Oaxacan Black Mole with Poached Chicken

What you need

• 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) chicken pieces, bone-in thighs, drumsticks and breasts
• 2 white onions, one halved, one cut into thick rounds
• 10 cloves garlic, 4 for the stock, 6 unpeeled for the mole
• 6 dried mulato chiles, about 60 g (2 oz)
• 6 dried pasilla chiles, about 60 g (2 oz)
• 4 dried ancho chiles, about 40 g (1.5 oz)
• 4 dried chiles de arbol, for heat; use fewer for a milder sauce
• 300 g (10 oz) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
• 2 ripe plantains, or 1 very ripe plantain and 1 banana; peeled and sliced
• 50 g (1/3 cup) raw peanuts
• 50 g (1/3 cup) almonds
• 50 g (1/2 cup) walnuts
• 60 g (2 oz) sesame seeds, plus a spoonful for serving
• 40 g (1/4 cup) raisins
• 2 corn tortillas, stale
• 2 slices stale bread, a bolillo or any crusty white loaf
• 1 cinnamon stick, about 5 cm (2 in)
• 4 whole cloves
• 6 allspice berries
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• 60 g (2 oz) Mexican drinking chocolate, or 40 g (1.5 oz) unsweetened chocolate plus 2 tbsp sugar
• 8 tbsp lard, or vegetable oil
• salt, to taste

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Put the chicken, the halved onion, 4 garlic cloves and 1 tbsp of salt in a large pot. Cover with 2 l of water and bring to a gentle simmer, skimming the foam.

2. 2

   Simmer for 35-40 min, until the chicken is cooked through, 74 °C (165 °F) inside. Lift out the chicken and strain the stock. Keep both.

3. 3

   Snap the stems off all the dried chiles and shake out the seeds. Tear the flesh into flat pieces.

4. 4

   Heat 4 tbsp of lard in a wide heavy pan over medium heat. Fry the chiles in small batches for 20-30 seconds per side, just until they darken and swell. Burnt chiles turn the mole bitter.

5. 5

   Cover the fried chiles with hot water and soak for 15-20 min. Drain and keep 250 ml of the soaking water.

6. 6

   In the same pan, fry the plantain slices until deep golden, 3-4 min per side. Lift them out. Fry the raisins for 30 seconds, until plump.

7. 7

   Toast the peanuts, almonds and walnuts in a dry pan for 4-5 min, then toast the sesame for 1-2 min, stirring, until golden. Keep each in its own bowl.

8. 8

   Toast the tortillas and bread in the dry pan until dark brown and brittle, 1-2 min per side.

9. 9

   Char the tomatillos, the onion rounds and the 6 unpeeled garlic cloves in a dry pan or comal until blackened in spots, 8-10 min. Peel the garlic.

10. 10

    Toast the cinnamon, cloves and allspice in the dry pan for 1 min, until fragrant.

11. 11

    Blend the chiles, plantains, raisins, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, sesame, tortillas, bread, charred vegetables, spices, thyme and marjoram in batches. Add the soaking water and about 600 ml of the chicken stock as needed. Blend to a very smooth paste.

12. 12

    Heat the remaining 4 tbsp of lard in a heavy pot over medium heat. Pour in the paste, standing back from the splatter. Stir constantly for 15-20 min, until it turns almost black and the fat separates at the edges.

13. 13

    Add the chocolate and about 600 ml more stock. Simmer on low for 40-50 min, stirring often, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon like thick gravy. Season with salt.

14. 14

    Slip the chicken into the sauce and simmer for 10 min. Serve with warm tortillas, scattering the extra sesame on top.

Imported from guiadetacos.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.