Mole

Mole, a Mexican spice blend with cocoa, chili and almonds for game and poultry

Mole is the famous chocolate-chili seasoning of Mexican cooking – warm, complex, multi-layered like a well-aged wine bouquet. In our workshop in Klingenberg am Main we mix chili, cocoa, almonds, currants, dark raw cane sugar, tomato flakes, peanuts, sesame, pepper, cinnamon, garlic, cloves, anise and vanilla. The character: dark chocolate depth from 100% cocoa, fruity currant sweetness, subtle chili heat and a warm warmth from cinnamon, anise and clove. Mole lifts every braised meat onto a different flavour level.

How to use

A classic for mole poblano (chicken in mole sauce), mole negro with turkey, braised wild boar, venison ragout, braised beef and partridge. Also with foie gras as a fine accent, in dark cream sauces, in the braising base for lamb and even in BBQ sauces for spare ribs as a depth booster. Holland's tip: cook 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of mole in 100 ml of sauce, pass through a fine sieve at the end, then the sauce has the typical glossy consistency. Mole also goes with chocolate desserts with a chili note.

Important: mole is highly concentrated. A teaspoon per 100 ml of sauce is usually enough to start. Always deglaze with a little stock, cream or tomato so the cocoa melts and binds in harmoniously. Never add it dry into hot fat, or the sugar will burn.

Recipe: wild boar mole with a chocolate edge

A Sunday roast with starred-cuisine character in 3 hours of braising.

Ingredients for 4:

• 1 kg wild boar shoulder, diced
• 2 tbsp mole, 2 onions, 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp clarified butter, 250 ml dark red wine
• 500 ml game stock, 200 g sieved tomatoes
• 40 g dark chocolate (70%) for the sauce
• 1 tsp smoky chili salt for the marinade
• Freshly ground Tasmanian pepper
• A dash of Zweigelt red wine vinegar to season

Method: Sear the wild boar in clarified butter in batches over high heat, remove. Sweat onions and garlic in the roasting pot until translucent. Sweat the mole for one minute (no longer, or it turns bitter), deglaze with red wine, add game stock and tomatoes. Return the meat, season with smoky chili salt. Braise covered in the oven at 150 °C for 2.5 hours. Stir in the chocolate until it dissolves, season with Tasmanian pepper and a dash of Zweigelt vinegar. Optionally pass the sauce through a sieve. Serve with polenta or cornbread.

Why this mole? We use 100% cocoa (not the cheap mole powder with added sugar), paired with whole almonds and real currants for the fruity depth. Tasmanian pepper at the table lifts the aniseed notes of the mole blend – a classic professional trick from Mexican starred cuisine.

At a glance

• A Mexican spice blend with cocoa, chili, almonds and currants
• A chocolatey-piquant character with fruity sweetness and anise warmth
• Workshop quality from Klingenberg am Main
• Versatile for game, poultry, braised roasts and chocolate desserts
• No flavour enhancers, anti-caking agents or additives

Goes well with

A pepper finish comes from the hot-fruity Tasmanian pepper or the resinous-balsamic chaste-tree pepper – both understand game. Related hot blends: our Ethiopian Berbere and the American Cajun Spice. Salt for mole sauces: the smoky-hot smoky chili salt or the mineral African pearl salt. For game dishes with mole sauce, our game spice complements. Sweet depth with a chocolate note: a pinch of cinnamon blossom in the mole sauce. You'll find more in our spice blends collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is mole for?
A classic for Mexican mole sauces with turkey, chicken and game. In Europe excellent with wild boar, venison, partridge, deer, foie gras and lamb ragout. Also in the braising base for beef roast and in chocolate desserts with a chili note. An unusual but very coherent variant: half a teaspoon in a mole mayonnaise with pulled pork.

What does mole taste like?
Very complex: dark chocolate depth from the 100% cocoa, fruity sweetness of the currants, mild chili heat, warm anise-cinnamon warmth and nutty almond-sesame depth. Not sweet in the dessert sense, but bittersweet and savoury – like a very dark sauce with a thousand facets.

How do I dose mole correctly?
1 to 1.5 teaspoons per 100 ml of sauce is the starting point. With braises and longer cooking times the effect doubles. Better to start sparingly and adjust at the end with chocolate. Never scatter raw, always work it into liquid heat.

What sets our mole apart from standard goods?
We use 100% pure cocoa instead of the usual chocolate blends with a sugar content. Real almonds, peanuts, sesame and currants instead of powder imitations. The profile is noticeably darker, fruitier and more complex than the pre-mixed industrial moles from Mexico, which often seem too sweet or too powdery.