Mexican Mole Turkey With Chocolate Chili Baste Food

HANK'S TURKEY MOLE

Steps:

• Remove the stems and seeds from the chiles. Flatten them out as best you can and toast them on a comal or cast iron pan set over high heat. You'll want a spatula to hold them down. You'll only need to toast the chiles for a few seconds on either side; watch for blistering, and when you see it, you're good.
• Toss the toasted dried chiles into some warm water to soak, and, when they're soft, puree in a blender with some turkey or chicken broth. You want a consistency like thick BBQ sauce. Set aside.
• In a large, dry pan, toast - one at a time - the sesame seeds, pepitas, pecans and coriander seeds. Set them all in a bowl to cool, then grind into a paste in a spice grinder. Set aside.
• Put the 1/4 cup of lard into a large, heavy pot like a Dutch oven. Set the heat to medium-high and sauté the onions until they begin to brown a bit. Add the garlic and raisins, then sauté another minute. Turn off the heat and let this mixture cool a bit, then put it in the blender.
• Smash up the charred tortillas and put them in the blender. Add the ground nuts, seeds and coriander to the blender. Add the black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, charred tomato and tomatillos to the blender, and turn it on. Add enough turkey stock to make the blades work, and puree this mixture. It should be thick, but pourable.
• Pour this into the Dutch oven. Add a little more broth to the blender to get all the stray sauce sticking to its sides and pour that in the pot. Add the Mexican chocolate and all the pureed chiles, too, mix well and bring to a bare simmer. You want the mole to have the consistency of melted ice cream. Add salt to taste.
• Simmer this mole for 20 minutes. As this is happening, salt the turkey breast well. After 20 minutes has elapsed, submerge the turkey breast in the mole. Simmer gently until it's done. I do this by sticking a meat thermometer into the fattest part of the turkey breast, and I pull the meat when it hits 150°F.
• Remove the turkey from the mole and scrape most of the sauce back into the pot. Slice against the grain, then serve with the mole, some cilantro and sesame seeds as garnish.

MEXICO'S NATIONAL DISH, TURKEY WITH CHOCOLATE CHILE SAUCE: MOLE POBLANO

Steps:

• This should be done 1 day in advance.
• Remove the seeds and stems from all of the chiles. Heat some lard or oil and quickly fry the chiles on both sides, taking care not to burn them. Put the chiles into a bowl, cover with water, and leave to stand for a few hours.
• In a blender, puree the chiles with a few tablespoons of water until smooth. Place the chili puree in a saucepan and cook over a medium flame for 10 minutes. Set aside.
• In a saute pan over medium heat, add the coriander seeds, sesame seeds, cinnamon, and cloves and cook until their aroma is released. Transfer to a spice grinder and mix together. Add the garlic cloves and grind. Set aside.
• Melt 3 tablespoons of lard in the same saute pan and fry the raisins briefly. In the same pan, fry the almonds and peanuts until browned. Transfer the raisins, nuts, and ground spices to a blender and puree together. They should form a smooth paste and may need a couple of tablespoons of chicken broth to blend effectively.
• Add the blended mixture to the chile sauce and cook over a flame for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Break the Mexican chocolate into pieces and add it to the mixture. Continue cooking the mole for a further 15 minutes. Add the sugar and broth, and continue cooking the mole for around 45 minutes. Add salt and pepper, if necessary, and if desired some extra chocolate, to taste.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Season the turkey breasts with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan and sear the breasts skin side down first. Once the turkey is crisp and golden on both sides, remove from heat and place for 15 minutes in the oven to cook the meat through.
• Slice the turkey and pour over the mole sauce. Garnish with sliced onions, radish, sesame seeds, and some sprigs of cilantro.

MEXICAN MOLE TURKEY WITH CHOCOLATE CHILI BASTE

Steps:

• Put all the spices in a heavy-bottomed, non-stick frying pan. Put on the heat, and cook until the spices become fragrant, stirring frequently, about one minute. Transfer to a bowl, and set aside. Return the pan to the heat again, add the peanut oil, garlic, ground almonds and sugar and cook over a gentle heat, lightly toasting the almonds. Add the chocolate, spices and enough hot water to make a thick paste. Cook for two minutes, then leave to cool. Place in a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. To cook the turkey, rub the chocolate paste all over the turkey crown, massaging it well into the flesh. Put it in a roasting pan, drizzle the vegetable oil over and place in the oven, allowing about 20 minutes per pound. Brush with more paste during the cooking. Towards the final 10 minutes of cooking, brush with one final baste and sprinkle the sesame seeds over the bird, then finish cooking. Serve with grilled red peppers and grilled squash. NOTE: Turkey cooked in a classic chocolate-chili mole sauce is a staple of Mexican cooking and has been enjoyed since the time of the Aztecs. A turkey crown is essentially a whole turkey with the legs removed, but some butchers will also remove all the undercarriage of the bird as well.

TURKEY CHILI MOLE

Steps:

• Cook turkey, onion, bell pepper, chilies and garlic in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium heat 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until turkey is no longer pink.
• Stir in remaining ingredients except yogurt. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Top each serving with yogurt.

SLOW-COOKER TURKEY MOLE CHILI

Steps:

• In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook turkey over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until no longer pink; drain.
• Spray 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In cooker, mix turkey and remaining ingredients except sour cream and cheese.
• Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours.
• Stir well before serving. Top each serving with dollop of sour cream and sprinkle of cheese.

PUEBLA-STYLE FIESTA TURKEY IN MOLE SAUCE

Steps:

• For turkey:
• Combine all ingredients in large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until turkey is just cooked through, skimming foam, about 35 minutes. Transfer turkey to bowl; cover and chill. Strain and reserve broth in pot.
• For chiles:
• Heat 1/2 cup lard in large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry all chiles until beginning to blister and change color, about 15 seconds per side (do not burn). Using tongs and shaking off excess lard, transfer chiles to another large pot. Add 4 cups reserved turkey broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered until chiles are very soft, about 35 minutes. Strain liquid into 4-cup measuring cup; add enough reserved turkey broth to measure 4 cups. Chop chiles. Working in batches, puree chiles and 4 cups chile broth in blender until smooth.
• Heat remaining 1/2 cup lard in same pot over medium heat until almost smoking. Press chile puree through large mesh strainer into pot (mixture will sputter and bubble vigorously). Stir until puree thickens enough to form path on bottom of pot when wooden spoon is drawn across, about 15 minutes. Remove chile puree from heat.
• For nuts and seeds:
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add almonds and stir until color deepens, about 1 minute. Add pecans and peanuts; stir 1 minute. Add pepitas; stir 30 seconds. Transfer to blender. Add sesame seeds to skillet; stir 1 minute. Transfer 2 tablespoons sesame seeds to small bowl and reserve for garnish. Place remaining 1 tablespoon sesame seeds in blender with nuts. Add 1/2 cup reserved turkey broth and blend until thick puree forms. Add nut-and-seed puree to pot with chile puree. Cook over very low heat, stirring often, while preparing fruits.
• For fruits:
• Heat 1/4 cup oil in same skillet over high heat. Add plantain and sauté until golden, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels. Add tomatillos and tomatoes to skillet; sauté until slightly softened, mashing with fork. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until thickened, stirring often, about 25 minutes. Add raisins and plantain; simmer 10 minutes, stirring often. Cool slightly.
• Working in batches, puree tomatillo mixture in blender with 2 cups reserved turkey broth. Strain mixture through sieve into chile-nut puree, pressing on solids to extract as much mixture as possible; discard solids in sieve. Continue cooking puree over very low heat while preparing flavorings, stirring often.
• For flavorings:
• Cook onion and garlic cloves in dry heavy medium skillet over medium heat until beginning to brown and soften, turning often, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Coarsely chop onion; peel garlic. Place in blender.
• Stir cloves in same skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Transfer cloves to spice mill or coffee grinder; add peppercorns and next 7 ingredients. Grind finely. Add to blender. Add 1 cup reserved turkey broth; blend until smooth. Stir spice mixture into chile-nut puree. Simmer mole over very low heat 30 minutes to blend flavors while preparing thickeners, stirring often (mole will bubble thickly).
• For thickeners:
• Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add bread slice; fry until golden, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to blender. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil and tortillas to skillet; sauté 2 minutes. Transfer to blender with bread. Add 2 cups reserved turkey broth; blend until smooth. Add to mole; simmer 10 minutes.
• Add chocolate and piloncillo to mole; simmer over low heat 20 minutes, stirring often, scraping bottom of pot and adding more turkey broth (or chicken broth if necessary) by 1/2 cupfuls if mole is too thick (up to 2 cups more broth may be needed). Season with salt. Continue simmering over low heat until streaks of oil form on mole surface, about 10 minutes longer. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Rewarm over low heat, stirring and adding more broth if desired, before continuing.)
• Cut turkey into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Add to hot mole; simmer until turkey is heated through, about 10 minutes. Arrange turkey slices on platter. Spoon mole over; sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• *Mexican cinnamon sticks with a delicate, floral flavor.
• **Mexican raw sugar shaped into hard cones. Smaller chunks are sometimes labeled panocha. If neither is available, substitute an equal weight of packed dark brown sugar.