Zacatecas-Style Green Mole Chicken (Pollo en Mole Verde)

overhead image of green mole chicken on a plate with rice and a tortilla

Zacatecas-Style Green Mole Chicken (Pollo en Mole Verde)

A bright, brilliantly flavorful green mole, chock full of garlic, cilantro, and tomatillos, with perfectly flavored and tender chicken.

Prep: 15

Cook: 1 25

Total: 1 40

Yield:4

Equipment

6-quart saucepan
Fine mesh strainer
4-quart saucepan

Ingredients

For the Chicken

4 whole chicken legs drumstick plus thigh
1 cup chopped cilantro stems
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 garlic cloves smashed
1 large white onion chopped
1 bay leaf
12 cups water

For the Mole

6 whole tomatillos peeled, rinsed, and chopped
2 jalapeños stemmed and chopped
½ cup fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons salt
3 garlic cloves chopped
2 8-inch flour tortillas toasted
3 tablespoons avocado oil or other neutral oil

For Serving

fresh cilantro
toasted flour tortillas
rice

Instructions

Place all chicken ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover with a lid and cook for 30 minutes, or until chicken is tender.
Remove chicken from the pot, then strain the liquid through a mesh strainer and set aside 4 cups of the strained cooking liquid. Set chicken and liquid aside.
Make the mole by heating tomatillos and jalapeños in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook for about 10 minutes, or until darkened. Transfer to a blender along with the cilantro, salt, garlic, toasted tortillas, and just one cup of the reserved cooking liquid then blend until smooth.
Heat avocado oil in the same saucepan over medium-high heat before adding in the tomatillo sauce and fry, stirring constantly until a thick paste forms, about 5 minutes. Whisk remaining 3 cups of cooking liquid into the sauce, then bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer. Let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened.
Add cooked chicken into the sauce until heated through, about 10 minutes. Serve warm with additional fresh cilantro, toasted tortillas, or rice.

Notes

Serve with fresh cilantro, toasted tortillas, and cooked rice!

Recipe yields approximately 4 servings. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using ingredients listed, not including tortillas or rice for serving. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by 4. Result will be the weight of one serving.

Nutrition

Recipe By:Cheryl Malik