Turkey in Mole

Hi everyone, A friend from Michoacan, Mexico has encouraged me to try Mole de Guajolote, or Turkey in Mole. I've read that some people consider this to be Mexico's national dish, but I've only seen it a few times in Stateside Mexican Restaurants. Anybody know if there are any good examples of this dish in the Chicago area? Sounds like the perfect antidote for someone bored of traditional roast turkey (like me).

I'm not sure where to get this dish in Chicago, but I'd like to add that for something that I have also seen billed as some type of national dish, Mole de Guajolote proved impossible to find on Thanksgiving day (or any other day) during my recent visit to Jalisco. At best, I'd call it a regional dish, but that's giving it the benefit of the doubt because I have no knowledge of which region would be likely to have this dish in their repertoire. Hopefully someone will weigh in on this for me and HE.

Maybe Sol de Mexico? So many of their dishes have various mole sauces on them. However, I don't see it on their menupages menu. Maybe one of their other poultry dishes is a variation on it...?

Also, anybody know why the word "guajolote" is used? I thought the Spanish word for turkey would make the dish "pavo en mole" or "mole de pavo", no?

I see there's a recipe for this dish here.

I understand this is a very popular Oaxacan celebratory dish. While you can enjoy the mole negro at Sol de Mexico, I have never seen them serve it with turkey . . . only chicken. If you really want it, call them and they might be willing to do it for you. And even if you elect not to make a special order, go to Sol de Mexico and try the mole negro -- it's excellent. And while you're there, ask for a mole sampler instead of limiting your experience to the mole negro. They'll serve them with freshly made corn tortillas for dipping. My personal favorite is the Teloloapense served with the ostrich.

nsxtasy wrote:Also, anybody know why the word "guajolote" is used? I thought the Spanish word for turkey would make the dish "pavo en mole" or "mole de pavo", no?

I was taught both in Spanish class. Here's more than you may have wanted to know about it:


Pavo, Guajolote, Totole: The Bird is the Word

Once again, the time to talk turkey has arrived, and in Mexico this can inspire quite a bit of talk indeed. Over thirty words for the bird have been used at one time or another in various parts of the country, twenty-one of which were still in use when Dr. Lawrence B. Kiddle wrote "The Names for Turkey in the Modern Mexican Dialect" in 1941. This did not even include the six different names used by the Zapotecs, not to mention variations that found their way to Veracruz via the islands of the Carribbean and to Southern Mexico by way of Central America.

Continues at length at the link above...

nsxtasy wrote:Maybe Sol de Mexico?

Nope. Not available.

nsxtasy wrote:Maybe one of their other poultry dishes is a variation on it...?

If they made it with chicken (which they do), then it's a diferent dish caled pollo con mole. You can get that in any number of places around town.

I'm a fan of Sol de Mexico and their moles, so I called them. While conceding that it's a traditional preparation, they don't like to work with turkey because it's too big and too dry. It's hard to argue with that.

Xni Pec on the other hand does use turkey in their specials occasionally ("whatever my mom feels like making.")

Turkey's ("pavo")a popular meat/dish in some parts of Mexico, so much so I was taken aback when I saw that during my 6-years living in Mexico City (and traveling through the country from there). There's one street in Mexico City with 2 or 3 restaurants serving nothing but turkey - turkey soup, turkey sandwiches, turkey with mole, etc. Outside of Mexico City, I see this meal frequently served in the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca. I've not found a restaurant in Chicago that offers turkey as a daily menu choice, though, but suspect it's an infrequent special. I've never heard turkey with mole described as a Mexican "national dish."

Bill wrote:I've never heard turkey with mole described as a Mexican "national dish."

Google "Mole mexican national dish" and you'll fine that description in the first hit:

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recipes/ ... gmole.html

It is not an uncommon descriptor.

I've learned that simply because someone writes that a food item is such or such, that's not necessarily the case. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. We read that sort of thing on an almost daily basis here on LTH. People define things differently, make all sorts of claims.

Just like the case of the missing tacos al pastor in Chicago, maybe someone can locate Mexico’s "national dish". If it's as popular as it’s been suggested, it ought to be possible to located it quickly and in many different restaurants in the Chicagoland area.

I look forward to reading the reports of the sightings of turkey with mole, though, and of the variations of mole people sample it with - and of a subsequent tasteathon. Really, I do – I love turkey, and mole.

I suspect, though, if you stop 10 Mexicans walking down the street in Chicago and ask them “What’s the national dish/meal of Mexico,” you’ll probably not get one response, “Turkey with mole”(or whatever the appropriate/similar response in Spanish is).

Bill wrote:I suspect, though, if you stop 10 Mexicans walking down the street in Chicago and ask them “What’s the national dish/meal of Mexico,” you’ll probably not get one response, “Turkey with mole”(or whatever the appropriate/similar response in Spanish is).

Tacos, maybe?

If you stopped 10 Americans walking down the street in Chicago and ask them, "What's the national dish/meal of the United States", what do you think most would say? Hamburgers, a dish named after a city in Germany? Or maybe pizza, a dish which originated in Italy?

Bill wrote:Turkey's ("pavo")a popular meat/dish in some parts of Mexico.

I had a Pavo en Escabeche in Merida at a hotel breakfast buffet that was the best turkey I have ever tasted.

Bill wrote:People...make all sorts of claims.

No argument there.

Regarding the name, turkeys are native to this hemisphere. Thus the indigenous name, guajolote, among others. I think the Castilian pavo comes from the Latin word for peacock, and might be less "authentic." Not sure if they would recognize the term guajolote in Spain. I'm sure others here can advise.

Diana Kennedy mentions that Turkey with Mole Poblano from Puebla as a dish commonly associated with Christmas, so some places that specialize in the region might have this as a special for the holiday season if you're lucky.

This is also the only turkey recipe in the entire "Essentials" cookbook, so I'll take it to mean that this pairing is as classic as it gets.

If you have an Amazon account, you can preview the excerpt and the entire recipe for the dish. Click on "search inside this book."