Mole Rojo (Mexican Red Mole) with Venison
This is an easy recipe for a classic red mole sauce that we've paired with strips of venison steak. This Mexican mole rojo would pair just as well with beef or chicken.This Mole Sauce recipe yields roughly 3 cups of sauce, which is enough to coat 2-3 lbs of meat, depending on how saucy you like things.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
For the Red Mole Paste
- 6 medium dried ancho chile peppers (or 3 large pasilla chile peppers*)
- 1 large dried guajillo chile pepper (or 4 small pulla chile peppers*)
- 4 large garlic cloves
- ½ c raisins
- 1 medium onion, diced
- ½ c almonds
- ¼ c peanuts
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- Reserved chili soaking liquid (As needed for consistency)
For the Mole Rojo Sauce
- ¼ c + 2 Tbsp cacao powder
- 2 tablespoon piloncillo or brown sugar
- 1 c water
For the Meat
- 2 lbs venison steaks (or beef sirloin steaks or chicken breast), cut into strips
Instructions
For the Mole Paste
- Place chile peppers in a large bowl and cover with hot tap water. Place a plate or other item on chilies to keep them submerged. Soak for 30-45 min, until soft and pliable.
- Remove chiles from the soaking water. (Don’t throw the water out just yet.) Discard the stems and seeds and place the chile flesh in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Add he remaining Red Mole Paste ingredients (except the soaking liquid). Blend until mostly smooth, adding the reserved chile soaking liquid add needed to blend the mixture to a smooth paste.
For the Mole Sauce
- Pour the chile paste into a large, non-stick skillet. Add the cacao powder, piloncillo, and 1 c water. Mix well and simmer, uncovered, until thick and no raw onion flavor remains (5-10 minutes).
- Remove the mole sauce from the pan to a bowl, and set it aside.
For the Meat
- Sear the venison strips in the same non-stick frying pan you just used for the mole sauce. Once all the sides of the meat are nicely browned, add the mole sauce back to the skillet. Simmer 5 minutes more, or until the meat is cooked through.
- Serve with rice, beans, and/or tortillas.
Notes
*Substituting pasilla and/or pulla chile peppers will give a slightly spicier mole sauce.
This recipe from 2013 was updated in 2019. We made the mole sauce even better. Enjoy!