An Authentic Mexican Cinco de Mayo Crockpot Fiesta

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

I recently had the good fortune to travel to Mexico to celebrate a family destination wedding. While there, our hotel featured an evening of Mexican culture and food. What was really interesting is that the buffet featured food representing all the different regions of Mexico. There was everything from tamales to snapper in salsa veracruzana (a tomato and green olive sauce) to corn on the cob dipped in mayonnaise, cheese and spices. We got to try a broader variety of Mexican culinary specialties than just your usual expected nachos, quesadillas, and tacos that are more the staples of Tex-Mex cooking than authentic Mexican cuisine.

So the timing was perfect to give me some ideas for a festive Cinco de Mayo menu that can be made in the crockpot. Cinco de Mayo, the celebration of Mexican culture that happens on the fifth day of May, is a great occasion to explore the authentic culinary specialties of Mexico such as Mole Poblano. This is a slow cooked dish made with a meat such as chicken or pork simmered in a mixture of spices, dried chili peppers, toasted pumpkin seeds or nuts and ground chocolate. It is not commonly found on the menu of Mexican chain restaurants in the United States, but is a very well known dish south of the border. In fact, the official national dish of Mexico is mole de guajolote, a mole made with turkey.

I remember trying mole for the first time with my family as a preteen at the Mexico pyramid in Disney’s Epcot center. Ever since I was little I’ve always found chocolate hard to resist, and this was the first time I had seen chocolate listed as an ingredient in a savory course. Of course the chocolate is not as noticeable as one might think; its flavor is merely an accent that combines with all the other flavors to create a balanced sauce that is smooth, rich, and subtly spiced.

Mole poblano, like Cinco de Mayo, originated in the Puebla region of Mexico. It is said to have been created by the Santa Clara order of nuns to impress visiting church and political officials in the seventeenth century. The procedure to make mole involves several very simple steps. First you toast the chilies along with the nuts or pumpkinseeds in oil in a heavy saucepan. Sauté these with garlic, onion, and tomatoes and then blend to a paste in a food processor.

To accent your Mole you can serve some homemade or bagged tortilla chips with a few different varieties of fresh salsa or guacamole. I would also suggest serving Mexican style corn on the cob as a side dish. This is a delicious combination of Mexican cotija cheese (a crumbly cheese similar to feta) and chili spice rubbed on steamed or grilled corn that has been brushed with mayonnaise. On the side, you can serve some lime wedges to squeeze over the corn.

Finally, what better beverage to serve with your Cinco de Mayo feast than freshly made margaritas, with or without salt? For the beer drinkers, you can serve a choice of Mexican beers that will complement all the spicy flavors.

So this Cinco de Mayo, branch out from the usual Mexican favorites, explore regional Mexican cooking with a sauce full of history and spice!

Serves/Makes: 6

• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 2 dried Anaheim or Ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 chipotle chile canned in adobo
• 1 1/2 cup fire roasted crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 (6-inch size) corn tortillas, torn into pieces
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 pound turkey thighs (can substitute chicken)
• fresh cilantro sprig, optional