The Best Mexican Mole in Fort Collins

At 2 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon, Chef Maria Caballero came into Los Tarascos to prepare one of her favorite family dishes: Mole. If you ask Chef Maria, she will tell you the test of an authentic Mexican restaurant is in their mole. Mole is a traditional Mexican food with many varieties and the sauce is usually served with chicken and holds many varieties. Chef Maria remembers the first time she made mole, when she was 12 years old, and vividly recalls her mother’s excitement when she had made this complex dish so well.

The preparation takes more time than other dishes because of the precision and care of adding each of the 20 ingredients individually and preserving the flavors along the way.

After all the ingredients are measured and prepared, including 4 types of peppers, a variety of nuts, spices, and vegetables, the ingredients are ready to be lightly fried. It is important the ingredients are not fried together so each one holds its specific flavor. The ingredients then begin the first round of boiling with different heat and for a different length of time before being added to the homemade chicken stock.. After boiling, the soup-like mole needs to cool before being ground. As the mole is ground, the flavors are enhanced and the mixture begins to smell and taste like the mole our customers have grown to love. Finally, the mole is boiled to bring out the richest flavors before being served with some of our signature dishes.

From start to finish, preparing Mole takes anywhere from 3-5 hours and is consumed in a single flavorful bite.

Growing up in Michoacan, the Caballero family learned the importance of putting time and precision into their well-crafted dishes. For Chef Maria, spending 5 hours carefully measuring, roasting, and boiling ingredients so this signature dish carries the life and love she wishes makes every bite worth it.

Next time you come in to order a dish, order our chicken with mole sauce to experience a decades-old recipe with over 20 flavors in a single bite. Our goal is to make sure each one of those flavors was carefully prepared, and prepared with love.

Our commitment is to serve our customers with the same love we would our own family. Next time you come to Los Tarascos, we encourage you to pause after tasting the food. Focus on the flavors– the smokiness, the peppers, the spices. For a moment try to think about the care and precision put into every detail of your food. Our goal is larger than making great-tasting food. We want our customers to experience the unique flavors added in our signature dishes that were made with great care and focus. We hope our customers taste a culture and a story when they come in to taste our authentic Mexican food.