Mole Sauce

3 whole vine ripened tomatoes, stems removed

4 - 5 peeled whole medium tomatillos

6 - 8 whole fresh garlic cloves peel on

1 medium sweet onion quartered

2 ½ to 3 cups chicken stock, divided

4 - 5 dried black mission figs, hard stem removed

⅓ cup raisins 

1 tbsp sesame seeds

½ tsp coriander seeds

½ tsp cloves

½ tsp anise seeds

½ stick cinnamon 1-2 in total

4 - 5 coffee beans

5 - 6 dried guajillo peppers, seeds and stems removed

5 - 6 dried ancho peppers, seeds and stems removed

2 - 8 dried arbol peppers, seeds and stems removed (depending on spice preference) 

4 cups of boiling water

2 - 3 tbsp lard, divided

½ cup pecans

½ cup walnuts

½ cup almonds

1 tbsp peanuts

1 tsp dried oregano 

½ tsp dried thyme 

4 - 6 of Mexican chocolate depending on preferred sweetness

Meat:

1 elk neck roast, approximately 3 to 8 lbs of meat

2 tsp salt or to taste

1 tsp pepper

¼ cup white flour

Corn Tortillas 

Queso Fresco Cheese shredded or crumbled

1 white onion finely chopped

1 bunch cilantro chopped

Directions

Sauce:

In a medium saucepan, boil 4 cups of water. With a knife remove the stems of the peppers. Split the peppers lengthwise and remove seeds. Discard the stems and seeds. Toast all three types of peppers in a dry cast iron skillet or large frying pan over medium heat until the peppers blister. Remove the peppers from heat and place in a medium mixing bowl. Char the figs and raisins in the pan over medium heat and add to the bowl of peppers. Add 3 cups of boiling water to the bowl. Place a bowl or plate on the peppers in the hot water to keep the peppers submerged. Let the bowl sit for that least 30 minutes so that the peppers can rehydrate.

Take your 1 to 2 inch long cinnamon stick and loosley break it up with a mortar and pestle. In a skillet add the sesame seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, anise seeds, broken up cinnamon stick and coffee beans and toast them on medium heat for about 1 minute. After you have toasted the spices, move them to a mortar and pestle and grind them until they are fine. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat. Place the whole tomatoes, tomatillos, quartered onion and garlic with the peel still on in skillet and char all sides of the vegetables. As the tomatoes, tomatillos and onions char on all sides, remove them from the heat and place in a blender. Remove the garlic from the heat and allow to cool for a minute. Once the garlic is cool enough to handle, remove the peel and add it to the blender as well. Add one to one and a half cups of chicken stock to the blender. Puree until smooth and set aside.

Add lard to skillet or pan and melt over medium heat. Add the pecans, walnuts and almonds and toast until they darken in color, approximately 3 minutes. Remove the toasted nuts from the heat and add to the blender of vegetables and spices. With the remaining lard, fry a corn tortilla until dark golden brown. Add the toasted tortilla to the blender and blend well.

Elk neck meat prep:

Lightly salt and pepper the elk neck meat. Dust in flour. Add a tablespoon of lard to a large skillet or frying pan. Heat pan to medium or medium high and add meat to pan. Brown all edges, including narrow sides. Use a set of tongs to hold meat on its side when browning the narrow edges. Once the meat is browned, remove pan from heat and set aside on a plate.

Heat oven to 280 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Sauce:

After the peppers have reabsorbed the liquid for at least 30 minutes, strain them, reserving ¼ cup of the pepper juice. Place peppers, ¼ cup of the pepper water, and an additional 1 cup of chicken stock to a magic bullet or similar small blender. Add the toasted spices, oregano and thyme to a blending bullet and blend them into a liquid. It is best if you use a bullet to get a finer blend that a large blender. If you only have a blender, blend as well as you can and pour through a fine metal wire strainer to remove any large chunks of pepper. 

Pour the blended vegetables and the blended peppers and spices into your cast iron skillet or large frying pan over low heat. Add the Mexican chocolate. Simmer sauce for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring slowly and constantly. The sauce will darken and thicken. Remove from heat.

Ladle ½  of the sauce into a bowl and set aside. This can be frozen and used at a later date.

Elk neck Continued:

In a cast iron skillet, braising pot or Dutch oven, pour enough sauce to cover bottom, approximately ½ of the total sauce made. Place the braised neck roast in the pan and ladle the sauce over it to cover it. Cover the skillet with heavy duty tin foil.  Place the skillet on a traeger grill or in the oven at 280 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 to 4 hours. 

Chop your white onion finely. Chop the cilantro and shred the queso fresco Mexican cheese. Refrigeration until you are ready to serve.

Once the meat is cooked, remove the skillet from the grill. With tongs remove the meat from the skillet and let cool some. With large forks shred the meat. If it is cool enough to handle, you can also use your hands. Set aside. 

Place a fine metal strainer over an appropriate sized bowl and pour the sauce the meat was cooked in into the strainer. Use a flexible spatula or large spoon to press all the liquid out of the sauce and into your bowl to This will remove any large pieces. You can discard what is left in the strainer. In a small saucepan add the strained sauce. Simmer over low heat until it is warm again.