How To Make Oaxacan Black Molé

When people talk about molé that takes all day to make they are talking about Oaxacan Black Molé. This recipe would traditionally start with going out to the back yard and harvesting a chicken. Pluck it and break it down and boil it for an hour, reserving the broth. Then when the molé is done you heat the chicken up and serve them together. For the sake of this recipe we are going to skip all that and just make the molé. That is complicated enough. We like a good cooking challenge and this recipe rose to the occasion.

This recipe can be gluten free if you use gluten free bread.

The chiles for this molé are Chilhuacles Negros, Guajillos, Pasillas, Anchos, Moritas and Serranos. You may have to substitute for some of these.

Read More About Molé

Read our brief article on the history of molé.

Watch a Video

Here is a video of 2 Cooks in the Kitchen making Oaxacan Black Molé.

The Ingredients

• 5 Chilhuacles Negros, Seeded, seeds reserved
• 5 Guajillos, Seeded, seeds reserved
• 4 Pasillas Mexicanos, Seeded, seeds reserved
• 4 Anchos Negros, Seeded, seeds reserved
• 2 Chipotles Mecos
• 1 Serrano Chile
• 1 Head Garlic, Peeled
• 1 Onion, Chopped
• 2 Tbls Whole Almonds
• 2 Tbls Raw Peanuts, shelled
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 3 Black Peppercorns
• 3 Whole Cloves
• 1/4 Cup Oil – lard, bacon fat or olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tbls Raisins
• 1 Slice Gluten Free Bread
• 1 Plantain, sliced
• 1/2 Cup Sesame Seeds
• 2 Pecan Halves
• 1/2 lb Chopped Tomatoes
• 1/4 lb Chopped Tomatillos
• 3 sprigs Thyme
• 1/2 tsp Mexican Oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 Yerba Santa Leaf (optional)
• 5 oz Chocolate (100% Cacao)

Remove Stems and Seeds From the Dried Chiles

To start with we need to remove the stems and seeds from all the dried peppers, saving the seeds. We will use the seeds in this recipe. The Moritas don’t have stems and we want to keep their seeds in them so we don’t have to do anything to them.

Sweat the Chiles

Tear the peppers into strips. Get a dry cast iron pan hot and, working in batches, cook the chiles until very fragrant, stirring pretty much constantly. This should take 3 or 4 minutes per batch. This releases a lot of capsaicins into the air so if you can do this outside you’ll breathe easier, Otherwise, just try to provide ventilation. Once the chiles are cooked, put them into a bowl and work on another batch.

Soak the Chiles

Cover the chiles with hot water and let soak while you work on some of the other ingredients. We’ll be using the hot pan some more so keep it on the burner.

Cook Garlic and Onion

Add the garlic and onion to the hot pan and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring very frequently. You want to get some color on these.

Toast the Nuts and Hard Spices

Next put the almonds, peanuts, cinnamon stick, peppercorns and cloves in the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes stirring frequently. Scrape them into a bowl along with any blackened bits left in the pan.

Burn the Chile Seeds

Add the chile seeds to the pan and cook them until they blacken. Then we are going to light them on fire and let them burn until the fire burns out. This will pretty much reduce them to ash.

Soak the Chile Seed Ashes

When the fire goes out remove the seed ash to a bowl and cover with 1 cup of hot water to soak for 10 minutes.

Strain the Seeds and Chop Them In A Blender

Strain the seeds and put them in a blender. You can do this in a mortar and pestle, but we have a smaller blender that works well for this. You’ll end up with kind of a gritty charcoal paste.

Blend Chiles With Soaking Water

Working in batches, put the chiles into a blender with a little bit of the soaking water and blend until smooth. Pour off into another bowl and repeat until all the chiles are blended. Add the seeds to the last blenderful.

Push Through A Fine Mesh Strainer

Push the chile paste through a fine mesh strainer. This is kind of a process but it’s worth it to get the chile paste as smooth as possible. We like to use a rubber spatula for this job as the flexibility makes it easier to really push it through. If you feel like you need more pushing power you can try a metal serving spoon. Afterward you will have a nice, smooth chile paste.

Cook the Raisins

Wipe out your cast iron pan and return it to the heat. Put a drizzle of oil in, get it warm and then add the raisins. Black raisins would be most appropriate for this molé but if you only have golden raisins don’t hesitate to use them. The raisins will plump up as they reconstitute. Cook them for about 2 minutes and then remove them to a bowl

Darken the Plantain and Bread

Put the plantain in the pan with the piece of bread. Let them get darkened while turning them over a few times. Cook for about 5 minutes. We are using gluten free bread here to make a gluten free sauce.

Cook Sesame Seeds and Pecan

Add some more oil to the pan and toss in the sesame seeds. Black sesame seeds would be appropriate for this molé but again, use what you have. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the 2 pecan halves and cook for 2 more minutes.

Grind the Almonds, Peanuts, Cinnamon and Black Pepper

Put the nuts, cinnamon, cloves and peppercorns from earlier into a spice grinder and grind them up. Afterward put the finished product back in the bowl.

Grind the Sesame Seeds and Pecans

Put the sesame seeds and pecans in the spice grinder and grind them up. Then put them in the bowl with the other nuts.

Cook Tomatoes and Tomatillos

We are now down to our last few ingredients to prepare. Heat the pan back up and add some oil. When the oil is hot put in the tomatoes and tomatillos. Add the Mexican oregano and thyme and cook for about 20 minutes, trying to boil off some of the extra moisture.

Blend Tomatoes and Tomatillos

Blend the tomatoes and tomatillos. It’s a good idea to let them cool a little before you try to do too much with them. When smooth, put them into a bowl. This should blend easily but you can add 1/2 cup of chicken stock if you need it.

Blend the Onion, Garlic and Nuts

Working in batches, put 1/3 of the onion and garlic in the blender along with 1/3 of the plantain, 1/3 of the raisins, bread, sesame and spice mix and 1/3 cup of chicken stock. Blend this until smooth, put it in a bowl and repeat twice more.

Three Bowls Of Sauce

So now all our ingredients have been reduced to three bowls of sauce. We have the Chile paste, The Tomato/tomatillo sauce and the onion/nut sauce. Now It’s time to put the molé together.

Cook the Chile Paste

In a large soup pot, heat about 1/4 cup lard, bacon fat, duck fat or oil. When the oil is hot, tip in the chile paste. Cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. The chiles should darken in this time. You’ll need to keep a lid on it to prevent splashing.

Add Tomato/Tomatillo Sauce

Put the tomato and tomatillo sauce into the pan. Stir it in well and then let cook for 10 minutes.

Add the Onion Sauce

Now we’re ready to add the onion, nut, plantain, spice mix and let that cook together for 10 minutes.

Add Chicken Stock

We’ll add 1 Cup Chicken Stock and 1 1/2 tsp Salt and then let this cook for 20 minutes. The sauce will be quite dark at this point.

Add Yerba Santa and Chocolate

Toast the yerba santa leaf over a flame or in a skillet. This ingredient can be difficult to find. I found some on the internet and had them shipped. I’ve also found powdered yerba santa leaf which would work in a pinch. Break up the chocolate and stir it into the sauce. Add the yerba santa leaf and the rest of the chicken stock. Let this all cook for at least another hour. Keep an eye on it and if it gets too thick add more chicken stock.

A Finished Pot Of Molé

Now we have a nice batch of Oaxacan Black Molé and it feels like quite an accomplishment.

Uses For Oaxacan Black Molé

A couple ways we have used this molé – One was to put it on Chile Rellenos. The dark flavor of the sauce goes great with the deep fried cheesy goodness of a stuffed poblano pepper.

Another household favorite of the 2 Cooks is to cook chicken thighs in the sauce. Put the chicken in a baking dish with some pineapple chunks and smother with sauce. Cook for 45 to 50 minutes at 350 degrees. Plate with Mexican Rice and Cherry Tomato Salsa. Fabulous!

This is also a great sauce to use for our Molé Enchiladas.

Now that you have accomplished the most difficult molé, here are some more molé recipes to try:

• Molé Colorado
• Molé Verde
• Molé Amarillo
• Classic Molé Rojo
• Easy Molé Rojo
• Molé Coloradito
• Molé Chuchilo Negro
• Molé Manchamanteles
• Molé Poblano

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