Turkey with Mole
Native to North America, turkey has always been a celebratory bird (or at least it was celebrated by those who dined on it). Turkey (guajolote, in Spanish) was used for special feasts in pre-Columbian times and was a favorite food of the American Indians. In Mexico today, turkey in mole is still the preferred holiday dish. For Thanksgiving dinner one year at Coyote Café, we raised almost thirty wild turkeys (so much better than the modern domesticated turkey) on open ranchland so they were free to go anywhere and eat anything. The flavor of those turkeys was magnificent! This recipe is a tempting taste of what awaits any traveler to Oaxaca or Puebla, two of the great Mexican mole capitals. Commercially produced mole sauces are widely available throughout most major grocery store chains in the United States. We have used turkey breast for this recipe, but any part of the turkey will work. Note that the turkey must marinate overnight before cooking.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 8 tacos
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
In a large bowl, combine the turkey strips and half of the mole sauce. Cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Step 2
When ready to cook, drain the turkey strips, reserving the mole marinade. In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat and lightly sear the turkey strips on both sides; set aside.
Step 3
In a large, heavy saucepot, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds (don’t let it burn). Add the salt, chicken stock, water, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, chipotle puree, and raisins and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat. Blend thoroughly and pass through a medium-mesh sieve.
Step 4
Refry the sauce: In a large, heavy nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add the sauce, remove from the heat, and stir to blend. Stir in the Mexican and bittersweet chocolates, and add the sautéed turkey, the reserved mole sauce, and the remaining half jar of mole sauce. Decrease the heat to medium-low and gently simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, turning the turkey strips every 20 minutes or so. The turkey should be cooked through.
Step 5
Remove the turkey from the sauce and set aside. Refry the sauce: In a large, heavy nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add the sauce, remove from the heat, and stir to blend. Remove from the heat and pass through a medium-mesh sieve. When the turkey is cool, shred it with your hands and mix with the sauce.
Step 6
Serve immediately or keep warm in the pan until ready to serve.
Step 7
To serve, lay the tortillas side by side, open face and overlapping on a platter. Divide the filling equally between the tortillas and top with salsa and sprinkle with sesame seed. Grab, fold, and eat right away. Or build your own taco: lay a tortilla, open face, in one hand. Spoon on some filling, top with salsa and sesame seed, fold, and eat right away.
