Country Western Ketchup

Gather

Ingredients

• 24 lb ripe tomatoes
• 5 chile peppers, sliced and seeded
• 1/4 cup salt
• 2 2/3 cups vinegar (5% acidity)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 4 tsp paprika
• 4 tsp whole allspice
• 4 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tbsp whole peppercorns
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp bay leaves

Preserve

Instructions

1. 01

   Wear gloves while handling the chiles. Scald the washed tomatoes for 30-60 seconds, until their skins split, then chill them in cold water. Peel, core, and quarter the tomatoes.

2. 02

   Put the tomatoes, sliced chiles, and cayenne in a large stockpot. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

3. 03

   Tie the paprika, allspice, dry mustard, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and bay leaves in a spice bag. Heat the bag with the vinegar just to boiling, turn off the heat, and let it steep while the tomatoes cook. Remove the bag, then stir the seasoned vinegar into the tomatoes.

4. 04

   Boil the mixture for about 30 minutes, then press it through a food mill or sieve. Return the smooth sauce to the pot, add the sugar and salt, and boil gently while stirring often until the volume is reduced by half and the ketchup mounds on a spoon without separating.

5. 05

   Ladle the hot ketchup into hot pint jars, leaving 1/8-inch headspace. Remove bubbles, recheck the headspace, clean the rims, and apply the lids.

6. 06

   At 0-1,000 ft, process pint jars for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Increase the time.
   Calculate your elevation adjustment →