Guajolota Oaxaqueña con Tamal de Mole Negro

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy cast iron comal or griddle for toasting chiles and roasting vegetables
• •High-powered blender (two batches minimum)
• •Fine-mesh strainer for the mole
• •Heavy deep pot or clay cazuela for the mole
• •Stand mixer with paddle attachment (or strong arms and 15 minutes of patience)
• •Large tamal steamer or stockpot with steamer rack
• •Kitchen string or banana leaf strips for tying

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the chicken

   Place the chicken thighs in a medium pot. Add the half onion, two garlic cloves, bay leaf, and salt. Cover with cold water by two inches. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and skim the foam that rises in the first ten minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook for 40 to 45 minutes, until the meat pulls easily from the bone. Remove the chicken and let it cool. Strain and reserve the broth. You need this broth for the mole and the masa, so do not throw it out. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it into generous pieces. Discard the skin and bones.

   Start with cold water, not hot. Cold water draws the flavor out of the bones gradually and gives you a cleaner, richer broth. A rolling boil clouds it.
2. 2

   Toast and soak the chiles

   Heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium. Toast the chilhuacle negro chiles first, about 30 seconds per side, pressing gently with a spatula. They should puff slightly and release a deep, fruity, almost chocolatey smell. Then toast the mulatos, which are thinner and need less time. Finally the pasilla oaxaquenos, which are already smoked and need only a brief warming to release their oils. Do not let any chile blacken. Transfer all the toasted chiles to a heatproof bowl and cover with hot tap water. Not boiling. Hot water softens the flesh and lets the flavor come through clean. Boiling water cooks the skin and turns the mole bitter. Soak for 25 minutes.

   Keep the reserved chilhuacle seeds. You will burn them in a later step. Those burned seeds are half the reason mole negro tastes like mole negro.
3. 3

   Burn the seeds and tortilla

   This is the step that separates mole negro from every other mole in Mexico. On a dry comal over medium-high heat, spread the reserved chilhuacle seeds in a single layer. Let them go. They will smoke. They will smell acrid. They will turn coal-black. That is what you want. Stir them occasionally so they burn evenly, about 4 to 5 minutes total. Set them aside in a small bowl. Now take the corn tortilla and place it directly on the comal. Leave it until it is completely black on one side, flip it, and burn the other side. It should be charcoal. Crumble it into the bowl with the burned seeds. These two ingredients give mole negro its near-black color and its bitter, complex bass note. Without them, you have a dark mole. With them, you have mole negro.

   Open a window. The smoke from burning seeds and tortilla is thick and will set off a smoke detector. The women in Oaxaca do this outdoors or in kitchens with serious ventilation. Plan accordingly.
4. 4

   Fry the mole aromatics

   In a heavy skillet, melt one tablespoon of the lard over medium heat. Fry the plantain slices until golden on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove and set aside. In the same fat, fry the torn bread until golden and crisp. Remove. Add the sesame seeds and stir constantly until they turn gold, about a minute. Remove. Add the pumpkin seeds, which will puff and pop almost immediately. Remove. Add the almonds and toast until spotted, about 2 minutes. Remove. Finally, add the raisins, which will puff in seconds. Remove everything to a plate. In the same skillet, dry-toast the cloves, peppercorns, canela, oregano, and thyme for 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Every one of these ingredients is building a layer. La cocina no es decoracion, es trabajo.

5. 5

   Roast the vegetables

   On the same dry comal or under a broiler, roast the tomatoes, tomatillos, quartered onion, and unpeeled garlic cloves. Turn them as they blister. The tomatoes and tomatillos need deep char marks on at least two sides. The onion quarters should be soft and blackened at the edges. The garlic skins should be papery and dark, the cloves inside soft and sweet. This takes 10 to 15 minutes of attention. Peel the garlic once it cools. Everything else goes into the blender as is, charred skin and all. The char is flavor.

6. 6

   Blend the mole

   Drain the soaked chiles and discard the soaking liquid. Working in two or three batches, blend the soaked chiles with the roasted vegetables, fried aromatics (plantain, bread, sesame, pumpkin seeds, almonds, raisins), toasted spices, burned seeds, crumbled burned tortilla, and about one cup of chicken broth per batch. Blend on high for a full two minutes per batch. You want a paste so smooth it feels like velvet when you rub it between your fingers. If the blender struggles, add broth a tablespoon at a time. Strain each batch through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing hard on the solids with the back of a spoon. Discard whatever won't pass through. The texture of the final mole depends on this step. Do not skip the straining.

7. 7

   Fry and simmer the mole

   Heat the remaining two tablespoons of lard in a heavy, deep pot or cazuela over medium heat. When the lard shimmers, pour in the strained mole. It will spatter. Stand back and stir. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mole darkens another shade and the fat begins to separate and pool at the edges. This frying step concentrates the flavor and kills the raw taste of the blended chiles. Add two cups of chicken broth, stir well, and bring to a low simmer. Break the Oaxacan chocolate tablet into pieces and stir it into the pot. The chocolate will melt and thicken the sauce. Simmer uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent sticking. The mole is ready when it coats the back of a wooden spoon and holds its line when you drag a finger through it. Taste for salt. It should be deep, complex, slightly bitter, with layers you cannot name individually. That is mole negro.

   If the mole gets too thick, add broth a quarter cup at a time. For the tamales, you want it thicker than you would for plating, because the masa will absorb moisture during steaming.
8. 8

   Prepare the banana leaves

   If your banana leaves are frozen, thaw them completely and wipe them clean with a damp cloth. Cut them into twelve rectangles, roughly 12 by 10 inches. Some will have tears. That is fine. You can double-layer the torn ones. Now pass each rectangle briefly over an open flame on your stove burner, about 3 seconds per side. The leaf will change color from matte to glossy and become pliable instead of brittle. If it tears on the flame, go faster. Set the softened leaves aside in a stack. Cut a few extra strips for tying, or use kitchen string.

9. 9

   Beat the tamal masa

   In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the room-temperature lard on medium-high for 3 to 4 minutes until it is white, fluffy, and airy. It should look like whipped butter. Add the fresh masa in three additions, beating well after each one. Add the salt and baking powder. With the mixer running on medium, drizzle in the warm chicken broth. Beat for another 5 minutes. The masa is ready when a small ball of it floats in a glass of cold water. If it sinks, beat it longer. The air you are incorporating is what makes the tamal light instead of dense. La manteca es el sabor, and in tamales, it is also the texture.

   If you cannot find fresh masa, use 3 cups masa harina for tamales mixed with 2 cups warm broth, rested for 15 minutes. It is a compromise, not an upgrade. The texture will be slightly grainier, but it works.
10. 10

    Assemble and steam the tamales

    Lay a banana leaf rectangle on your work surface, glossy side up. Spread about a third of a cup of beaten masa in the center, forming a rectangle about 5 by 4 inches. Do not spread it to the edges. Leavea generous border. Place two tablespoons of shredded chicken down the center of the masa, then spoon three tablespoons of mole negro over the chicken. Fold the long sides of the banana leaf over the filling so they overlap, then fold the short ends underneath to form a neat packet. Tie it closed with string or a strip of banana leaf. Repeat with the remaining leaves, masa, chicken, and mole. Set up your tamal steamer: place a coin in the bottom of a large pot, set a steamer rack above the water line, and line the rack with extra banana leaf pieces. Stand the tamales upright in the steamer, seam side facing in. Cover with more banana leaf scraps and a clean kitchen towel, then the lid. Steam over medium heat for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. The coin will rattle as long as there is water. If it goes silent, add boiling water immediately. The tamales are done when the masa pulls away cleanly from the banana leaf. Let them rest for 10 minutes before unwrapping. Asi se hace y punto.

11. 11

    Make the salsa morita

    While the tamales steam, make the salsa. Toast the chile moritas on a dry comal over medium heat for about a minute per side, until they puff and darken slightly. They are already smoked, so they do not need long. Transfer them to a small bowl and cover with hot water for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, roast the two tomatoes on the comal, turning until charred on all sides. Drain the moritas and blend them with the roasted tomatoes, the garlic clove, and the salt. Blend until smooth but with some texture. Taste it. It should be smoky, a little sweet from the tomato, with a slow burn at the back of the throat. That smoke is what cuts through the richness of the mole and the masa.

12. 12

    Build the guajolotas

    Warm the bolillos on a comal or in a hot oven for 3 to 4 minutes, just until the crust re-crisps and the crumb softens. Split each one lengthwise if you have not already. Unwrap a hot tamal, remove the banana leaf completely, and tuck the tamal into the bolillo. It should fit snugly, the dark masa pressing against the soft bread, the mole negro visible at the edges. Spoon salsa morita over the top of the tamal before closing the bread, or serve the salsa on the side for the diner to add. Close the bolillo, press gently so it holds, and serve immediately. The bolillo goes soft if it waits. This is breakfast that moves, not breakfast that poses. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •The chilhuacle negro is non-negotiable. It is the chile that makes mole negro mole negro. If your local market does not carry it, Guelaguetza in Los Angeles ships dried Oaxacan chiles. So does La Cocinoteca online. Without chilhuacle negro, you are making a dark mole. You are not making mole negro. There is a difference.
• •The burned tortilla and burned chile seeds are what separate mole negro from every other mole in Mexico. They give it that near-black color and a bitter bass note that anchors the sweetness of the chocolate and plantain. Do not skip this step because it seems strange. The senoras in the Central de Abastos market in Oaxaca have been doing this for generations. Preguntale a las senoras del mercado.
• •The masa must float. Drop a small ball into a glass of cold water before you spread it on banana leaf. If it sinks, beat it longer. Dense masa makes a heavy tamal and a heavy guajolota, and nobody wants that at seven in the morning.
• •Buy banana leaves frozen from any Asian or Latin grocery. They are sold in one-pound packages and keep in the freezer for months. Pass them over an open flame for a few seconds to make them pliable. A brittle leaf cracks when you fold it and the tamal leaks during steaming.

Advance Preparation

• •The mole negro can and should be made a full day ahead. Refrigerate it in a sealed container. The flavor deepens overnight as the chiles, chocolate, and spices marry. It keeps refrigerated for up to five days and freezes well for three months.
• •The chicken can be poached and shredded a day ahead. Store it in a cup of its own broth to keep it moist.
• •The tamales can be steamed a day ahead, cooled, and refrigerated. Re-steam them for 15 to 20 minutes to reheat. Do not microwave banana-leaf tamales: the leaf dries out and the masa turns rubbery.
• •The salsa morita keeps refrigerated for up to a week. The smoky flavor actually sharpens after a day.
• •Assemble the guajolotas only at serving time. A bolillo that sits with a tamal inside loses its crust within minutes. The contrast of crunchy bread and soft tamal is the whole point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 320g)