Mole (Negro) Oaxaqueno (La Soledad)

I just picked up some terrific sounding mole paste from the Elgin Fresh Market. I have never cooked with mole and I am looking for advice on how to prepare the sauce. My thought is that I can add it to chicken broth, cook it down some and then mix it with my chicken. Ultimately, the chicken and mole will end up being used for enchiladas. Thanks...

BTW - The Elgin Fresh Market is awesome. It is like the Mexican version of Caputos. The depth and breadth of the the Mexican food stuffs is outstanding. The meat counter and deli looked great. The prices, while a bit on the high side for some items, were very reasonable.

My thought is that is should be cooked - or it wouldn't be mole sauce. I think just heat it up, thin to the proper consistency and serve over fowl.

My usual approach when starting with a mole paste:

1. Simmer in chicken stock until completely dissolved. Canned chicken broth is fine for mole. I doubt anyone will be able to taste the difference.

2. Continue to add more chicken stock until you have the desired consistency - maybe a little thinner so that it can cook down a little.

3. Now comes the fun - where you can doctor it up in all kinds of ways. I may add some Mexican chocolate if I want it sweeter. Or some ground almonds or pepitas.

4. When making chicken or turkey mole, I braise (or even smoke) the meat until it is not quite cooked. I then let it finish cooking in the sauce. I prefer to let sit in the fridge over night and gently reheat before eating.

5. Sprinkling toasted sesame seeds on top of the final preparation gives it a great kick.

6. Leftovers, if any, go into enchiladas or a mole casserole.

I used to be an obnoxious purist about this, making a big deal about doing all from scratch in a molcajete. I still do - maybe once a year for a special occasion - and it is worth all the work. Jarred pastes like Doña Maria still turn me off, but a local Mexican market sells a paste that, with a little doctoring, could pass for the real deal.

Thanks...

I ended up frying the paste a bit and then thinned it out with a can of chicken stock (saving the real stuff for T-Giving). Anyhow the stuff was great without any additions. The ingredient list included several kinds of peppers, chocolate and sugar cookies. The sauce was very rich (almost to much so) a little seemed to go along way.

I still have half a tub left and will probably serve it with left over smoked turkey on Friday.