The pros: Right off of the grill pan Trader Joe's Oaxacan Inspired Chicken Thighs in Mole Sauce made very tender chicken. Even served cold on it was still very tender. Made in the USA.
The cons: The mole marinade was just ok and was difficult to visually tell if it was cooked through. A meat thermometer is recommended.
The verdict: For $4.49 a pound or my package came to $7.14, you get nice pieces of chicken thighs that are so very tender. They are thickly coated in a mole sauce that has notes of peppers, chocolate, cilantro, and tomato. While the package says it's not spicy, there is the most subtle heat in tasting this. The mole sauce has a lot of different elements to it which means it tasted very complex. Each bite hit my tongue differently. With some bites the various peppers came through more, others it was the chocolate, others it was the various spices here. The flavor as a whole was just ok. It wasn't great and I didn't rush to have the other pieces. What was cut up on a salad was all I reached for. I left a lot of this in my refrigerator after being prepared.
The package in the meat aisle of the refrigerated section:
The nutritional information, the ingredients and how to prepare:
Out of the package of Trader Joe's Oaxacan Inspired Chicken Thighs in Mole Sauce you get:
In a pan:
After being cooked and served with a salad with Trader Joe's Cilantro Salad Dressing:
Would I buy this again? No. While super tender, it wasn't a flavor combination that I was in love with. There are better options in the refrigerated case. Is it worth a try? Yes, I didn't throw it out, but it wasn't my personal favorite either.
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Did you try it? Tell me what you thought in the comments section.
Mario says
Mole is just a very difficult sauce to get right so not surprised that it wasn't a hit. It's tasty when done right!