Thirty ingredients charred, toasted, fried, and blended into Mexico's most complex sauce—that's mole negro. The depth comes from charring chilies until they're almost burnt, creating layers of smoke and earth that build into something that tastes like ancient Oaxaca itself.
Ingredients
For the chilies:
🌶️ 250g chilhuacles negros
🌶️ 100g mulato chilies
🌶️ 50g pasilla chilies
🌶️ 2 chipotle chilies
For the spices:
🌰 1 tbsp sesame seeds
🫘 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
🌿 1/2 tsp dried oregano
🌿 1/4 tsp dried thyme
🍃 2 bay leaves
⭐ 2 star anise
🪵 1 stick Mexican cinnamon
Other ingredients:
🍅 4 ripe tomatoes
🧅 1 white onion, quartered
🧄 8 garlic cloves
🍌 1 ripe plantain
🍫 100g Mexican chocolate
🥜 50g peanuts
🍞 1 slice of bread, torn
🦃 2kg turkey or chicken, cut into pieces
🧂 Salt to taste
Instructions
- Toast and char the chilies: In a dry pan over medium-high heat, toast each type of chili separately until they're very dark, almost black. This is crucial - don't be afraid of the char! Transfer to a bowl and cover with hot water. Let soak for 30 minutes.
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Prepare the aromatics: Char the tomatoes, onion, and garlic directly over a gas flame or under a broiler until blackened in spots. Set aside.
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Toast the spices: In the same dry pan, toast the sesame seeds, cumin, oregano, thyme, bay leaves, star anise, and cinnamon until fragrant. Reserve 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds for garnish.
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Fry the plantain: Slice and fry the plantain in a bit of oil until golden. In the same oil, fry the bread until crispy.
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Blend in batches: Drain the chilies, reserving the soaking liquid. Blend the chilies with some soaking liquid until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Blend the charred vegetables, then the spices with peanuts, and finally the plantain and bread.
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Cook the mole: In a large pot, heat lard or oil. Fry each blended component separately, then combine. Add the chocolate and cook, stirring constantly, for at least 45 minutes. The mole should be thick enough to coat a spoon.
- Prepare the protein: Season and brown the turkey or chicken pieces. Add to the mole with enough stock to achieve a sauce consistency. Simmer for 1 hour.
Serving
Serve with warm tortillas and garnish with the reserved sesame seeds. This mole tastes even better the next day!
Notes
Don't be intimidated by the long ingredient list - each component adds a layer of flavor. I first tried authentic mole negro at a small fonda in Oaxaca city, which I wrote about in Oaxaca Street Food Adventures.
For a simpler Mexican dish, try my Cochinita Pibil or the comfort of Birria Tacos with Rich Consommé. Both share the same patient approach to building complex flavors through time and technique. Serve with warm tortillas and a side of Mexican Guacamole to balance the richness.
