Mole Poblano Picante

Instructions

Prepare the mulato, ancho, and pasilla chiles by washing in cold water; removing veins, stems, and seeds; and tearing them roughly into pieces. Place the pieces in a bowl and soak in hot water (about 1 cup to 6 chiles) for about an hour. Blend the chiles with the soaking water in a blender, but do not over blend. The texture should remain coarse. Place the turkey pieces in a flameproof casserole with a lid, and poach, covered, in salted water to barely cover for 1 hour. Drain, reserving the stock. Dry the turkey pieces thoroughly with paper towels. Heat the lardin a skillet, and brown the turkey pieces, a few at a time. Arrange the turkey pieces in the casserole and keep warm. Combine 2 tbsp. of the sesame seeds, the onion, garlic, tortilla, almonds, cloves, cinnamon, coriander seed, anise, raisins, tomatoes, prepared chiles, and chipotle chiles, and reduce, bit by bit, to a coarse pureé in the electric blender. Heat the remaining lard in a skillet, adding, if necessary, a little morelard to bring it up to 3 TBS. Cook the puree, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of the turkey stock, chocolate, salt and pepper to taste, and the sugar, and cook, over very low heat, until the chocolate has melted. Pour the sauce over the turkey; cover; and cook over the lowest possible heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. The sauce should be rather thicker than the consistency of heavy cream. If it seems too thin, thin with turkey stock. Sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds just before serving.

Author's Comments

Chipotle chile and its close relative morita chile have the most exotic flavor of any of the Mexican chiles. They are also exceedingly picante and can really lift your head off. If you do not care for hot food, experiment with the chipotle, for even in a small quantity its flavor will survive. Begin with a half chile, tasting and adding more to your mole with caution until you find the amount that suits your taste.

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