Yeahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! It's fall and that means homemade Chili Sauce! The tangy, sweet, spicy condiment that makes pork, potato pancakes and chicken come ALIVE. Well, not technically "alive". That would be quite scary.
If you can chop vegetables, simmer something on the stove and happen to have a working nose you CAN make chili sauce. It's full of chunky vegetables and wintery spices like cloves, brown sugar and cinnamon with the added heat of CAYENNE.
So about that nose thing ... several years go I got sinusitis. One of the symptoms of it is not being able to smell anything. Great for walking through garbage juice puddles at the dump, but not so great when making chili sauce. The thing about creating great food is you need to taste as you go. Even if you're using a recipe. And the thing about tasting is you need your sense of smell to get a good idea of how things taste. So I made my sinusitis chili sauce and had no idea how it tasted. I dragged it around for all of my friends and relatives to taste and got a unanimous decision.
It was gross.
Bland I believe was the actual word. I pulled the spice bag out too early. So as you make this and let it simmer don't be afraid to adjust things. The inability to adjust is my main complaint about the stupid Instant Pot by the way. You can read my complete unbiased review of how much I don't like the Instant Pot here.
Shot of a rare museum quality artifact - the recipe card.
You may be asking yourself why now Karen? Why NOW? Because now (around the end of summer) is when you're going to find the fresh ingredients for everything you need to make it.
Everything that goes into chili sauce is in season in late summer.
Table of Contents
What's in Chili Sauce
This isn't the thin runny, condiment you see in the grocery storey. It's a hearty, full of fruit and vegetables concoction that's more like a chutney.
- Tomatoes
- Celery
- Banana Peppers
- Red Peppers
- Onions
- Garlic
- Peaches
As far as spices and flavourings go you have brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon and cayenne pepper.
Honestly all you do is rough chop a bunch of vegetables, throw them in a pot and let 'em simmer. If you can't manage that then I'm so sorry to hear you're in a coma. Get well.
Ready for this old timey, vintage, sweet and spicy chili sauce recipe? Good. I'm proud you were able to shake yourself out of that coma.
What to Eat it With
- Eggs
- Chicken
- Pork
- Fritters
- On potato pancakes. - which is my FAVOURITE way to eat it.
Canning Chili Sauce
- Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil.
- Bring sauce to a boil if it isn't already.
- Fill washed, hot pint jars with hot chili sauce, leaving ½" head space.
- Wipe rims, put lids and screw rings on. Finger tighten the rings.
- Process in a hot water bath making sure they are submerged with at least 2" of water over them.
- Process for 20 minutes. Start timing the 20 minutes once the water has returned to boiling after putting all your jars in.
- Remove jars from the water bath using a jar lifter and set on the counter undisturbed until you hear the satisfying "pop" of them sealing.
To make canning less of a pain (literally) get one of these cheap canning kits that have a jar lifter, a funnel, tongs and everything else you need for canning.
The Recipe
Chili Sauce
Ingredients
- 18 quarts tomatoes
- 2 bunches celery
- 3 quarts banana peppers
- 10 red peppers
- 12 onions
- 6 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup coarse salt
- 4 cups vinegar
- 4 peaches
- 2.5 lbs brown sugar
- 2 tsps. cayenne pepper
- 3 tsps. cloves
- 3 tsps. cinnamon
- 2 whole cinnamon sticks
- 10 whole cloves
Instructions
- Peel tomatoes by placing them in boiling water for 30 seconds and then plunging them into cold water. The skin will slide right off. If it doesn't, plunge them in the hot water again.
- Wrap all the whole spices in a little cheesecloth bag.
- Rough chop the remaining ingredients. Don't worry about it being pretty, just chop them up into pieces between ¼" - ½".
- Put all the ingredients into a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and simmer until thick and reduced by ⅓rd. This will take many hours. 5-10 hours depending on the type of tomatoes you use.
- Taste as you go! If after 3 hours you find you like the taste of it, then remove the spice bag and continue to simmer until thickened. I always leave my spice bag in until the end though.
Notes
- Prepare a water bath.
- Fill canning jars with hot chili sauce then put on sealer and band.
- Process for 20 minutes in water bath.
Nutrition
This recipe makes a HUGE batch so either half it or plan on preserving it.
Pro tip? Do not attempt this while suffering from sinusitis.
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Would love to make this with Mutti canned tomatoes. How many cans or ounces are needed? Whole or diced?
Hi Karen, What sized jars are you using? Really want to try thisThanks,
Laura
Hi Laura! These are 500 ml jars (1 pint). `~ karen!
Thanks. It's hard to believe that 18 quarts of tomatoes, and all those veggies cook down to 15 pints! That's a lot of cooking down!
Thanks again, Laura
Hi Karen
You call this a Chilli Sauce yet it looks more like a Salsa Sauce, is that a fair comparison?
Wondering if it work as Salsa ?
It looks so tasty 😋
Plus was wondering if you ever made or had Chow Chow red or green or Zucchini Chow Chow. Which is what I make. If you make the red Chow Chow could you Pass on your recipe please pretty please
Love your blog
Hi Lynn! I don't make Chow Chow, although it's on my very long list of things to try, lol. This is a traditional chili sauce. It's supposed to be chunky but somewhere along the way it became marketed as a tiny runny sauce. It can work as a salsa, but don't expect it to taste like a salsa. The spices in it give it an entirely different taste. :) ~ karen!
Thank you Karen, I realized that spices could be altered to make it more salsa like… I just think it’s close to a salsa in Veg and fruit that we gravitate to.
How long does your chill sauce last when you waterbath can it? An how long do you put it in waterbath?
Confused on the quart measurement of banana peppers. Do they need to be pickled/ store bought? Have a surplus of most ingredients and I am intrigued enough to stay minding my stove for 5-10 hours. Thanks for the blog. It comforts me to know someone swears more than myself.
Was wondering if there was any way to approximate the weight of the tomatoes? The quart measurement is a bit foreign to me. Same for the peppers.
HI Anna Marie. 18 quarts is equal to half a bushel. A bushel of tomatoes = 50-55 lbs. So half a bushel is apx. 25 lbs. And a 6 quart basket is the typical longish fruit basket. Not the short squat type of one, the longer one. It equals 7 litres. ~ karen!
Thanks for the clarification!
I noticed on your recipe card that you scald your tomatoes to peel them.
I learned this summer that if you cut the tomatoes in half and freeze them for a couple of days in a ziplock bags then defrost them, the skin will slip off in your hand. No boiling water needed. It does not affect the taste at all. I did this all summer and it worked perfectly with any cooked tomato recipe. Pro tip!
Yup. Freezing tomatoes is a great option! I freeze all my tomatoes at the end of summer. But this requires half a bushel of tomatoes and most people wouldn't have enough room in their freezer for them all. :) ~ karen
OOOh I'm gonna just buy a jar of Calabrian Chili sauce at Wegmans, and whirl it up in a blender. Way easier folks.
This recipe sounds great-
Like some others, I would like to make half the quantity. So, I have a few questions-
What would the weight be for some of the ingredients?--
18 quarts tomatoes is equivalent to ??? lbs. (if I have a choice, what type of tomato should I buy?)
Banana peppers--3 quarts is equivalent to ??? lbs (I have not seen banana peppers at our local farm market--can I use jalapenos???-they are very plentiful--would I use the same amount?
Celery--how much does a bunch weigh?
I imagine some of the quantities can be approximate. However, in making something the first time, it helps to have an idea of measurements.
The second time around, we can adjust to our personal preference
This looks so good, I imagine I will be making it many times in the future.
For right now, I hope to use some as an ingredient in sweet and sour meatballs and to freeze the rest.
Hope to hear from you soon so I can buy those tomatoes.
Thanks so much
PLEASE HELP! I woul dvery much like to make this recipe, but I live in France and have no idea how to convert a quart of tomato! How many grams (or kilos) of tomatoes makes up 18 quarts??? Or if that is too hard, how many "regular" sized tomatoes make 1 quart ?
I hope you will answer, despite the age of the post :):):)
A quart is .95 kilograms
Or 18 quarts is 17.03 kilograms.
How about cooking ingredients down in a pressure cooker than simmer to thicken do you think that would work
Hi Todd. It *might* work but I actually don't think that you'd save any time because it's the simmering to thicken (and meld the flavours) that really takes all those hours. So mainly you'd just be dirtying two things instead of one. :) ~ karen!
Ok your "rare museum quality artifact" (aka the recipe card) first says 3 quarts of tomatoes, then I see a 6 written above that. Then down on your printable recipe you have 18 quarts of tomatoes. What is the correct amount of tomatoes because I really want to make this and I still have tomatoes left from the garden :)
Yet again, something I cannot wait to make! Let me know if you ever start taking interns, I'll be the first to apply, HA! Question - have you ever made in a crock-pot (ie apple-butter) for reduction? I love my gas stove, but it also likes to scald my concoctions that require simmering. It doesn't know how to simmer. I cannot wait to make my house smell like spicy-spicy goodness!
Ok just saw the slow-cooker comment, did a search for the "crock," didn't find anything, so asked away. Dis-regard the cooking question, intern question still stands :)
Hey Karen, as soon as I read “chili sauce” my nose memories kicked into gear. I grew up in Winona with the E D Smith jam factory almost in our backyard. This time of year they made chili and the air was filled with the most glorious smells imaginable. Thanks for the happy thoughts.... my nose hairs are tingling! Lol.
LOL! Happy to help a girl's nose out. ~ karen!
This is so similar to what my mom used to make. My house smells SO good!
This has now been simmering for about 8 hours … but I’m wondering if the veg will break down more. I don’t chop my tomatoes and everything is still very ‘chunky’ - so less like sauce.
Considering whirring it in the food processor to get a more ‘saucy’ consistency…
Sorry for the late response (I'm sure too late) but yes, that's what it's supposed to look like. It all becomes very soft after processing and it's more like a chutney than a true sauce. ~ karen!
Did this ever exist in a smaller form. I love the taste image that the ingredients form but I only want a single jar (which would live forever in fridge with the condiment family )
I can do the math but sometimes w recipes, extreme reductions or multiplications have a dramatic effect on the outcome.
Do you think reducing this to single size would work?
Eek. I'm not sure Susan. That's a big reduction. I can see halving the recipe as an O.K. way to go but I'm not sure a single serving would work. In fact I'm almost positive it won't. It needs to simmer for a long time to both reduce and get the proper flavour from the spices. If you were to try to simmer one jars worth of it I think all the liquids and balances would be off. You could maybe make a half recipe and give the other jars away? Or freeze them if you're worried about canning. ~ karen!
I was afraid of that. Perhaps its worth a "science experiment", using chutney recipes but with these ingredients. They're not hugely dissimilar.
Thanks for such a speedy response