Best Turkey Mole Verde Recipes

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.

TURKEY MOLE

Steps:

• Make the turkey: Put the turkey, onion, celery, cilantro sprigs, cloves, allspice, star anise, peppercorns and 1 teaspoon salt in a large pot; add cold water to cover. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until very tender, about 1 hour, 30 minutes. Remove the turkey with tongs and transfer to a plate to cool slightly. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl. You should have about 8 cups broth; if you have more, simmer until reduced to 8 cups. Skim the fat off the surface. Remove the turkey skin; refrigerate the meat until ready to use. (The turkey and broth can be made 1 day ahead; cover and refrigerate.)
• Make the mole: Preheat the broiler. Put the tomatillos, tomatoes, garlic and onion on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil, turning, until charred, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Remove the skins from the tomatoes and garlic.
• Heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the ancho and pasilla chiles in batches, turning, until softened, 30 to 45 seconds; transfer to a bowl. Fry the tortilla in the hot oil, turning, until browned, 4 minutes; add to the bowl with the chiles. Cover with water and soak 30 minutes, then drain. Add the chiles and tortilla to the bowl with the tomatillo mixture and set aside.
• Meanwhile, discard the oil in the skillet and wipe clean. Heat another 1/4 cup vegetable oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the almonds and fry, stirring, until golden, 3 minutes. Add the raisins and stir until plump, 30 seconds; transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon. Add the pepitas and fry, stirring, until they begin to pop, 2 minutes; transfer to the bowl with the almonds.
• Discard the oil in the skillet and wipe clean. Heat the skillet over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and toast, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes; transfer to a clean bowl to cool. Add 1 heaping tablespoon of the ancho chile seeds, the allspice, peppercorns, cloves, star anise and cinnamon stick to the skillet and toast, stirring, 2 minutes; transfer to the bowl with the sesame seeds and let cool. Grind the sesame-spice mixture in a spice grinder to make a fine powder.
• Put the fried almonds, raisins, pepitas, sesame-spice powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 2 cups of the reserved turkey broth in a blender and blend until smooth; transfer to a bowl. Working in batches, blend the broiled vegetables, fried chiles and tortilla, 1 teaspoon salt and 2 cups turkey broth until smooth.
• Heat the remaining 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pureed chile mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes (be careful-the mixture will spatter). Stir in the ground almond mixture and 2 cups turkey broth; bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Stir in the chocolate until melted. Add the turkey thighs and simmer until heated through, about 30 minutes. The mole should be the consistency of gravy; thin with more broth, if necessary. Season with salt. Serve with rice and tortillas.

MOLE VERDE

Steps:

• Place the meat and bay leaf in a large casserole, and add just enough water to barely cover it. Turn heat to medium and cook for about 30 minutes with the lid on. The water will start to reduce, and the meat will start browning on its rendered fat. The slow cooking process will produce a tender meat. If after this period of time your meat still looks though, keep cooking and add a little bit more water as needed.
• While the meat is cooking, place tomatillos in a saucepan*, cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once it starts boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer until tomatillos are pale green and soft, about 6-8 minute.o
• Place the cooked and drained tomatillos in a blender with the pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, Serrano peppers, garlic, onion, romaine lettuce leaves, Hoja Santa leaves, cilantro leaves, spices, and 1 cup of water or chicken broth. Process until you have a very smooth sauce. Depending on your blender, you may need to work in batches.
• By this time, the meat should be starting to brown in the casserole. Pour the sauce over the meat and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to avoid the sauce from sticking to the bottom. Once the sauce starts boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently to allow all the flavors to be absorbed. Add the cubed vegetables and more water as needed.
• Keep slowly simmering until the vegetables are cooked, about 8 minutes. Serve warm with a nice portion of rice and corn tortillas to scoop up the mole sauce from the plate.

TURKEY BREAST IN MOLE VERDE SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F. In small bowl, mix butter, wine, thyme, salt, paprika and chopped garlic. Brush turkey with butter mixture. Place turkey, skin side up, on rack in large shallow roasting pan. Insert ovenproof meat thermometer so tip is in thickest part of meat and does not touch bone. Roast covered 1 hour.
• Uncover; brush with any remaining butter mixture, roast about 1 hour and 30 minutes longer or until thermometer reads 180°F and juice of turkey is no longer pink when center is cut.
• Remove turkey from oven and let stand 15 minutes for easier carving.
• Meanwhile, in 5-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium high-heat. Add 2 cloves garlic, the onion and baguette. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are slightly softened. In blender, place 2 cups broth, the baguette mixture, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds and the sugar. Cover; blend on medium speed, stopping blender frequently to scrape down sides, until pureed.
• Return sauce to Dutch oven. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes. Stir in remaining 2 cups broth. Cook 15 to 20 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Slice turkey; serve with sauce. Garnish with 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds.

TURKEY MOLE

Steps:

• Core, and devein the chiles. Toast chiles in a heavy skillet over medium heat until the skin begins to blister and the aromas are released. Cover with 5 cups boiling water and set aside to cool. When cool puree with liquid until smooth and set aside. Season turkey legs and thighs with salt and pepper.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large heavy bottomed casserole over moderate heat and brown turkey on all sides, lift out and set aside. Add the onion to the pan and saute 10-12 minutes or until golden. Add garlic and saute a minute longer, then add peanuts and raisins for 1 minute, add chopped tomatillos and tortilla and cook 5 minutes or until soft.
• In a small dry saute pan over medium heat, toast anise seeds and coriander seeds. Pulverize in grinder or mortar along with the clove and peppercorns. In the same small dry saute pan over medium heat, toast sesame seeds until golden then add 1/2 to blender and reserve 1/2 for garnish.
• Place Sauteed vegetables in blender (no need to wash the blender from pureeing the chiles) and add spices, sesame seeds and stock. Puree until smooth.
• Cook pureed chiles in the same casserole over low heat using the residual fat for 8-10 minute stirring often. Add blender ingredients, chocolate and salt to taste. Add turkey pieces and simmer slowly, covered for 45 minutes or until tender. When cooled remove the skin and meat from the bones. Shred and reserve the turkey meat for the tamales.

TURKEY WITH MOLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Whisk together mole sauce and the water until smooth. In a large heavy ovenproof saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Pat dry turkey and season with salt and pepper. Cook, rounded side down, until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn breast; pour mole mixture over turkey.
• Cover pan tightly; bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of turkey registers 145°F, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board; let rest 10 minutes before thinly slicing against the grain.
• Stir sauce in pan to combine and serve with turkey. Garnish with sesame seeds, if desired.
• nutrition information
• Per Serving (without Rice and Salad)
• Calories: 246
• Fat: 8.4g (1.3g Saturated Fat)
• Protein: 34.2g
• Carbohydrates: 7.8g
• Fiber: 1.3g

TURKEY MOLE VERDE

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add pumpkin seeds and toast, stirring constantly, until they swell, pop and turn a deep golden color, 3 to 4 minutes. Spread seeds out onto a baking sheet in a single layer to cool.
• Place sesame seeds in heated pan, and return pan to medium heat. Toast, stirring constantly, until they turn a deep golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Spread them out alongside pumpkin seeds to cool.
• When cool, place pumpkin and sesame seeds in the work bowl of a large blender (or food processor) and grind them into a fine powder. Transfer ground seeds to a medium bowl, add cumin and 1 cup turkey or chicken stock. Stir mixture to make a thick paste.
• Heat a large Dutch oven or similar pot over medium heat, and add neutral oil. When oil shimmers, add seed paste and fry, stirring and scraping constantly, until paste is dry and deep golden in color, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat.
• In the blender or food processor, purée onion, garlic, tomatillos and 1/2 cup chicken stock until smooth. Add chard, romaine leaves, jalapeños, cilantro and oregano and purée again.
• Return Dutch oven to medium heat, and transfer purée to the Dutch oven. Add in remaining 1/2 cup stock, shredded dark-meat turkey and salt and bring to a simmer, stirring from time to time. Simmer for 15 minutes, then add light-meat turkey and simmer 5 minutes more. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
• Serve with steamed white rice and corn tortillas. Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.