chiles

6 mulato chiles
6 pasilla chiles
4 chilhuacle negro chiles
2 chipotle chiles
1 litre hot water

✅ C'est prêt quand : chiles are blistered almost black and soft after soaking

⏱20:00

Char the vegetables

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Toast nuts and spices

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Blend and strain

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Fry and simmer mole

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Finish with chicken

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History & Culture

The Story Behind the Dish

📍 Oaxaca📅 Pre-Hispanic roots, developed through the colonial era🫓 MX

Oaxaca is known as the land of the seven moles, and the black one is the most elaborate of them all, reserved for weddings, baptisms and Day of the Dead. It layers native ingredients, chiles, tomatoes, chocolate, with others that arrived from Europe and Asia through colonial trade, cinnamon, cloves, almonds, forged into a single sauce over generations of Oaxacan cooks, mostly women, who guard their own version of the recipe.

The defining step is burning some of the chiles and their seeds until nearly black, a technique that looks like a mistake but is exactly what gives the sauce its colour, its bitterness and its unmistakable depth.

⭐ Why It's Famous

It is considered the most sophisticated sauce in Mexican cooking, a slow, many-ingredient labour of love that defines Oaxacan festive cuisine.

💡 Fun Fact

A proper mole negro can call for over twenty ingredients and several hours of work, which is why many families only make it for the biggest celebrations of the year.

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