Mole is a sauce that is used in Mexican cuisine. There are countless versions, and many (but not all) includes chocolate. Making mole can be labor intensive, but this recipe has been honed down to be easier and yet it still flavorful with chilis and chocolate. It’s so delicious and is perfect with pulled chicken on a sandwich. Try it, you’ll love it!
Ever since I got hooked on food blogs, in 2008, I rarely watch Food Network. One weekend morning, as I was folding laundry, I decided to click on Food Network . I’ve never watched “The Sandwich King” show (Next Food Network Star Winner “Jeff Mauro”, Season 7). Jeff was making a Chicken Mole Torta, and I found that episode reeled me into watching him make a dish I have never tried before.
Mole (Mo-Lay) sauce is something very unique, and there are countless versions of how it’s made. It’s a recipe that Latin American families take pride in, and many are family heirloom recipes. I did a little research, and found a commonality in the traditional recipe ingredients– chiles, sesame seed and/or almond, fruit, raisins and chocolate. I also needed diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock, garlic, onion, ground cinnamon and cloves.
Chocolate and chili sauce? Sounds a little weird, doesn’t it? That’s exactly why I couldn’t wrap my head around ordering a Mole sauce dish at a Mexican restaurant. Until now. Ever since I became a “Food Blogger”, I’ve opened up my palate to not shy away from trying new recipes.
I had just purchased Bone-In Chicken at Whole Foods. It was Cinco de Mayo weekend, so the decision was made. I was going to make this recipe. I already had most of the ingredients, and was pretty confident it would be good– especially after reading all the five star ratings.
All I needed to buy were the Ancho Chilis. The Chilis were baked for a few minutes, then finely chopped and set aside.
I buy canned Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce, and I rarely use them all at once. Chipotle peppers are smoked jalapenos, and I will warn you– they do pack a heat punch! I love spicy food, but I have to tone down the heat. So that I don’t waste the chipotle peppers, I freeze portions into small containers; they are easier to chop, frozen, and I just toss them into my Mexican-themed recipes.
For this recipe, Jeff uses almond butter instead of traditional finely ground almonds.
The prep work took close to 30 minutes, as I carefully measured and chopped my ingredients. Once that work is done, the rest is pretty straight-forward, but it does require another 30 minutes of cooking and stirring. Let’s make Chicken Mole!
First, we toast the sesame seeds, and set them aside. Heat either peanut or vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, a couple pinches of salt and saute until soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. The reserved ancho chiles and minced chipotle are added, then cooked until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Now, for the the chocolate, cinnamon, cloves and garlic– cook until the garlic is fragrant and the chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes.
Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, almond butter, raisins and sesame seeds. Gently simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
Place the mole into a blender and puree until smooth, about 1 minute. TIP: I much prefer to use an immersion blender, because it’s one less kitchen gadget to clean. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. If using a blender, add the mole back to the Dutch oven. .
Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper. Lay the chicken in the sauce in one layer, making sure each breast is entirely coated, and gently simmer, flipping once during cooking, until the breasts register 160F on an instant-read thermometer, 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside off the heat and let rest.
Using your hands, remove the skin and meat from the bones and discard.
Shred the chicken into smaller chunks and place back into the mole to keep warm. Season if necessary.
At this point, you can serve this dish over brown rice, with a garnish of sour cream and fresh cilantro– and an optional squeeze of lime juice. Delicious! This is how we enjoyed the leftovers on the following day. However, I chose to serve this as a “Torta” or Mexican Sandwich. In my previous posts, I shared how I made my own Mexican Bolillo Bread.
Any kind of sandwich rolls, would make a good substitute. Or, if you have a local Mexican bakery, buy a few and you won’t regret it.
To build this torta/sandwich you’ll want shredded lettuce, sour cream, cilantro, lime slices (optional), tomatillo sauce and refried beans.
On a previous post, I shared how I made the tomatillo (green salsa) sauce— which was really easy to make and adds a perfect tangy and ever-so-subtle spice to the sandwich. I debated on adding the refried beans– for one thing, I do not like canned refried beans. To me, there is something unappetizing about how they look, and I haven’t found one brand that is palatable to my Mexican DNA. However, I don’t have a problem with keeping canned beans on hand– they work great when I don’t have the time to soak my own beans. I decided to make black beans instead of pinto beans. Here’s my quick way of making my own fast refried beans:
In a skillet, I simply add a can of black (or pinto) beans with the liquid. Cook on medium high meat, so that the liquid will slowly evaporate. Mash and you’re done in about five minutes! You can add additional seasonings, to your liking– such as cumin or chili powder. This time, I left them plain.
Slather some refried beans on the sandwich roll, then add a mound of chicken mole, and some extra mole sauce…
Add sour cream, add some queso fresco (which I didn’t, because I forgot to buy some), and top with pickled jalapenos (which I didn’t do, but I’m sure would have been great for heat-loving folks), then add some fresh cilantro (my favorite).
…drizzle with tomatillo sauce
Serve with a pile of napkins, a cold Corona beer (optional, but recommend for those of you who are over 21) and dig in!
TASTING NOTES: Let’s zero in on the mole sauce. This is an alchemy of so many different ingredients, that you cannot distinguish the independent flavors. Not one single ingredient over-powered the other. It’s a beautiful reddish-brown sauce, with a slightly nutty flavor and you cannot tell that there’s chocolate as a surprise ingredient. Sweet, spicy, nutty, slightly tomatoey– just plain delicious! Where have I been that I missed out on the wonderful flavor of mole?!
As for the sandwich– it’s a messy affair, and one that my husband and I both enjoyed a lot. The next time I make this, I’m going to add a lot more heat to it by using an entire chipotle. I had fun learning how to make my own Bolillo Rolls. As an option, we really liked this recipe just as a stew, served over brown rice.
Chicken Mole Torta (Mexican Pulled Chicken Sloppy Joes)
Mole (Mo-Lay) sauce is something very unique, and there are countless versions of how it’s made. It’s a recipe that Latin American families take pride in, and many are family heirloom recipes.Mole sauce is a rich and spicy sauce that that is an alchemy of different flavors—tomatoes, garlic, raisins, almonds, sesame seeds, and chocolate to name a few.
Servings: 6
Calories: 844kcal
Ingredients
Chicken Mole:
- 2 ancho chiles dried
- 3 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce minced (these can be hot!)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 cloves garlic smashed
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 ounce)drained
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds toasted
- 4 pounds chicken breasts bone-in skin-on
Sandwich Build:
- 1 can refried beans (16-ounce can) or black beans
- 4 rolls ideally Mexican Bolillo rolls (I make my own)
Garnishes
- 2 cups iceberg lettuce finely shredded
- Pickled jalapenos
- Fresh cilantro leaves
- Tomatillo Salsa recipe follows
- Lime wedges for garnish
For easy homemade tomatillo sauce (optional but delicious) or you can buy this bottled
- 1 pound fresh tomatillos husk removed and rinsed well
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and left whole
- 1 jalapeno pepper stemmed and halved
- 1/2 yellow onion cut into thirds
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 1 limed juiced
Instructions
For the chicken mole:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Remove the stems and seeds from the ancho chiles and bake for 5 minutes. When cool, roughly chop and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add the onions, a couple pinches of salt and saute until soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the reserved ancho chiles and minced chipotle. Cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Add the chocolate, cinnamon, cloves and garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant and the chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes.Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, almond butter, raisins and sesame seeds. Gently simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Place the mole into a blender and puree until smooth, about 1 minute (I used an immersion blender right in the Dutch oven).
- Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Add the mole back to the Dutch oven. Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper.
- Lay the chicken in the sauce in one layer, making sure each breast is entirely coated, and gently simmer, flipping once during cooking, until the breasts register 160 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside off the heat and let rest.
- Using your hands, remove the skin and meat from the bones and discard. Shred the chicken into smaller chunks and place back into the mole to keep warm. Season if necessary.
For the tomatillo sauce: You can buy bottled tomatillo sauce. However, making your own isn’t that difficult and it and can be used for so many other recipes as a stand-alone recipe)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Remove the stem, ribs and seeds from the jalapeno (or keep them in if you want it hot).
- Toss the tomatillos, garlic, pepper and onions with the olive oil and place evenly on a baking sheet. Bake until the tomatillos and onions are soft, 15 to 20 minutes. If necessary, remove the garlic sooner to avoid scorching.
- Add roasted vegetables, fresh cilantro and lime juice into a blender and puree until smooth. Adjust the seasoning if necessary and transfer to a bowl.
For the sandwich build:
- Heat the refried beans in the microwave until warm.NOTE: I don’t like canned refried beans, so I empty a can of organic black (or pinto) beans with the liquid into a skillet on medium high. Cook, until the liquid has reduced and mash. Season to your liking and serve.
- Spread the beans on the bottom of the bolillo rolls. Place the chicken on top of the beans with a little extra mole.
- Place some queso fresco on top of the chicken, slather the top bun with sour cream and adhere the lettuce.
- Top with the pickled jalapenos and cilantro and drizzle with the Tomatillo Salsa. Close, cut sharply on the bias and serve with fresh lime wedges.
- Serve with plenty of napkins
Notes
Recipe adapted from: Jeff Mauro (the Sandwich King) Food Network
Homemade bolillo roll recipe is here
I skipped adding the pickled jalapeno as a personal preference– I’m really not that fond of them.
Nutrition
Calories: 844kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 79g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 197mg | Sodium: 1015mg | Potassium: 2065mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 3790IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 154mg | Iron: 12.3mg
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Looks delicious! I have just recently starting to discover mole. My first attempt was using a slow cooker which is perfect for making dishes with mole-
This sandwich rocks.
Velva
That's a mighty tasty looking sandwich. I can just imagine it with all the layers of flavor. I, too, recently made a batch of mole and said to myself "why don't I do this more often?" Fortunately, I made a batch and have pulled out little containers from the freezer to flavor additional dishes.
I saw an interesting ingredient in your dish. Chili and chocolate? This got me curious. Looks delicious! =)
I LOVE Jeff's show and he is a funny guy. Anything can be a great sandwich and I saw this episode – Yours looks DELISH!!
♥♥♥
Sue
It's been a long time since I've had mole. Lots of ingredients to this one. The sandwich looks just yummy! That's a great idea about freezing the chipotles… they are so difficult to chop right out of the can.
Chicken mole has long been on my list of dishes to make! I love that you made it. Thanks!!
I would say the fact htat you happened to turn on the food network at exactly that time was fate! A mole torta sounds fantastic to me. I love mole however I can get it!
What a unique recipe! I have never seen/heard about anything like this before, but sounds amazing. Definitely saving this recipe! xo
Wow! I can feel my cravings for this sandwich awakening just by looking at these pictures. So glad to have found your blog–and I saw in your About Me that you are a fellow central coastie! 🙂 Great recipes!