Mole Negro from Oaxaca - Black Mole Paste by Juquilita - 17 oz

My first introduction to Mole was during a vacation many years ago to Disney World where I had dinner at Epcot in the Mexican pavilion where I ordered Mole Poblano and lots of Margaritas. I was hooked. In the past, I have used various Mole pastes as a base in my versions of chili. I have always wanted to try Black Mole after watching chef Rick Bayless make Black Mole from scratch. As I don't have the time or resources to make it from scratch, I hunted for a paste. I did a lot of research and read a lot of reviews, I settled on this paste from Juquilita. I didn't know what to expect. It came sealed inside 4 layers of plastic bags! I tasted some of it raw. I was intrigued. Incredibly complex, dark and seductive. I wanted to experiment with it and make my version of chili with Black Mole as a base. I don't know how to make anything in small batches. I started by frying 2/3rds of the paste and started to add vegetable broth, a large can of crushed tomatoes and sun dried tomatoes for sweetness. I assembled my other ingredients starting with 5 pounds of beef chuck stew meat. I marinated it in Shiraz wine overnight. I wanted a dark sear on it for flavor so I fried it in small batches in my wok with homemade ghee as it has a high smoke point. I added the beef then added 2 heads of roasted garlic in olive oil. While that simmered, I sauteed 2 red onions and added them to the mix. I sauteed 3 red bell peppers and added them as well. As this mole paste doesn't have chocolate in it, I was able to score some Taza Mexican chocolate at a local gourmet store and shaved 2 discs into the sauce to melt along with a hefty amount of fresh ground black pepper. As chili should have beans, I added a can of red beans and a can of black beans. Who doesn't like to cook with wine? I added more Shiraz. I taste tested it during the cooking process. I thought it was a bit bitter so I added brown sugar. For the salt factor, I added some salt cured pork belly fried nice and crispy. It needed more heat so I added Chipotle peppers in Adobo. It slowly simmers for several more hours to meld together. The results was a chili that had very complex and dark layers of flavors that was just magical and made my eyes roll back in my head. I can't wait to share it with my friends as it is a very large batch. I will be back for more of this paste. I want to explore and experiment with more ways to use this Mole paste. Well done Juquilita!

So delicious! Easily the best mole I’ve ever had. It has a nice kick to it, but it’s not too spicy. I boiled and blended roma tomatoes and green tomatillos, strained the mix, added chicken stock, then mixed it all with the mole paste. Highly recommend!

I've never been a fan of Mexican food, it doesn't work in my gut very well generally as an Irish person. But my husband is a fan...so we went to a mole competition this September. I tried 8 versions and surprisingly fell in love with an Oaxan negro mole. The flavors were unbelievable and my tummy went 'whoo hoo!'!! So much so that I just had to have more the next day and ordered some (this product) online OMG!! And now I'm "hooked" on this!! (Seriously I'm not making this story up. My preferred cuisine is Mediterranean). But the Oaxan Negro Mole I tasted at the Fair was so very amazing in complexity of flavor! I might even say: addictive. And in my new addiction I carefully selected this product and...okay my husband and I are now addicted!!! Okay so no, there is no chocolate ingredient (which I was also, as a chocolate addict, looking for) in the recipe - and there seemed to be some people in their comments in disagreement about that. But guess what...the complexity of flavors are impeccable!! SO good in fact that chocolate is irrelevant! This is an amazing, complex, sweet, spicy flavorful mole! And I'm thinking: please don't tell everyone because the demand will be so great my next order will take months to fulfill. (Please Juqilita remember me in the future orders!!)

We were homesick so we bought this. Use real tomatoes instead of can. Cannot tell you how delicious it was. We looooved it.

I would have to buy it in California. Then my mom found it being sold here 🤗 made me soo happy! It's soo good!

This is the good base but needs a lot of tweaking to make it into a sauce in my opinion. It's quite bitter so I added in addition to chicken stock, peanut butter some cinnamon and cardamom to lighten it up. If you are confident with how to balance a sauce to your taste I say go for it.

Had purchased this at a market couldn't get there due to being far thank god found it on Amazon. My guests lived it that one of them asked me to make a pan for her party.

Wow! Delicioso! Easy to make. Very authentic flavors. I doctored mine up just a little. Bragging rights in my kitchen. Makes a pretty large batch so plan on a lot of chicken or pork to go with it!