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Photo of Slow roasted pork in mole sauce by WW

Slow roasted pork in mole sauce

3
Points®
Total Time
3 hr 50 min
Prep
25 min
Cook
3 hr 25 min
Serves
16
Difficulty
Moderate
This Mexican-inspired pork dish yields a whopping 16 servings of deliciously slow-roasted pork in a rich, spicy sauce. The sauce gets heat from the poblano and chipotle chilies, while it's sweetness and depth come from raisins and peanut butter. The key ingredient for any traditional mole is the addition of chocolate. The chocolate used is meant to add a touch of bitterness to the sauce, not the sweetness we most often associate with chocolate. Our recipe employs cocoa powder for the task. Serve this recipe for your next casual game day or a family gathering, or prepare a batch and freeze portions for quick weeknight meals in the future. Frozen, this recipe can last up to 3 months and is terrific as a taco filling or alongside some roasted sweet potatoes and steamed green beans.

Ingredients

Uncooked lean pork tenderloin

3 pound(s)

Paprika

1 Tbsp, Spanish-variety

Table salt

1 tsp

Cooking spray

3 spray(s)

Poblano pepper

3 medium, seeded, deveined, sliced, divided

Onion

2 medium, thinly sliced, divided

Water

¼ cup(s)

Olive oil

2 tsp

Garlic

4 clove(s), minced

Canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

3 Tbsp

Ground cumin

1½ Tbsp

Cilantro

½ cup(s), fresh, minced, divided

Unsweetened cocoa powder

2 Tbsp

Tomato

3 cup(s), chopped

Raisins

½ cup(s)

Reduced sodium peanut butter

3 Tbsp

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450ºF.
  2. Rinse and dry pork tenderloin; rub all over with paprika and salt.
  3. Coat a large, heavy, oven-proof pot with cooking spray; set over high heat. Place seasoned pork in pot and sear on each side, about 30 seconds.
  4. Remove pot from stove and nestle 1 whole sliced pepper and 1 whole sliced onion under pork; add water to pot and cover tightly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes; reduce oven to 200ºF and continue to cook for 2 hours. When pork has cooked for 1 1/2 hours, start mole sauce.
  5. To make mole sauce, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When oil begins to shimmer, add garlic and chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. Sauté until garlic starts to brown, about 1 minute. Add remaining onion and pepper slices; sauté until onion starts to turn golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in cumin, 1/4 cup cilantro and cocoa; mix well until everything is incorporated. Stir in tomatoes and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
  6. When the pork’s cooking time is up, remove pot from oven but leave oven on. Remove pork to a cutting board; remove vegetables and juices and add those to mole sauce with raisins and peanut butter. Mix sauce well and simmer for about 5 minutes more. Working in small batches, puree mole sauce in a blender until smooth.
  7. Next, thinly slice pork and return to pot. Cover pork with mole sauce and cook for 1 hour more. Remove from oven and serve garnished with remaining 1/4 cup cilantro. Yields about 1 cup meat and sauce per serving.

Notes

Shred pork with a fork if desired.

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