Grilled chicken with mole sauce

Votes: 1

Time: 3 hours 5 minutes
Complexity: average
Servings: 6

Before grilling, the chicken is soaked in a spiced brine for an hour, then rubbed with a dry marinade and marinated for another hour. This makes the meat incredibly juicy, tender, and delicious. But the real highlight of the dish is the Mexican brown mole sauce. Its stunning flavor will make your grilled chicken unique. The sauce is made from seemingly incompatible ingredients like tomatoes, dark chocolate, raisins, onions, peppers, and spices, which ultimately meld into a bright, deep, sweet-spicy flavor with smoky notes. The chocolate in the sauce adds richness and highlights the other spices. Some of the sauce is used to brush the chicken while grilling, and some is served on the table for dipping.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

Chicken and brine

1 cup coarse salt
1 cup brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
1.8 kg of bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks (about 6 of each)

Dry marinade

2 tablespoons ancho powder
2 tablespoons granulated garlic
2 tablespoons coarse salt
1.5 tbsp. l. ground cumin
1 tbsp onion powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mole sauce

2 tsp rapeseed oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup canned chopped tomatoes
110 g dark chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp chopped toasted almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
2 dried ancho peppers, soaked in water
2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce + 1 tbsp sauce
1 cup lightly salted chicken broth
0.5 cup dark raisins
Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving
Lime wedges, for serving
Steamed white rice, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

We recommend

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Brine and chicken:

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup of water, salt, sugar, garlic, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil to completely dissolve the sugar and salt. Once boiling, remove from heat and add 3 cups of ice. Once cool, transfer to a freezer bag. Place the chicken in the brine, ensuring it is completely submerged. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Dry marinade:

Combine ancho powder, granulated garlic, salt, cumin, onion powder, cinnamon, and black pepper and toast in a dry skillet until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry. Sprinkle the dry marinade over all sides, massaging the spices into the meat, making sure it's completely coated. Return to the refrigerator and marinate for another hour.
Mole sauce:

In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat the canola oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the tomatoes, chocolate, almonds, cinnamon, cumin, ancho, and chipotle peppers with the cooking liquid and simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a food processor, add the chicken broth, and process until smooth. Add the raisins and process again. Reserve half the sauce for serving and reserve the other half for cooking the chicken.
Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Grill the chicken, turning occasionally, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C), 10-15 minutes per side. Using a silicone brush, brush the chicken with mole sauce during the last 5-8 minutes of grilling.
Sprinkle with cilantro and garnish with lime. Serve with steamed rice and extra mole sauce.