Duck Tamales With Mole Sauce
Updated Oct. 11, 2023
- Total Time
- 1 hour 40 minutes
- Prep Time
- 40 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 3dried ancho chilies
- 2plum tomatoes
- 2fresh tomatilloes, husked
- 2cloves garlic, peeled
- 2cups duck or veal stock
- 1teaspoon dried oregano
- 2teaspoons canela or cinnamon
- Pinch of ground cloves
- 1teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼teaspoon ground allspice
- 2ounces unsweetened chocolate, cut into small pieces
- Pinch of sugar
- ⅔cup duck confit fat, chilled (see recipe)
- Duck confit (see recipe)
- 2cups masa harina (an instant cornmeal preparation available in specialty food stores)
- 1⅓cups warm water
- Salt to taste
- 16cornhusks, soaked in warm water, or cooking parchment
The Mole Sauce
The Duck Tamales
Preparation
- Step 1
To make the mole sauce, cover the ancho chilies with boiling water, and allow to soak until soft. Remove the seeds, and chop the chilies.
- Step 2
Spear the tomatoes and tomatilloes with a fork and roast over an open flame until the skins begin to blacken. Chop and place in a food processor.
- Step 3
Roast the garlic by holding it on a fork over the flame until lightly browned. Add to the food processor, along with the duck or veal stock, chilies, oregano, canela or cinnamon, cloves, pepper and allspice. Puree this mixture.
- Step 4
Transfer the mixture to a saucepan, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Add the chocolate and sugar, and stir just until melted.
- Step 5
To make the tamales, remove 3 tablespoons of fat from the duck confit, and heat the fat in a skillet. Add the mole sauce to the fat, and cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Step 6
Melt the confit. Remove duck legs, skin them, and cut the meat off the bones, dicing it into ½-inch cubes. Mix with ¼ cup of mole sauce and set aside.
- Step 7
Stir warm water into the masa harina. The texture should be malleable, like a very soft dough. In a bowl whip the remaining chilled confit fat with a fork, and beat in the masa harina. Season to taste with a little salt.
- Step 8
Dry the cornhusks. Flatten them, and spread about 1½ tablespoons of the masa harina-fat mixture on the smooth inner side of each husk. Distribute the diced confit mixture in a line down the center of each husk. Roll each husk loosely, allowing room for expansion, and fold down the top to make a package. Tie with a strip of cornhusk. If cornhusks are not available, use pieces of cooking parchment.
- Step 9
Steam the tamales for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, reheat the remaining mole sauce. Allow the tamales to cool slightly, then serve with the mole sauce on the side.
Private Notes
Comments
I made the mole only. I had leftover rotisserie duck which I wanted to stew in the mole because the duck was a bit tough. It turned out quite tasty and tender. I served it over rice.
Added three roasted poblano‘s, roasted red pepper, roasted garlic, sautéed onion, 10 whole almonds, one cinnamon stick instead of ground, no cloves. Cook to stew consistency. Add honey at the end to round out bitterness of chocolate. delicious.
The mole is delicious, but made unnecessarily complicated. I didn’t have flame to roast veggies over, so just sautéed them in some of the duck fat. Also used frozen tomatillo with hot pepper from last summer— I doubt anyone would know the difference.
Nice easy mole sauce. I served it with tamales made with turkey and pumpkin filling.
Added three roasted poblano‘s, roasted red pepper, roasted garlic, sautéed onion, 10 whole almonds, one cinnamon stick instead of ground, no cloves. Cook to stew consistency. Add honey at the end to round out bitterness of chocolate. delicious.