Chipotle ketchup changes everything
I was talking to a friend on the phone last night and he asked what I’d eaten for dinner. “Ketchup,” I replied. “And what else?” he said. “And nothing. Just ketchup,” I said, “though I suppose onion rings would have been nice.”
I am in love with ketchup for the first time. And yes, I could be biased because I made it but no matter—I think it’s the best ketchup I’ve ever had in my life.
Have you ever made ketchup? If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat. You get to control the sweetness, the spice and you can even make it fiery if you desire, as I did with mine by adding chipotles.
I make salsa at least once a week and I’ve even been known to whip up mayonnaise or Hollandaise when I had a craving for the good stuff. But for some reason homemade ketchup never crossed my mind. Like most people, I ate Heinz my whole life, until I decided that I didn’t want to eat a condiment made with high-fructose corn syrup. I then switched to Whole Foods’ version, which is made with cane sugar instead. And it’s good. But not as good as mine.
There are countless recipes floating around, but the one thing they all adhere to is the use of vinegar and a sweetener—usually brown sugar—as it’s this combination mixed with the tomatoes that gives ketchup its distinctive flavor. From there, you can do anything you like, making your ketchup as simple or sophisticated as you desire.
For mine, I diced a 1015 sweet onion and cooked it in olive oil until it was just starting to brown. I then added a 28-ounce can of Roma tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar and a bit of molasses. I threw in some chipotles for smoke and fire, some cinnamon and cloves for spice and some celery seed for brightness. I let it cook for a couple of hours and then pureed it and let it cook some more. My yield was about a pint, though it could have been more if I hadn’t been constantly spooning it out of the pot to taste.
And yes, I do believe that a spoon is an acceptable vehicle for this condiment. But I have over six pounds of 1015 onions that are just begging to be made into onion rings, and I just know that they’ll go beautifully with my homemade chipotle ketchup.
Chipotle ketchup
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 3 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon celery seeds
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- On medium-low heat, cook the diced onion in the olive oil in a medium-sized pot just until the onions start to brown a bit on the ends.
- Add the tomatoes and their juices to the pot, crushing the tomatoes with the back of a spoon.
- Stir in the apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, molasses, chipotle chiles, cinnamon, cloves, celery seeds, and salt, bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and then simmer uncovered for an hour, stirring occasionally.
- After an hour, puree the mixture, and then continue to cook on low heat until it reaches your desired thickness. Adjust seasonings to taste. Will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Hi Lisa, When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to make ketchup. I remember it being very sweet and tangy and I loved it.
She also made mayonnaise and churned her own butter for years and years. She never threw anything away and I remember she made preserves for us kids out of apple peelings.
When I think about all the stuff she did, she
was really a little ahead of her time. Still miss her everyday. My most prized possession of hers is an apron and some of her hankies.
I was just thinking about making ketchup the other day and then you posted this! It was like you were reading my mind! I’ve been a fan of yours for a while and being a genuine texas girl, I love ALL of your recipes!
Kelly–POM chipotle glaze on a steak sounds amazing! I’ll have to try that next time flank steak goes on sale.
Marye–I’m a convert, I’ll never buy ketchup again.
Carrie–You’re welcome–and eating it with a spoon is quite an experience.
Phoo-D–If you love chipotle, you’ll love this ketchup.
TBSamsel–Thanks!
Tommy–I didn’t find it spicy, but I’m the kind of person that can eat a whole can of chipotles en adobo in one sitting. And yes, I plan on smothering this on burgers soon!
Kara–I remember the first time I made enchilada sauce and had the same reaction–it was like cracking a code!
Knitalot3–How do you make your alternative butter spread?
KKryno–It always amazes me what how well our grandparents and great-grandparents ate, and how long it took us to get back to that way of cooking.
TheKitchenWitch–I’d just keep it in the fridge for a few weeks and not mess with the canning. And if you don’t go through that much ketchup, you can make a smaller batch.
Janice–I know–smoky chipotles are one of my all-time favorite things!
Anon–Indeed, I was thinking the same thing. I’ll definitely be plopping this into my next batch of baked beans.
Claudia–Oh! Guava ketchup sounds exotic!
Alisa–Thanks!
Sharon–Yes, I did! At my local Whole Foods–I bought about 10 pounds and have already gone through half of them. I swear I can eat a whole one caramelized by myself!
Culinary Wannabe–Ha! I don’t know if all men were like that–heck, I had a boyfriend in college who had a much better stocked fridge than I!
Melanie–Hope you enjoy it!
Amy C Evans–That baby of yours has mighty fine taste!
Tommy–You read my mind! As soon as I can come up w/ a good cemita roll recipe this weekend, I’ll write about them.
S. Stockwell–I know, it’s my secret ingredient in so many things as well.
Brenda–Oh, what treasures! My grandma has my family’s old butter churn, and I want to get that from her and try making butter the old-fashioned way.
Amanda–I am indeed a mind reader!
I LOOOOOVE chipotle ketchup! I’m so excited to finally have a recipe, I have been buying it for years. Amazing on scrambled eggs =)
Was ketchup really all you ate for dinner? Maybe it’s just because I’m pregnant, but that sounds a little light on caloric content…
Does look like a tasty recipe, though – I’ve never had homemade ketchup before!