Chicken Mole Poblano recipe

Serves: 6

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 1 hour 30 mins

Total time: 2 hours

Dietary:

Meal type: main

Misc:

Occasion: party BBQ

Author: dghchocolatier

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Ingredients

  • 1 dried ancho chilli
  • 2 dried rocoto chillies
  • 2 tsp chipotle chilli flakes
  • 60g blanched almonds
  • 25g stale bread, crumbed
  • 20g sesame seeds
  • 1½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 1½ tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 tbsp cocoa butter/oil
  • 85g raisins
  • 20g pumpkin seeds
  • 1 med onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 tbsp cocoa/apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp orange juice
  • 700ml chicken stock
  • For the Marinated chicken 1kg bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, 2 tbsp chipotle chilli flakes 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp flaky sea salt 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 70g Dark Chocolate plus seasoning
  • 20 soft Tortilla soured cream Steamed Rice, to Serve

Method

De-seed the ancho and rocoto chillies (keep the seeds), discarding the stems.

Toast the chillies in a dry pan for a minute or so. Tip into a bowl, cover with boiling water and rehydrate for 20 minutes. Drain,

Save one rocoto chilli for the chicken, then finely chop the rest.

Next toast the sesame seeds, almonds, bread, spices and reserved chilli seeds in a dry pan until fragrant; allow to cool completely then grind to a powder.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the raisins and cook until they plump up, then add the pumpkin seeds and brown a little.

Add the onion and cook for 8 minutes until soft and golden.

Add the chopped chillies and garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add the vinegar and orange juice and reduce slightly.

Add the ground spice, seed and nut mixture, plus 300ml of stock, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, add another 200ml stock and blitz until smooth.

Add the chocolate and the remaining stock to the sauce. stir until the chocolate has melted and the sauce has a thick gravy-like consistency.

Season to taste and blend once more to get the sauce as smooth as possible. adjust the sauces viscousity with a little water if needed.

Pat the chicken dry using kitchen paper;  Finely chop the rocoto chilli you saved and pop in a bowl along with the rest of the marinated chicken ingredients.

Mix well, add the chicken and turn to coat the chicken evenly cover and marinate in the cooler overnight.

remove from the cooler and allow the chicken come to room temperature.

Light your barbecue for indirect cooking (coals heaped to one side). When the coals are white, put the chicken thighs on the grill above the coals, and cook for 5 minutes.

Turn, cook for another 5 minutes until evenly browned. Flip the chicken again then transfer to the other side of the barbecue (indirect heat) and cook for a further 30 minutes (with the lid on if the barbecue has one, and vent slightly open) or until cooked through (the internal temperature should be 73°C, using a digital thermometer probe). Remove the chicken to a board.

Reheat the mole sauce

Wrap the tortillas in a foil parcel and cook over indirect heat for 10 minutes, turning once or twice. Meanwhile, shred the chicken, discarding the skin and bones. Spoon a layer of cooked rice onto each tortilla, followed by shredded chicken, some of the warme mole poblano asauce nd soured cream.

Fold in the ends of each tortilla, roll up in tin foil and place back over indirect heat to warm through for 5 minutes.

Serve with ice-cold Mexican beer, with a wedge of lime in the bottle.

The mole keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days, and freezes well. 

Marinate the chicken the day before.