Chicken En Mole' Love This Recipe!

Who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter?  This is my second time making this recipe from the Sandwich King on Foodnetwork. Some Mexican mole' sauces have up to 20 ingredients. This cuts down on the ingredients but not on flavor! We are used to spice here in our house but you can adjust the spice by cutting down on the number of peppers you use. The recipe calls for almond butter which is pricey. This recipe also works well with chunky peanut butter. The recipe is for pulled chicken. I used chicken quarters which are very cost effective. I paid under $4.00 for twelve quarters which are the thigh and drumstick together. I also froze the left over sauce and can use it another day.

Chicken En Mole' sauce

6 chicken thighs or quarters
2 TBSP chocolate chopped (I used a 70% chocolate)
2 New Mexico dried chilies
2 TBSP toasted sesame seeds
1 small onion diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup rasins
1-2 diced chilies in Adobo (these add a lot of heat)
1 can diced tomatoes drained (14oz)
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper

I browned the chicken in a separate pan first making sure to season both sides well. I made sure there was a good color on both sides which took about 12 minutes.

In a large stock pot I added the onion and a bit of oil and browned them until they were translucent. In a 350 degree oven I put the dried chilies on a baking pan and baked them for 5 minutes until they were pliable and I was able to take the seeds and stem off. I then chopped the peppers into small pieces. The Adobo chilies were added along with the garlic, chocolate, and peanut butter, diced tomatoes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and the cinnamon and clove.
Once the chocolate and peanut butter melted I added the chicken stock and heated on a low heat for 20 minutes.  Then the mixture is put in a blender and pulsed several times. Be sure to take the middle cap out of the blender lid and cover with a clean towel. You may have a volcano on your hands so pulse slowly!

I added the mole' back to the large stock pot and then put the chicken meat side down in the liquid. I covered the pot and let simmer on low heat for 25-30 minutes. This process is similar to making Arroz con pollo.

At this point you can decide to shred your meat of  keep it whole. I kept it whole but served it over rice with tortillas and beans. If you like a thicker sauce, you can reduce it for another 5-10 minutes. I love the combination of sweet and spicy. The sauce is great when sopped up by a tortilla!

I freeze the Adobo chilies in freezer bags and pull out when I need them.