CrockPot Mole Recipe
Day 358.
Mole is pronounced Mol-AY. That did not stop the "holy moly" jokes.
You can use any meat you'd like: chicken, beef, or pork. I followed this recipe and Jim has even tried tofu.
The Ingredients.
adapted from Jim, who adapted from Sunset Crockery Cookbook
2 pounds meat (I used frozen tri-tip) 1/4 cup raw sesame seeds (I used sunflower seeds)
1/2 cup raw slivered almonds
1 dry California chili pod
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup raisins
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon anise seeds
1 cinnamon stick
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes (and juice)
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/4 cup tequilla (or white wine, or apple juice)
1-2 ounce unsweetened chocolate (I used 2 and liked it, but some commenters found it too bitter)
1 cup water
salt to taste
The Directions.
Use a 5-6 quart crockpot. In a small pan, brown the raw sesame seeds and almonds on the stove. You could also toast them in the toaster oven (we need one of those). Set aside to cool.
Put the meat your going to use into the crockpot. Cover with everything else. I threw the entire dry chili pod into the pot; I didn't soak it in water first. I also just threw in the 2 squares of baking chocolate (after unwrapping!)--no need to melt it first.
Add the toasted nuts and seeds, and cover up. Cook on low for about 8 hours. Shred meat with forks, and serve over rice and with corn tortillas. Salt to taste.
The meat I had was half-frozen, and it took 6 hours on low, then I cut the meat up and added it back in for another 2 hours on high. It was fully shredded by then.
The Verdict.
This is such a satisfying meal. The kids weren't interested in trying the "chocolate meat" and mostly ate corn tortillas and butter. I will make this again. Soon. I need to serve this to company---the flavor is so rich and full-bodied---you get a bit of a crunch from a nut here, and a sweet burst from a raisin there.
It's incredible.
This is one of the dishes that the slow cooker was invented for ~~ the meat really needs to stew slowly and for a very very long time to soak up all of the flavors, and to allow the spices to break down and mingle. There are a lot of ingredients; I know. Turn on some good music, throw the kids outside or in front of a movie, and just go down the list. I promise you'll really like the end result!
I've always wanted to try a Mole, thank you!
ReplyDeleteWhat I think is really, really weird is that I actually HAVE all of the ingredients for this in the house. I needed to buy almonds and sesame seeds for granola, and I have a leftover chili pod at the house.
wow, that never happens.
OMG! I've been SO sad that I haven't been able to eat the chicken mole at my favorite restaurant since I went gluten free, and now you've posted a GF mole recipe!!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU, STEPHANIE!! This is the best Christmas present I've received this year! :)
Happy Holidays!
JoAnn
I just saw a recipe for this and it looked like too much work. Looks like I have no excuse not to try it now! Do you think it would be the same without the raisins? DH hates them.
ReplyDeleteOh, yum! I've always heard that mole is an acquired taste, and I think that's true. I love it, though!
ReplyDeleteI have been following your blog for most of the year, made a lot of the recipes, forwarded them to my family and friends etc, and only noticed the gluten-free as an extra.
ReplyDeleteBut I DID notice and when my husband and I BOTH (about 6 weeks apart, and several months ago) developed symptoms that our G_I doctor can't identify but look a lot like celiac disease, I started to do web searches.
I still don't know if this is it, and am VERY puzzled as to how two people could develop the same thing without an infection being present, but I am grateful for your recipes as I think the next thing I will try is going gluten-free.
I assume that you have researched this disease and could pass on a few useful links for me and others to look into (before you stop blogging).... when you have time - which is what I am sure the mother of little kids has in short supply right now. I'll watch.
Thanks for your great blog, and Merry Christmas.
Do you have a crock pot recipe for Twice Baked Potato Soup? I want to make it and wondered if you think it would work in a crock pot?? I am thinking about making it to go with ham for Christmas day.
ReplyDeleteDeb
This is a recipe that I can't wait to try. My husband just returned with the ingredients for tomorrow night's dinner of fajitas. Too bad I didn't see this earlier, it would have been the perfect dinner for Christmas Eve.
ReplyDeleteWe just went to a Oaxaca Festival and there were about 8 kinds of mole there. I wanted to try the chapulines but they weren't ready yet(I bet you can't make those in the crockpot!) The best mole I had was in Chiapas of all places where they made sweet tamales with mole on them. Now I have a way to make tamales and mole in the crockpot! I just need a sweet tamale recipe.
ReplyDeleteIt has been so wonderful reading your blog. I told Husband that I wanted another crockpot since I use mine so much more now.
regards,
Theresa
Just be sure to tell your guests who are uneducated about what mole is, with the "secret ingredient" of chocolate. I'm highly allergic to chocolate, and am always nervous when someone makes chili, or anything like it, because I know some recipes call for chocolate as a secret ingredient. And people always look at me like I'm crazy when I ask if there is any chocolate in the chili.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful! Last week's recipe of homemade tamales inspired me to get the ingredients. Now this recipe! It will make a wonderful filling for our crock pot tamales! My husband is Mexican, he said this sounds like something his Mom used to make. I will let you know how it works out.
ReplyDeleteThank You!
Cathy
This looks delicious. My sister and I were talking about your blog today, and I thought I would ask you? What are you going to do after the year is up? Are you going to continue this blog? If so, GREAT! If not, will we still be able to access it? I have just been using the a-z thing to find the recipes I want, but if you're going to take the site down, I want to print out your recipes. Sorry for the long post, but just wanted to see what you were going to do.
ReplyDeleteIm going to miss you. hopefully you pick up another crazy new years resolution!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this blog!
ReplyDeleteTwo things: I was wondering if you could recap your favorites at the end of the year. I tried to find a "favorites" tag, but didn't see one. I would love to know which recipes put a smile on your face.
Secondly, some of us are just joining this blog and have no idea why some recipes are gluten-free. Perhaps you could put something in your FAQ to explain that?
Again, I love this blog!!!! I just got a slowcooker, and can't wait to try out these recipes.
Did you substitute sunflower seeds for the seasame seeds?
ReplyDeletekpdwife,
ReplyDeletelol, I DID! I can't believe I didn't even notice that I did that---in my brain I read sesame seeds, and reached for sunflower. I totally thought I followed the recipe, too.
woah. I need a vacation.
anon, I will do some sort of re-cap post. I kept meaning to throughout the year, but then it didn't seem fair for the recipes to come. Which makes no sense, but it bothered me like I was setting the rest of the recipes up for failure.
Dr. Phil could really do a number with me... ;-)
The blog will not go away in 2009. I promise. I will not post everyday though. Maybe once a week?
OnePony, we're gluten free because my 4 year old has celiac, and we've decided as a family to all eat gluten free when at home. It's worked out well for us, so far. I am most certainly not an expert on any of it, so please make sure you do your own research and read labels carefully on your own.
I love Alison at Sure Foods Living, and she does phone or email consultations. She kept me off my ledge when we were first diagnosed. And she is a real, live person, which is terribly important to me. :-)
xoxo
steph
This sounds lovely, but what is frozen tri-tip? (I figured it's meat, but what sort of?)
ReplyDeleteHi Anon,
ReplyDeletetri-tip is beef, and is a very common cut of meat in CA, but I've heard through the course of this year that it must not be a common name in other states. Here's what wikipedia has to say.
I don't know what the bottom piece of meat is called in other places, though!
xoxo
steph
Mole is one of my favorite mexican dishes. I've never heard of it with nuts of raisins in it, but it sounds great! Thank you for sharing!!!! Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteErin
This sounds delicious and my 11 yr old daughter really wants to make it. Where did you get the chili pods?
ReplyDeleteHi Anon,
ReplyDeleteThey were in the produce section of my regular grocery store. You can use red chili flakes (maybe 1/2 tsp, then to taste later?) instead if you'd like.
xoxo
steph
Howdy CPL,
ReplyDeleteI was looking through my web logs and found that you'd linked to me. Thanks for that. I added a reciprocal link on my mole page.
I'm glad you enjoyed the mole. That is one fantastic dish. Every time it comes out a little different.
My mom, sister, and her son are all celiac. Eliminating gluten made a huge difference in their lives.
This recipe might also do well in a cpot:
http://www.jimschrempp.com/recipes/recipe_red_chili.htm
Cheers,
Jim Schrempp
I am an American living overseas and am always on the lookout for recpies from back home.
ReplyDeleteAnd ones in my "bought in Germany" crock pot are especially great! I almost made chicken mole over the weekend-but didn't because of the amount of time stirring and "watching" the stove. I am going to give this a try and report back.
You've seriously saved me-I miss Mexican food here more than anything else!
Does the meat need to be frozen when you put it in the crockpot?
ReplyDeleteHas anyone tried this with chicken, pork or even tofu (coated in cornstarch and pre-pan fried)? What was the result?
Hi Whitney, the meat does not have to be frozen---mine just happened to be.
ReplyDeleteI haven't personally tried it with tofu, but Jim, who I linked to in the second paragraph of the post, has with good results.
--steph
I love Mexican Dishes.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever heard of a spicy chocolate Mole with chicken?
Sounds weird but tastes great
I made this yesterday night. I did not toast the sesame seeds or almonds (too wiped out), but I will next time. I made it with chicken instead of beef, and used the cocoa and oil equivalent of 1 oz of unsweetened chocolate, and pepper flakes instead of the whole pepper. We really liked this, though I think I will add a little more cocoa next time.
ReplyDeleteWe loved this recipe! After it was all cooked, my husband came up with the idea of removing the meat and giving the sauce a once over with a hand-held blender. He's not a big fan of chunks and it worked out really well and seemed a little more like the mole we get in restaurants. yay!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think could be substituted for the almonds? My kids are allergic to nuts. More sunflower seeds, perhaps? (Also allergic to sesame seeds, so I love that you used sunflower seeds!) I'm excited to try this!!
ReplyDeleteis it dorky that I'm tickled that it's a Molly commenting on a Mole recipe?
ReplyDeleteabsolutely---you can add more sunflower seeds, or just omit the almonds altogether. The flavor is so intense you'll never miss them.
xoxo
just a small correction regarding the "Mole is pronounced Mol-AY" statement. Mole is pronounced MOH-leh, with the emphasis on the first syllable. Other than that, great recipe, thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Stephanie!
ReplyDeleteSo happy to have found this recipe. I've been following you since 2007!❤️
The ingredients list says California chili but the picture has Pasilla chilis. I'll go with Pasilla and let you know how it turns out. Also, other mole recipes call for 4-8 oz of chilis, so I'm going to use more than just one, destemmed, deseeded and roasted 😋