| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 40 min |
| Active: | 1 hr 5 min |
| Yield: | 2 to 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 ounces bacon, diced
- One 3-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 serrano chile, stemmed and halved
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon pimenton (smoked paprika)
- 1 1/2 cups red wine
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 ounces baking chocolate, chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons agave nectar
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
Instructions
- Heat a braiser or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the oil and bacon; cook until the bacon is golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon to a plate, using a slotted spoon.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high. Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels, and sprinkle all over with the salt. Add the chicken, skin-side down, to the pan and cook until golden brown and crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. Flip and brown on the reverse side, an additional 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to the plate with the bacon.
- Add the onions, carrots, garlic and chiles to the pan, and cook an additional 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the allspice and pimenton; cook another 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and deepened in color, 2 minutes more. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and simmer for 5 minutes to reduce slightly. Add the chicken broth and then whisk in the chopped chocolate. Nestle in the browned chicken pieces, skin-side down, and sprinkle with the bacon. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 35 minutes, turning the chicken pieces halfway through.
- Remove the chicken to a platter to rest. Meanwhile, whisk the butter and agave nectar into the sauce. Stir in the peas, then spoon the stew over the chicken pieces.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 948 |
| Total Fat | 65 g |
| Saturated Fat | 22 g |
| Carbohydrates | 22 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Sugar | 9 g |
| Protein | 52 g |
| Cholesterol | 208 mg |
| Sodium | 1360 mg |
Reviews
This is much faster than making traditional mole. The mole sauce takes an entire day of prepping and cooking down the spices. This method and I was done in 2 hours. I do recommend using a good bar of plain dark chocolate instead of bakers chocolate. I used honey instead of agave. fantastic!
This is basically mole why name it chocolate chicken
Very tasty! Followed the recipe… except I didn’t add the peas. (Hubby don’t like them) chicken is very tender and juicy. I did use honey instead of agave. Will definitely make again.
I’m confused about the comments on bitterness. This recipe was wonderful — I was slurping up the sauce after dinner. I used Golden Syrup instead of agave (sensitivity issues), but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Will definitely make again!
It was bitter. I didn’t put chicken stock in the stew which may account for the bitterness. The chicken was very tender.
I will try this recipe again.
This was not good. I made this as written and it was inedible; extremely bitter. To avoid throwing the whole thing out I added more chicken stock, paprika, salt, agave, grated in a clove of garlic, and threw in a ton of Frank’s hot sauce. The end result was pretty good, but I won’t be making this again.
It was too bitter for me.
This was SO good and relatively easy!