Mole Recipes

[CosmicMiami]

I've looked around for decent mole recipes and find several including several from the unnamed king of Mexican cooking.

The problem is that I don't have access to a couple of the peppers that are indicated. Unless one lives in the SW US area, it seems impossible to get these peppers.

Anybody have any solutions?

Thanks,
CM

[paulj]

In the Pacific NW I can easily find anchos, guajillo, and pasilla/negro (a long narrow dried one). Even if a recipe calls for more exotic dried ones, I wouldn't hesitate to use a combination of these, or even just anchos.

[CosmicMiami]

I live in Miami. Despite the huge Cuban influence here, I have found that the Cubanos are afraid of complex foods and even more afraid of spice. So anything that even resembles a pepper is out. The only peppers available in any of the chain markets consist of the usual jalapeno and serrano variety. No dried varieties are offered.

[chefj]

The Internet is your friend as stated by "DiningDiva" for Dried Chilis

If you want to make a Mole now you can make a Green Mole which requires no dried Chilis.
http://www.rd.com/food/rick-bayless-r...

[DiningDiva]

CM just a thought...have you Googled to see if there are any Mexican markets near you? I can't imagine that there wouldn't be at least 1 or 2 in the greater Miami area. Barring that, you could probably find some usable/substitutable dried chiles in Haitian and Jamacian markets

[scubadoo97]

I find very hard to believe you can't find a bag of Badia or other brand of dried ancho, guajillo, new mexico or California chiles. I live in Tampa Bay it I can think of at least a half a dozen places within 5 miles of me. Even the Save a Lot has them. Find a Mexican market, I know there are plenty in Miami. They will have what you need.

[DiningDiva]

If you're looking for dried peppers, you can order small quantities on-line...even Amazon.com carries them.

If you're looking for fresh chiles, poblanos, serranos and jalapeños are pretty widely available. But even they can be substituted.

There are workable substitutes for most chiles, fresh or dried, what are you trying to source?

And, if you aren't truely committed to doing the recipe you've found, you might want to check out Truely Mexican by Roberto Santibañez. He's got a variety of mole recipes in that book (the Pistachio Mole is terrific) that might dovetail better with your available local ingredients

[todao]

what peppers are you looking for?
The "king of Mexican cooking" is often a reference to chef Rick Bayless.
Rick's recipes often call for "Ancho Chiles" which are simply dried Poblano peppers which you may be able to find. You can often substitute Mulato chiles for Ahcos.