Zoque Pork Mole (Ninguijuti)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Dry comal or heavy cast iron skillet
• •Heavy 6-quart clay cazuela or Dutch oven
• •High-powered blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Molcajete or spice grinder

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the pork

   Put the pork pieces, pork ribs or backbone, water, 1/2 onion, 2 garlic cloves, bay leaves, and salt in a heavy pot. Bring to a gentle simmer and skim the gray foam during the first 15 minutes. Lower the heat and cook until the pork is tender but still holds its shape, about 1 hour. The bones are there for body. Lean pork alone gives you a thin broth, and ninguijuti needs strength.

2. 2

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile chimborote and chile ancho one or two at a time, about 20 to 30 seconds per side, just until the skins darken slightly and smell deep and fruity. Do not blacken them. Burned chile turns the whole cazuela bitter, and there is no fixing that later.

   Chile chimborote can be fragile. Press it briefly against the comal with tongs, then move it off the heat. You want fragrance, not smoke.
3. 3

   Soak the chiles

   Place the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover with hot water. Hot, not boiling. Let them soften for 20 minutes, then drain. Boiling water toughens the skins and can pull bitterness into the sauce. A serious mole starts before the blender.

4. 4

   Roast the vegetables

   On the same comal, roast the tomatoes, the 1/4 onion, and the remaining 2 garlic cloves until the tomatoes blister, the onion chars at the edges, and the garlic softens in its skin. Peel the garlic. The roasted tomato gives the sauce body and acidity, but it should not taste like tomato sauce. The chile and masa are in charge here.

5. 5

   Grind the spices

   Toast the black peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, oregano, and thyme on the comal for 20 to 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Grind them in a molcajete or spice grinder. Spices this small burn fast, so keep your attention on the comal. La cocina no es decoracion, es trabajo.

6. 6

   Blend the mole base

   Transfer the soaked chiles, roasted tomatoes, roasted onion, peeled garlic, ground spices, and 1 cup of the pork broth to a blender. Blend until completely smooth, longer than you think. If the blender struggles, add a little more broth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on the solids. The sauce should be dark brick red and clean, not gritty.

7. 7

   Fry the sauce

   Melt the manteca de cerdo in a wide clay cazuela or heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the strained chile base carefully. It will sputter. Stir for 8 to 10 minutes, until the sauce darkens, thickens, and the fat begins to shine at the edges. La manteca es el sabor. Oil will cook the sauce, but lard gives it the taste of a Chiapas kitchen.

8. 8

   Add masa body

   Whisk the fresh masa with 1 cup of warm pork broth until smooth and pourable. Strain it if there are lumps. Stir the masa mixture into the fried chile sauce in a slow stream, then add another cup of broth. Keep stirring as it thickens. This is where ninguijuti becomes itself: a corn-thickened mole, not a flour gravy and not chocolate sauce.

9. 9

   Simmer with pork

   Lift the cooked pork from the broth and add it to the sauce. Add more broth until the sauce coats the meat generously but still moves in the pot. Simmer on low for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring often so the masa does not catch on the bottom. Taste for salt. The finished mole should cling to a spoon, glossy and heavy, with the flavor of chile first, corn underneath, and pork all the way through.

10. 10

    Serve the cazuela

    Rest the ninguijuti for 10 minutes before serving. Bring it to the table in the cazuela with warm corn tortillas and white rice. No cheddar. No sour cream. No lettuce pretending it was invited. This is Chiapas fiesta food. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Chile chimborote is the regional chile to look for. Ask at Mexican mercados with Chiapas or southern Mexico vendors. If you cannot find it, use 4 chile ancho and 2 chile guajillo, but say the truth: it is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Use fresh nixtamal masa if you can buy it from a tortilleria. Masa harina works when it must, but fresh masa gives the sauce a deeper corn flavor and a better body.
• •Pork loin is common in home versions because it slices neatly for celebrations, but pork shoulder has better fat. If your family likes a richer cazuela, use shoulder. I would.
• •Do not add chocolate because you heard the word mole. Mole means sauce from Nahuatl molli. It does not mean chocolate. This one belongs to Chiapas and the Zoque table.

Advance Preparation

• •The pork can be simmered one day ahead. Refrigerate the meat in its broth so it stays moist.
• •The chile base can be toasted, soaked, blended, strained, and refrigerated one day ahead. Fry it in lard on the day you serve the dish.
• •Finished ninguijuti keeps well for three days. Reheat gently with a splash of pork broth because the masa continues to thicken as it rests.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 370g)