Mole Braised Brisket

Mole braised brisket it’s hearty, cozy, and perfect for the holidays. Brisket rubbed in a rich mole sauce, then braised until fork-tender will be the star of your holiday table. 

Braised brisket is comfort at its best. I serve braised brisket from Sunday dinner to potlucks. . Today, I want to share a beautiful new recipe that ties together my heritage in the tastiest way. A homemade mole sauce with nods to my Mexican heritage and fork-tender brisket that encompasses my roots in Texas. 

I’ve teamed up with my amigos over at Beef Loving Texans to share a mole braised brisket that will surely be a hit for the holidays. 

First off let’s chat brisket – buying a brisket can be overwhelming, trust me I know. 

When I was ten, my Mami dropped me off at the grocery store to buy a brisket. She was planning on braising a brisket low and slow for Sunday dinner. I ran in, picked out the biggest brisket, paid for it and headed out to the car confident I had scored her the best brisket for my Mami. 

At home, I unwrap my beautiful brisket only to find out I had purchased a pork butt. My Mami laughed, reassured me it was okay, and made carnitas instead of brisket for Sunday dinner. She personally took me to the grocery store then the following week to teach me all about brisket.    

Here’s my go-to tips when buying a brisket straight from my Mami: 

HOW TO BUY A BRISKET

You can find brisket in two cuts at your local grocery store. The first cut – a flat cut is a brisket that is trimmed leaving very little fat (deckle). It’s often more expensive since it takes time to trim. The second cut is which my favorite is called the point cut retains most of the fate (deckle) and is slightly trimmed. I prefer the point cut because the fat adds so much flavor especially when you are braising the brisket and is more budget friendly. 

Here in South Texas, briskets are kept intact, so you can find briskets up to size in 15 pounds, but you can easily ask the butcher to slice up a smaller brisket for you. 

I prefer the larger size, as I can easily slice into two, one for braising, one to tuck away in the freezer for later. For this recipe I am braising a 5–6-pound brisket. 

Look for a bright, vibrant red brisket with no signs of grey. The fat or deckle should be a clean, white shade.  

Now that we have chatted brisket let’s talk mole.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE MOLE BRAISED BRISKET

Pasilla chiles – pasilla chile, is a chile negro which translates to “little raisin,” in Spanish. The fresh form is a chilaca -pasilla chile has notes of smoky sweetness and is a key ingredient in mole.  Look for dried pasilla chiles in the produce aisle or spice aisle.  

Ancho chiles – ancho chiles are dried poblano peppers and are one of the most popular chiles used in the Texas during the holidays to make tamales and pozole. They have a mild to medium smoky flavor. Find ancho sold by the pound in the produce or spice aisle.  

corn tortillas 

raw almonds

peanuts

pepitas

coriander seeds

cinnamon stick

black pepper

garlic

Mexican chocolate 

beef broth

onions

prunes

dark brown sugar 

salt

5 to 6 pounds beef brisket, fat trimmed

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE MOLE NEGRO 

We start by making the mole sauce. Making homemade mole sauce at home can seem daunting, pero don’t worry, my mole sauce is super easy to make, and with this recipe, you will have enough to braise the brisket plus plenty of leftover mole sauce for another meal. 

The mole sauce can be made up to four days in advance. Store prepared mole sauce in the fridge, covered. 

You can use a comal or skillet to toast your ingredients. Toasting the ingredients adds so much flavor, plus releases the natural oils in the seeds and spices, which elevate our mole sauce. 

In a comal or skillet over medium-high heat, toast the pasilla and ancho chiles until they are soft and pliable, about 3 minutes. 

Remove chiles from comal or skillet, and place in a bowl. Cover with hot, and allow to steep for 15 minutes. 

On same comal or skillet place corn tortillas, toast turning to toast both sides, remove tortillas from comal.

Reduce heat, add almonds, peanuts, pepitas, coriander seeds and cinnamon stick. 

Lightly toast, for about 2 minutes, stirring often to prevent it from burning. 

Remove almonds, peanuts, pepitas, coriander seeds and cinnamon stick.   

In a blender or food processor, add the toasted tortillas in pieces, almonds, peanuts, pepitas, coriander seeds, cinnamon sticks, black pepper, garlic, Mexican chocolate, and 2 cups of beef broth. 

Blend until smooth. Add the onion, prunes, hydrated chiles, and a few ladles of steeping water from the chiles.  

Blend until smooth, adding more steeping water if needed. Heat olive in a Dutch oven or stock pot over medium-high heat. Carefully add sauce; sauce might splatter. 

Fry sauce, stirring, often for 3 minutes. Add remaining beef broth, brown sugar, and salt. 

Reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Allow to cool completely, use to braise brisket. Mole can be made up to four days in advance. 

Freeze any remaining mole sauce in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

HOW TO MAKE MOLE BRAISED BRISKET  

Place brisket on a large baking sheet. Pat the brisket dry and season all over with salt and pepper.

Rub mole sauce over the entire brisket. Place brisket uncovered in the fridge overnight. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large roasting pan, add sliced onion and the remaining broth. 

Place brisket in the roasting pan fat side up. As the brisket braises, the fat will cook down, creating a mist, flavorful brisket. This is the main reason I prefer a fattier brisket; once you slice the brisket, you can easily trim off any fat you like. 

Cover with foil, and place in the oven for 3 1/2 hours or until the brisket is fork tender. 

Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Remove the brisket to a cutting board and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. 

Slice brisket against the grain, and serve warm drizzled with mole sauce.

HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER BRISKET

Leftover brisket can be stored in an airtight container or plastic bag in the refrigerator for two days. 

Freeze any leftovers in a freezer-safe container for up to three months.

Print

Mole Braised Brisket

Author: Vianney Rodriguez

Ingredients

• for mole negro:
• 4 dried pasilla chiles stems and seeds removed
• 4 dried ancho chiles stems and seeds removed
• 2 cups warm water
• 2 corn tortillas
• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1/4 cup peanuts
• 1 tablespoon pepitas
• 1/4 cup coriander seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tbsp black pepper
• 6 cloves garlic
• 4 oz Mexican chocolate cut into 4 pieces
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 medium white onion quartered
• 1 cup prunes
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 tbsp salt
• For Brisket:
• 5 to 6 pounds beef brisket fat trimmed
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups mole sauce plus additional for serving
• 1 large onion sliced
• 2 cups beef broth

Instructions

1. For mole sauce:
2. In a comal or skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat, toast the chiles until they are soft and pliable, about 3 minutes.
3. Remove chiles from comal or skillet, and place in a bowl. Cover with hot water and allow to steep for 15 minutes.
4. On the same comal or skillet, place corn tortillas, toast turning to toast on both sides, and remove tortillas from the comal.
5. Reduce heat, and add almonds, peanuts, pepitas, coriander seeds, and cinnamon sticks. Lightly toast for about 2 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning. Remove almonds, peanuts, pepitas, coriander seeds, and cinnamon sticks.
6. In a blender or food processor, add the toasted tortillas in pieces, almonds, peanuts, pepitas, coriander seeds, cinnamon sticks, black pepper, garlic, Mexican chocolate, and 2 cups of beef broth.
7. Blend until smooth. Add the onion, prunes, hydrated chiles, and a few spoons of steeping water from the chiles. Continue blending, adding more steeping water if needed.
8. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or stock pot over MEDIUM-HIGH heat.
9. Carefully add sauce as it might splatter. Fry sauce, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Add remaining beef broth, brown sugar, and salt. Reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
10. Allow sauce to cool completely; use to braise Brisket.
11. For brisket:
12. Place Brisket on a large baking sheet. Pat the Brisket dry and season all over with salt and pepper.
13. Rub mole sauce over the entire Brisket. Place Brisket uncovered in the fridge overnight.
14. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
15. In a large roasting pan, add sliced onion and the remaining broth. Place Brisket in the roasting pan fat side up. Cover with foil, and place in the oven for 3 1/2 hours or until Brisket is fork tender.
16. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and place Brisket on a cutting board; allow it to rest for 15 minutes.
17. Slice Brisket against the grain and serve warm drizzled with mole sauce.

Recipe Notes

Mole can be made up to four days in advance.
Freeze any remaining mole sauce in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Serves 12