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Perfect Pork Tenderloin with Mole Sauce
Maybe you have sampled pork in mole verde sauce before or perhaps the concept of pork mole is unknown to you. Mole (pronounced moh-lay) is a classic Mexican sauce containing spices and some form of chocolate. Since unsweetened cocoa powder is used in many mole recipes, the result is a rich, earthy sauce rather than just a sweet one.
There are many mole recipes and the oldest and richest one is called mole negro. This sauce is hard to prepare and therefore reserved for special occasions. Mole can be enjoyed with chicken, turkey or vegetables, as well as pork tenderloin. In the following pork tenderloin with mole sauce recipe, the pork comes out really tender from simmering in the sauce. The sauce itself is hot, dark, sweet, and spicy all at once and you might like to add some extra dark chocolate to the mole, just to make it earthier and richer.
Mole sauce keeps for a few days in the refrigerator or up to six months in the freezer. This recipe does make quite a lot of sauce. Another way to make this pork tenderloin mole is to roast the pork in the sauce in a 325 degrees F oven until the pork is done. Of course, you will need to use an ovenproof pan for this.
The Best Mexican Pork Mole Recipe
Ingredients -
½ cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon white sugar
½ cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 canned chipotle chili in adobo sauce
1 whole pork tenderloin
15 oz can chicken broth
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 slice well toasted whole wheat bread
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup canned tomatoes in liquid
Preparation:
Heat half the oil over a moderate to high heat in a deep skillet with a tight-fitting cover and sauté the garlic in there for a minute.
Stir in the nuts and cook them until they are golden brown.
This will take about 2 minutes. You will need to stir them occasionally so they do not burn.
Transfer the mixture to a blender and add the toast, tomatoes, raisins, cocoa, chipotle chili, sugar, cinnamon, oregano, ground cloves, and black pepper and puree well.
Add half a cup of broth and blend again.
Wipe out the skillet, and then return the sauce to it.
Stir in the remaining broth. Bring the mixture to a boil over a moderate to high heat, then turn the heat down and simmer it, stirring occasionally.
Heat the rest of the oil in another skillet and add the pork.
Sear it all over, and then transfer it to the pot of mole sauce, stirring well so the pork is coated in the sauce.
You can add some water or chicken broth to deglaze the skillet if you want, adding the browned bits to the mole sauce.
Cover the pan and let the pork tenderloin and mole sauce simmer over a low heat until the meat is cooked all the way through.
(Serves 4)
Photo Description:
Pork mole is a delicious Mexican dish and mole sauce is easy enough to prepare yourself at home. That does not apply to all mole recipes and some have more than thirty ingredients in. There are also a couple of famous Mexican mole sauce recipes with more than a hundred ingredients in, but there is no need to make something that complicated when the above recipe is both easy and delicious. In the photo, the pork and mole are served separately but cooking the meat in the sauce gives nicer results and makes the meat tastier and more juicy.
