Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Great Grandma's Chile Sauce



I love home canning. It is one of my favorite things, though I admit at first I was very intimidated to try it. Culinary School completely freaked me out about any kind of food born illness, and improperly done, home canning can be lethal. However, after several years of study and practice, I have come to terms with me fear. I "home can" on a regular basis. Basic sanitation is the key to safe canning. If you have never tried canning, please study first. I don't want anyone getting sick. One of my favorite books on the subject is called "Canning For Dummies" by Karen Ward. Very comprehensive and helpful! I think it is high time I started posting some of my best recipes here so that others may also benefit. So here's the start.

This recipe is for a family favorite. It really is my Great Grandma's Chile Sauce recipe and it is a tradition. I adjusted some of the spices. So I guess it is technically my recipe now. I use it in place of ketchup sometimes or as the base for BBQ sauce. It is also amazing in meatloaf, as a condiment for just about any meat. Once you try it I think you will agree. At any rate, I wanted to have it here as a reference for everyone. Maybe someday I will have it in grocery stores. Until then you will have to make your own. Enjoy.

Chef Stephanie's Chile Sauce
adapted from my Great Grandma Hill's original recipe ( It's as old as the Hills! Haa haaa)

6 quarts of tomato puree (2 #10 cans)
2 large onions, chopped fine
4 red or green bell peppers, chopped fine
3T salt
2 C brown sugar
1T curry paste
1 1/2 tsp clove
1T nutmeg
1T cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp allspice
2T cinnamon
1T celery seed
2T ground fennel seed
1 1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup garlic powder
Combine in a very large 5 gallon stock pot and simmer 2-3 hours until very thick. Spoon into sterile canning jars and seal with prepared canning lids. Boiling water process 15 minutes for half pints and 20 for pints. Yield 24 cups.

4 comments:

Goob said...

I LOVE chili sauce, but I haven't had any for years. The "Homemade" brand at the grocery store is the only one we ever used to buy, but it got expensive at some point,and then I couldn't find it anymore. I adore chili sauce with pot-roast. (in fact, I basically don't enjoy pot roast without it).

Chef Tess said...

I am making a batch this next week if you want to come over! I'd love to have some extra hands.

Marylois said...

I'm excited to try this. I love putting chili sauce in and on meat loaf. I love it nice and chunky too. I'm going to give this a try. thanks for posting it.

Chef Tess said...

You are most welcome Marylois. I think you will really enjoy this recipe. It's a long standing favorite for a reason.