Mole brings me a lot of great memories, my grandmother used to make it quite often. She would invite the whole family to come to every Sunday afternoon and Mole was everyone’s favorite. The classic, made all from scratch Mole takes some time and dedication, it is a long process of toasting seeds and nuts; you have to cook and blend dry chiles, melt Mexican cholate, and many more steps that I’m not going to attempt to list. I loved my grandmother’s Mole, everything she made was so delicious, she put a lot of time and love in everything she cooked. See, I cook with a lot of love but most of the times, well… I don’t have much time so, I needed an easy, fast and delicious way to make homemade Mole, and this is it! This recipe, it’s even better than the Mole you can buy in a jar because I know everything I put in it, is wholesome and delicious. Even when chicken Mole is the most popular version, I love pork Mole as well. Ok, maybe I love it a little more. So that’s what we are making today. This mole sauce is not only easy but it absolutely delicious.
Now, let me tell you a little story. I was working on the Mole sauce when my sisters and their families came to San Antonio to surprise me for my birthday. I think I have mentioned before, all of my family lives in Monterrey, Mexico so, for 8 people to travel together to make it to San Antonio was a big deal. It was the happiest day ever, though! I had not seen my sisters since October last year, so, I’m sorry if the pictures for this recipe are not very good. I was making Mole, taking pictures, laughing and hugging people, all at the same time. The great thing is, now besides the memory of my grandmother making mole, I’ll have the memory of my sisters surprising me for the birthday.
I start by heating up a large heavy bottomed pot on medium high heat. I have about 1lb of boneless pork butt that I cut in small cubes. Place the pork in the pot and add water, just enough to cover the meat. Add a half of onion, one bay leave and 2 cloves of garlic. Bring it to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. Keep an eye on the meat so that the water doesn’t evaporate before the pork is done.
This is the pork completely done. Remove the bay leaves, garlic, and onion, and set aside.
Simmer the mole sauce for another 10 minutes. As I said, the longer it cooks the richer and better it tastes. The pork was already done, that’s why I didn’t simmer it longer. But if you do this with chicken, just simmer the sauce in a large pot on its own for 20-30 and then pour it onto the cooked chicken. If it gets too thick you can always add more chicken stock.
We all got to eat Mole and we all loved it. They pat my back after we were done eating it, which we did in about…3,2,1.
Ingredients
- 2lb bonless pork roast
- 1 onion, divided
- 5 garlic cloves, divided
- 1 bay leave
- 3 ancho peppers
- 3 pasilla peppers
- 1 guajillo pepper
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 2 cups chicken stock
- Sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the pork in small cubes and transfer to a large heavy bottomed pot, add water to barely cover the pork. Add half an onion, 2 cloves of garlic and 1 bay leave. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or until the pork is tender.
- While the pork is cooking make the sauce. cut the peppers open and remove seeds and vains. Soak them in hot water for about 5 minutes.
- Roughly chopped the rest of the onion and garlic cloves and cook them until they're tender, about 8-10 minutes.
- In a blender, add the chiles, cooked onion and garlic, cocoa powder, salt, sugar, peanut butter, oregano and chicken stock. Blend for a few minutes until very smooth.
- When the pork is done it should have very little water left, uncover and let the water evaporate. Add the mole sauce to the meat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds before serving.
- Enjoy!
