Preparation and Consumption
All mole preparations begin with one or more types of chili pepper. The classic moles of central Mexico and Oaxaca, such as mole poblano and mole negro, include two or more of the following types: ancho, pasilla, mulato and chipotle. Other ingredients can include black pepper, achiote, guaje (Leucaena leucocephala), cumin, cloves, anise, tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic, sesame seeds, dried fruit, hoja santa and many others. Mole poblano has an average of 20 ingredients; mole almendrado has an average of 26, and Oaxacan moles can have over 30. Chocolate, if used, is added at the end of cooking. According to Rick Bayless, the ingredients of mole can be grouped into five distinct classes: chiles, sour (tomatillos), sweet (dried fruits and sugar), spices, and thickeners (nuts and tortillas).
The ingredients are all roasted and ground into a fine powder or paste depending on the ingredients used. This roasting and grinding process is extremely laborious and if done by hand, takes at least a day. Traditionally, this work was shared by several generations of women in the family, but after the arrival of electric mills, it became more common to take the ingredients to be ground. Moles made in families are all different, as each has had its own varieties passed down for generations, with the making of it reserved for special events in large batches.
The resulting powder or paste is mixed with water, or more often broth, and simmered until it is pungent and very thick. It is most often prepared in a cazuela or a thick heavy clay caldron and stirred almost constantly to keep it from burning. This thickness of the sauce has prompted some, such as Mexican-food authority Patricia Quintana, to claim it is too substantial to be called a sauce. However, like a sauce, it is always served over something and never eaten alone. For mole poblano, the most traditional meat to serve it with is turkey, but it and many others are served with chicken and some with pork.
The labor-intensive part of mole is the toasting and grinding, which few people have time to do any more. A number of mole powders and pastes can be prepared ahead and sold, such as mole poblano, mole negro and mole colorado. Many markets in Mexico sell mole pastes and powders in packages or by the kilo. These mole mixes are heavy with a strong odor, so much so that security agents at the Mexico City airport once admitted that mole can register a positive when they check for explosives.
Prepared mole sauce will keep for about three days in the refrigerator, and freezes well. The paste will keep six months in the refrigerator and about a year in the freezer. However, leftover sauce is often used for the making of tamales, enchiladas (often called enmoladas) or over eggs at brunch.
The term mole is most often associated with thick, dark, brownish-red sauces, but the term is really more general than that. Mole can be anything from dark and thick to soup-like and bright green, with red, yellow and black moles each claiming fans in different regions.
Read more about this topic: Mole (sauce)
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