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.
Do you hit this with an immersion blender to smooth it out? or leave it sort of lumpy with the onions?
I think this sounds wonderful, and I’m going to keep this recipe in the back of my mind as the tomatoes hit the farmers market. I try to get there early on Saturdays so I can get the bags of bruised tomatoes for a dollar. This would be a perfect way to use them up. Thanks!!
Heinz organic ketchup tastes more like regular Heinz than the Whole Foods ketchup does. I can't help it – I swear by Heinz ketchup and Hellmann's mayonnaise. But I might try to make a spicy ketchup. . .
My husband gave his dog to the guy who developed the 1015 onion. He's affiliated with Texas A&M, so it's also the official Aggie onion, making it the official onion of my house. Not because I love the Aggies, but because I hate the Longhorns. I'm from Norman, OK, home of the Sooners.
Oh my gosh, it’s never occurred to me to make my own ketchup! This spicy one sounds just amazing. Mmm, mmm, good!
I’ll have to try this. My dad made homemade ketchup when I was a kid and it’s one of my fondest memories. A while before he passed away, I asked him how he did it and he didn’t remember. I was so sad. I’d love to be able to recreate his recipe. This might just get me off to an inspired start. Thanks!
meagan
OMG this looks phenomenal! My husband is going to L-O-V-E this one!! 🙂