Michoacán Turkey Mole

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large stockpot for turkey broth
• •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet for chiles and vegetables
• •High-powered blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Wide clay cazuela or heavy Dutch oven
• •Wooden spoon for frying mole paste

Instructions

1. 1

   Simmer the turkey

   Put the turkey pieces in a large stockpot with the cold water, halved onion, halved head of garlic, bay leaves, and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then lower the heat and skim the foam during the first 20 minutes. Cook until the turkey is tender but not falling apart, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours for pieces. The broth is part of the mole, so keep it clean and quiet. A violent boil gives you cloudy broth and dry meat.

2. 2

   Reserve the broth

   Lift the turkey pieces onto a tray and cover them loosely. Strain the broth and reserve at least 5 cups. Discard the spent onion, garlic, and bay leaves. Taste the broth. It should be lightly seasoned, not salty, because it will reduce later in the mole.

3. 3

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the guajillo, ancho, and pasilla chiles separately, 15 to 30 seconds per side, pressing them flat with a spatula until the skins puff and the smell turns deep and fruity. The pasilla burns fastest. Watch it like a market vendor is watching your hands. Burned chile makes bitter mole, and there is no fixing that later.

   This mole is not chocolate sauce. The chiles carry the dish. The chocolate rounds the bitterness at the end, it does not lead the pot.
4. 4

   Soak the chiles

   Place the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover them with hot water, not boiling water. Let them soften for 20 minutes. Drain them, saving 1 cup of the soaking liquid only if it tastes clean. If it tastes harsh or bitter, throw it out. Use turkey broth instead. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado, they will tell you the same.

5. 5

   Char the vegetables

   On the same comal, roast the tomatoes, tomatillos, quartered onion, and unpeeled garlic cloves until the skins blacken in spots and the flesh softens. Peel the garlic. The tomato gives body, the tomatillo gives a small edge of acidity, and the char gives the mole its backbone. Do not make this taste like raw salsa.

6. 6

   Fry the seeds

   Melt 2 tablespoons of the lard in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds, tortilla pieces, bread, and raisins in separate small batches, removing each as it turns golden. The sesame will jump and darken fast. Keep it moving. These ingredients thicken the mole and give it the rounded flavor people mistake for sweetness.

7. 7

   Toast the spices

   Toast the cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, Mexican oregano, and cumin in the dry skillet for less than a minute, just until fragrant. Spices are not decoration. Too much clove will bully the pot, and then the mole tastes like medicine. Use restraint.

8. 8

   Blend the mole

   Blend the softened chiles with the roasted tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, peeled garlic, fried nuts, sesame, tortilla, bread, raisins, toasted spices, and 2 cups of turkey broth. Work in batches and blend each batch until completely smooth. Add only enough broth to keep the blades moving. A lazy blender makes gritty mole. Strain the puree through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing hard with a spoon.

9. 9

   Fry the paste

   In a wide clay cazuela or heavy Dutch oven, melt the remaining lard over medium heat. Add the strained mole paste carefully. It will sputter, so stand back and stir with a wooden spoon. Fry 12 to 15 minutes, scraping the bottom, until the paste darkens from brick red to deep mahogany and the lard begins to shine at the edges. La manteca es el sabor. This is where the mole becomes mole.

10. 10

    Thin and simmer

    Add 3 cups of reserved turkey broth, one cup at a time, stirring until the sauce loosens into a thick, glossy mole. Add the Mexican chocolate and stir until it melts. Simmer gently for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring often so it does not catch on the bottom. The mole should coat the spoon heavily, then fall back into the pot in slow folds. If it gets too thick, add more broth.

11. 11

    Return the turkey

    Nestle the turkey pieces into the mole and spoon sauce over every piece. Simmer 20 minutes more so the meat takes the flavor of the sauce. Taste for salt now. The mole should be balanced: chile first, nuts and sesame behind it, chocolate only as a quiet finish. No me vengas con atajos. If it tastes raw, it needs more time.

12. 12

    Serve from cazuela

    Toast the extra sesame seeds until pale gold. Bring the turkey to the table in the cazuela, with the glossy mole pooling around the pieces, and scatter the sesame over the top. Serve with arroz rojo and warm corn tortillas. This is food for a celebration, not individual little plates. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Chef Tips

• •Buy chiles from a vendor who moves inventory. Guajillo should be pliable and brick red, ancho should smell like raisins and tobacco, pasilla should be dark and wrinkled but not dusty. If the chiles crack like old paper, they are dead. Start at the market, not the stove.
• •Use manteca de cerdo. Vegetable oil will fry the paste, but it will not give the mole the same roundness or gloss. La manteca es el sabor, and Michoacán knows this better than anyone.
• •If whole turkey is too much, use bone-in turkey thighs and drumsticks. Breast alone is too dry for this dish. The bones are not optional because the broth carries the mole.
• •A clay cazuela gives steady heat and belongs on the table in Michoacán. If you do not have one, use a heavy Dutch oven and serve in the widest earthenware dish you own.
• •This mole is better the next day. The chile, nuts, sesame, and chocolate settle into each other overnight. Make it one day ahead for a wedding table, a holiday table, or any table where people know enough to wait.

Advance Preparation

• •The turkey can be simmered one day ahead. Refrigerate the meat and broth separately, then skim any solid fat from the broth before using.
• •The finished mole can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Reheat gently with a splash of turkey broth, stirring often so it does not scorch.
• •The chiles, nuts, seeds, tortilla, bread, and spices can be toasted several hours ahead. Keep them covered at room temperature, then blend when ready to fry the mole.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 520g)