Sweet Chilli Sauce (needs jam jars!)

Manta Ray a l'Anglaise · Sweet Chilli Sauce (needs jam jars!)

3lbs chopped onion
10 cloves garlic
1 tube tomato puree
1 and a quarter pints vinegar
2 heaped teaspoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons chilli powder (or 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper)
2 chicken stock cubes or 1/2 pint good chicken stock
8 x 14oz cans tomatoes chopped
1 and a quarter lbs sugar
salt
splash of oil

Sweat the chopped onion in the oil, add everything else and simmer till it's reduced and thicker, but not as thick as say chutney. Check seasoning. Makes about 14 x 12oz jars. See below.

I used to work in a local hotel kitchen and this is one of their recipes, you can break it down to using 1 can of tomatoes, but this is a wonderful store cupboard staple and is great on chicken portions, pork ribs or chops, or stir fried with steak. It doesn't need any cooking so I cook the meat in the oven and pour a jar over and finish for about 10 minutes

Wash and dry 14 x 12oz jam jars with lids, add the boiling sauce, clean rims and put the lid on - tighten. As the sauce cools the lid will pop, if it's a pop type, other lids will just feel tight, if you can push your thumb against the middle and depress it, then it hasn't sealed.

dingsy

How hot is this one? I used a lovely (shop bought

) one, which I find has the perfect balance between hot and sweet. If this is quite mild, I'll maybe increase the amount of chilli powder.Am going to scale it down to about 6 jars too.

Nannyp

brilliant, thanks Itsyray....will save me loads of money, as I have to buy the stuff from the English section, and its always marked up.
q15

Manta Ray a l'Anglaise

dingsy

I'll maybe just add a touch more....like things quite nippy!

Manta Ray a l'Anglaise

You'll find when you've made it that you'll wish you hadn't bothered messing about with only 6 jars

Nannyp

I only have 2lbs of onions, can I make up the difference with leeks?

Preferable to using fuel and driving to the shop.

Manta Ray a l'Anglaise

Nannyp

Excellent and stop that laughing, some of us have no idea you know

Manta Ray a l'Anglaise

Me? Laughing

never. . . .

The thing is in that sauce the onions are adding flavour but mostly bulk as the chief flavouring is the contrast between sweet and sour and the hotness of the chilli, so you could easily use just 2lbs and not particularly notice any difference in the flavour, it just wouldn't make quite as much.

Several years ago I made some green tomato chutney from a recipe in a British Sugar book which in general is one of my bibles, but this chutney was never up to much so one day I broke it down into it's seperate entities, so there's the bulk items and the flavourings, I also broke down another chutney recipe and I discovered that the % of vinegar and spices in the green tomato was much lower than in the other so I adjusted it to the same % and the resulting chutney was really nice, the original worked, it just didn't have much ooomph.

Nannyp

You're just clever

Manta Ray a l'Anglaise

How's did it go? Do you like it?

Nannyp

I had to go out this morning reasonably early for me, as it is a holiday, so shops were closing at midday.
I needed potatoes, and also several tins of tomatoes. So, I bought some more onions to make up the poundage.

So, I started, after struggling with the onions and smarting eyes

Onions are sweating in the largest pan I have, a wok. Start chopping the toms, 2 tins at a time in my blender. Hmm, this is a large quantity of stuff.......

So, all toms chopped, and even before I add the sugar, I can see there will be no room for all the toms. Add sugar, and some toms, and chop the garlic, add the chilli powder and thyme....hmm, oh look, the recipe says tomato puree, go to fridge q11

no effing puree

Oh, and more liquid in the form of vinegar....I have some, but no bloody room to add it to the already full wok.

So, have filled my slow cooker, and the wok, both to the brim and left to wait until Monday, when i can buy puree and AN ENORMOUS catering size pan

Was looking forward to turkey stir fry tonight, with the sauce....will have to wait now

Manta Ray a l'Anglaise

Don't you have a jam pan?

Nannyp

Yes, and it is no bigger than my wok, I'm sure. It's not lined, so I thought I couldn't use it?

Manta Ray a l'Anglaise

Is it brass/copper then? If so it will be fine to use as long as you don't leave anything in it, so cook in it but don't leave anything acidic to go cold and stand.

Mine is aluminium, but I do also have a large saucepan which holds the same as my jam pan (12 pints)

Nannyp

I'll remember for the future, but it doesn't have the capacity to hold all that I have made today. I still need puree, and it's a public holiday weekend, so can do nothing more til Monday

dingsy

Now you can see why I'm planning on reducing the quantities!

Nannyp

caprice62

I made half a batch today I did add a few finely chopped chillies to the recipe but only because of the different texture, I also bottled some of it in small wine bottles for the christmas hampers cannot wait to use it thanks
tomorrow I am making a batch of beetroot chutney and a batch of mango for the christmas hampers
also using up the last of my coriander in a mango salsa

Nannyp

Tis done!

I bought a 15 litre pan today, and the puree

I now have several thousands jars cooling and a strong smell of vinegar around the house.

Will try some tonight in a stir fry

Manta Ray a l'Anglaise

dingsy

I hope you like it, or else you'll have a lot to use up

Nannyp

The pan

The cook

The result

Manta Ray a l'Anglaise

18 jars - well done. I just showed this to my son who is a great lover of this sauce, he said "well done" too. Great photos. . . . . .

Oh I also meant to post this the other day, but ran out of time, but the curry sauce goes in the jam jars very well too, add a bit of extra water or stock to make it easier to get in the jars, I think it makes about 6 or 8. (now she goes off to find her recipe book to see what other trouble she can cause

)

Nannyp

You carry on causing trouble I am enjoying it

Oh and...the beef curry last night, left some sauce (which Mark nealry nicked, he is so greedy!). I added a load of mushrooms (needed using) and a bit of cauliflower. We had it today for lunch today, with jacket potatoes

great to use every little bit

Nannyp

Wow, it certainly packs a punch....just on the edge of too hot for me, although I am enjoying it. Mark is enjoying, he likes it hot q12

It's very tasty though

Nannyp

Manta Ray a l'Anglaise

Certainly if it's a touch too hot for you then just a little less next time will be fine.

I think ground Chilli will be Cayenne Pepper, Chilli powder in good ole Blighty comes in mild or hot formulas and has other stuff added - salt, cumin, oregano and garlic (Tesco) so the chilli element will be slightly less powerful, which is why I put a smaller amount for cayenne, but it's my fault really cos in my college days there was no such thing as chilli powder - it was all Cayenne pepper, so I know these things and shouldn't assume that everyone else does too - there's no embarrassed emoticon

Nannyp

or should that be

It's okay...I did ponder whilst looking at what I had. I have some very OLD cayenne. I could have asked you.

I've put the photos on Facebook and there is excitement amongst my friends, all clamouring for the recipe...I have pointed them in this direction.

You'll soon be a star q14

Manta Ray a l'Anglaise

Nannyp

caprice62

does the taste change with age???? its blooming lovely at the mo !!!!no longer have to bring back catering bottles back with me ( I use it a lot in other sauces etc ..like BBQ) and its great for dips for sammosas and the like

Manta Ray a l'Anglaise

No it'll stay just the same - have you bottled it in the jam jars? As long as they have sealed it will keep for a long time. I occasionally have a lid fail, but it's quite rare and I make a lot of stuff like that, so much so that I have started buying new lids.

caprice62

no I bought a tray of juice in wide neck bottles and they are the perfect size and shape for storing (all my jars have gone for jams and jellies!!) actually got these jars to give my bottled fruits in alcohol as pressies in the christmas hampers

Nannyp

It gets hotter

Just had chicken legs, and vegetable rice....and the sauce. It seemed hotter.
We were okay once we adjusted our palettes

Apart from natural yogurt/sour cream...are there any other ways to cool it down?

Manta Ray a l'Anglaise

Oh dear. . . . . . my star is failing . . . . .

Can't say I've noticed that, but we usually finish a jar in one meal (being greedy pigs

) and if there's any left in the pan and absorbed meat juices, especially if I've done belly pork, then the next day that cold on slices of cheese is to die for

Seriously though if it is too much try adding another tin of tomatoes when you open the next one or half a tin first and see how it goes, it will extend the sauce but hopefully not dilute the sweet/sour too much. If you're finishing the sauce over meat in the oven then just pop it in 5 minutes earlier than you would have done and that will reduce the excess moisture.

Itsyray

Nannyp

Oh don't worry, we like it....and as I say, once we adjusted, it was fine.
If I could eat it, then it's fine for Mark.

Just thinking about for others, when I am cooking for them

caprice62

could you ring the changes (and cool it down) by adding coconut milk ?? or cream ?? although I think I would prefer the tomato idea

Nannyp

Jo and Phil left here at 1pm today...we had Pork Shoulder Chops, marinaded over night in the sauce, and then cooked in the oven.
They really enjoyed it..and liked how hot it is. Like me, Jo says it's at her limit of hotness, but she says she might make some at home.
Still have lots of jars left, and it is nice to have it there to do something different now and again.

MissMuppet

Right I have made sure all the ingredients are in my online shop... have changed the delivery to tomorrow, so will have a go at this over the weekend. Just need to sort my jars out...

MissMuppet

Sauce all made... it turned out lovely, I even had some with a baked potato! I halved the recipe so have lots to freeze...

Thanks will be making this again when I've run out, which could be months!

Nannyp

Brilliant, well done Jo.....did you enjoy making it?

MissMuppet

I did... I realised looking through the forums today how much I cooked the first year I moved, and how much I haven't cooked in the last year... plan on doing more cooking again this year!

Nannyp

Yes, I wonder what happened (not for this thread maybe).
Maybe it was when you moved from your other flat...it became less appealing.

Nannyp

Had this again with pork shoulder chops, really lovely.

Not sure, I forgot to count, how much is left. Am looking forward to making it again sometime

Have just checked....2 jars!!

Not long before I make some more.