Lamb Mole…in an Hour or So

January 28, 2019  •  Meat & Poultry

Lamb mole sounds like one of those recipes that should take forever, simmering the mole sauce and slow cooking the meat in a Dutch oven. Well, I’ve fallen in love with the pressure cooker feature of the Instant Pot, and made this sweet-spicy-savory Lamb Mole in just over an hour recently.I had intended to make this mole recipe from my site, but didn’t have exactly what it called for, so I made up a new mole with what I had on hand. Turns out it was pretty hard to beat. So pick either mole recipe you want, or use your own, and pull out a lamb shoulder and your Instant Pot for some good eats. Serve over rice, polenta, or pasta; shred and use in tacos with some pickled pink onions and shredded cabbage; or just eat the meat accompanied by sides. Or if you’re like me, stand in the kitchen by the cutting board with a fork in your hand and nibble until you can’t possibly take another bite!

Lamb Mole
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes
  • 4-6 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 4 dried ancho chile peppers, rehydrated, stems and seeds removed
  • 4 roasted poblano chile peppers, skin and seeds removed
  • 2 ounces Mexican chocolate (or I used a cumin-spiced 70% dark variety)
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds (I used black but it doesn't matter)
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Water
  • 1 lamb shoulder roast
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
  1. Roast the tomatoes and garlic on a roasting pan at 375 degrees just until the tomatoes soften and start to burst open, about 5-10 minutes.
  2. Pour the tomatoes and garlic into the blender and add the ancho peppers, poblanos, chocolate, tomatoes paste, pepper, sesame seeds, oregano, and cinnamon. Blend until smooth, slowly adding water until just until the sauce is the consistency of ketchup.
  3. Heat the Instant Pot on the sauce setting and while it heats up, season the roast very liberally with salt and pepper. Add oil to the Instant Pot and sear the roast on all sides, about 5 minutes.
  4. Thin 2 cups of the mole sauce (freeze the rest) with some water to thin it slightly, then pour over the roast. Close the pot and set to the Pressure Cooker setting for 70-90 minutes, depending on how large your roast is (mine took about 75 minutes).
  5. When the cooking time elapses, let the steam release slowly, then open the lid when the pressure valve has gone all the way down. Remove the meat and carefully cut away any fat; discard. Shred the lean meat and mix with a desired amount of the mole sauce from the Instant Pot.

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