Lena Mae's Chili Sauce
- Ready In:
- 3hrs 30mins
- Ingredients:
- 10
- Yields:
-
5 pints
ingredients
- 10 lbs tomatoes, fully ripe
- 3 cups celery, finely chopped
- 2 cups onions, finely chopped
- 2 cups bell peppers, green, finely chopped
- 5 inches cinnamon sticks
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons whole cloves
- 5 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1 lb light brown sugar
- 3 cups cider vinegar
- 1⁄2 teaspoon chili powder
directions
- Scald the tomatoes for 1-2 minutes in boiling water and remove the skins. Cut out the stem ends and then cut the tomatoes into chunks.
- In an 8-quart saucepot over medium-high heat, cook the tomatoes, stirring often until the mix is quite juicy, about 15 minutes.
- Next, add the celery, onions and green bell peppers. Bring to a gentle boil, uncovered, stirring as necessary for 90 minutes.
- After the 90 minutes, tie the cinnamon and cloves in a cheesecloth and add it to the mix. Stir in the dry mustard, sugar, vinegar and salt, Return to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, stirring often for 90 more minutes. After the 90 minutes, stir in the chili powder and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 30 minutes longer.
- Remove spice bag and pour into hot, sterilized 1-pint canning jars with 2-pieces caps, leaving 1/2-inch of headspace. Screw lids tight and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
- After the jars are removed from the bath, allow them to sit separated a bit on a towel until you hear all the lids pop down.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>I am a retired State Park Resort Manager/Ranger. <br /><br />Anyway, as to my years in the State Park System (retired now), I was responsible for 4 restaurants/dining rooms on my park and my boss at Central Headquarters said I should spend less time in my kitchens and more time tending to my park budget. I spent 25 years in those kitchens and worked with some really great chefs over those years, (and some really awful ones too!) <br /><br />I spent THOUSANDS of hours on every inch of that park and adjacent state forest (60,000 acres) and sometimes I miss it. But mostly I miss being in that big beautiful resort lodge kitchen. I miss my little marina restaurant down on the Ohio River too. I served the best Reuben Sandwich (my own recipe -- posted on 'Zaar as The Shawnee Marina Reuben Sandwich) in both the State of Ohio and the Commonwealth of Kentucky down there and sold it for $2.95. Best deal on the river! <br /><br />They (friends and neighbors) call my kitchen The Ospidillo Cafe. Don't ask me why because it takes about a case of beer, time-wise, to explain the name. Anyway, it's a small galley kitchen with a Mexican motif (until my wife catches me gone for a week or so), and it's a very BUSY kitchen as well. We cook at all hours of the day and night. You are as likely to see one of my neighbors munching down over here as you are my wife or daughter. I do a lot of recipe experimentation and development. It has become a really fun post-retirement hobby -- and, yes, I wash my own dishes. <br /><br />Also, I'm the Cincinnati Chili Emperor around here, or so they say. (Check out my Ospidillo Cafe Cincinnati Chili recipe). SKYLINE CHILI is one of my four favorite chilis, and the others include: Gold Star Chili, Empress Chili and, my VERY favorite, Dixie. All in and around Cincinnati. Great stuff for cheap and I make it at home too. <br /><br />I also collect menus and keep them in my kitchen -- I have about a hundred or so. People go through them and when they see something that they want, I make it the next day. That presents some real challenges! <br /><br />http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/parks/shawnee.htm</p>