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1
Place all ingredients in an 8-quart pot and cover with cold water by 1 inch.
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2
Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low.
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3
Cover and simmer until pork is fork tender, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
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4
Remove pork to a dish; set aside.
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5
Reserve the cooking liquid.
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6
Place guajillo chiles in a large, dry cast iron skillet over medium heat and toast until fragrant, about 10 minutes.
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7
Transfer to a large bowl; set aside.
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8
Place ancho chiles in the skillet over medium heat and toast until fragrant, about 10 minutes.
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9
Transfer to a medium bowl; set aside.
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10
Pour enough very hot tap water over each bowl of chiles to cover, and let soak until softened, about 10 to 15 minutes.
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11
Drain both bowls and remove any tough stems; set chiles aside.
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12
Meanwhile, place garlic and onion in the dry cast iron skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally until theyre translucent and slightly charred, about 10 minutes.
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13
Remove from the pan and when the garlic is cool enough to handle, peel it; set garlic and onion aside.
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14
Place sesame seeds in the skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until theyre evenly toasted.
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15
Let cool, then grind to a powder in a coffee or spice grinder (do not overgrind); set aside.
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16
Combine reserved garlic and onion, ground sesame seeds, oregano, thyme, and 3/4 cup of the reserved pork cooking liquid in a blender.
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17
Cover and blend on low until smooth, about 1 minute.
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18
With the blender running, remove the cover and add reserved ancho chiles one by one, blending after each addition.
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19
(Add more pork cooking liquid only if needed to release the blender blade.)
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20
Blend until smooth, about 2 minutes.
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21
Set aside.
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22
Place tomatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
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23
Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until tomatoes are soft but not falling apart, about 5 minutes.
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24
Drain; set aside.
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25
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil or lard in a Dutch oven or a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a tightfitting lid over low heat.
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26
When the oil shimmers, add the blended ingredients and scrape the bottom of the pot to prevent sticking.
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27
Let the sauce cook while the rest of the ingredients are prepared, scraping and stirring often.
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28
Add reserved guajillo chiles and 3/4 cup pork cooking liquid to the blender (theres no need to clean the blender first), cover, and blend on low until smooth, about 2 minutes.
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29
Pour blended chiles through a fine mesh strainer into the sauce, pushing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible.
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30
Discard the solids and rinse out the strainer and blender.
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31
Place the strainer over a medium bowl.
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32
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil or lard in the cast iron skillet over medium heat until shimmering.
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33
Add pecans and fry, stirring often, until toasted, about 5 minutes.
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34
Transfer to the strainer with a slotted spoon.
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35
Add pumpkin seeds and fry, stirring often, until toasted, about 2 to 3 minutes.
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36
Transfer to the strainer with a slotted spoon.
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37
Add plantain slices and fry until golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes total.
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38
Transfer to the strainer with a slotted spoon.
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39
Place bread slices in the skillet and fry until lightly toasted on each side, about 3 minutes total.
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40
Transfer to the strainer with a slotted spoon.
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41
Add 1 cup pork cooking liquid and the fried ingredients from the strainer to the blender.
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42
Cover and blend on low until a textured paste forms, about 30 seconds.
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43
With the blender running, remove the cover, add the reserved tomatoes one at a time, and blend until almost smooth.
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44
Add the blended ingredients to the sauce and stir to combine.
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45
Add the chocolate, 2 more cups of the pork cooking liquid, and the salt to the sauce.
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46
Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce has slightly thickened and the flavors have melded, about 15 minutes.
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47
To use the sauce in , shred as much pork as youll need for each tamale and top with sauce.
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48
Otherwise, add the reserved pork to the sauce and cook until the pork is warmed through, about 10 minutes.
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49
Serve with tortillas.
