[SIZE=large]Pineapple Habanero Sauce[/SIZE]
Ingredients:
4 cups sugar <------ I use one cup of sugar only!
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup pineapple juice
3 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp cornstarch (mixed with a bit of water to create slurry)
1 medium to large pineapple, roasted, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 yellow pepper, finely chopped
1 mango, finely chopped
5-6 habanero peppers, roasted, finely chopped
Create a simple syrup in a large pot by whisking the sugar, vinegar, pineapple juice and lemon juice over medium high heat until the sugar dissolves. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit while you prep the remaining ingredients.
Roasting the pineapple and habaneros will bring out their inherent sweetness and richness. This can be done on your grill outside or using a grill pan on your cook-top. (I chose to use my George Foreman since it was pouring rain outside when I was working on this recipe.) Slice the pineapple in rings and grill until the sugars begin to caramelize and creates grill marks on both sides.
Note: Before finely chopping my pineapple I trimmed away the outer rind.
Lightly char the skins of the habanero peppers over an open flame or on a searing hot grill pan. Do not grill your red and yellow bell peppers in order to maintain some crunch and texture in the sauce.
Make sure the habaneros are super finely chopped. If you want to tone down the heat slightly carefully remove the seeds. (I used my chopper so that I would not have to touch the peppers - I have a habit of getting hot pepper oils on my fingers and touching my eyes. The pepper oils not only make your hand tingle but burns like crazy on your face. NOT FUN! Additionally, the chopper allowed me to make sure the peppers were in super tiny pieces so no one bites into a large piece of super hot pepper.)
Next, finely chop all fruit, peppers and onion into 1/4" pieces (or smaller). Stir the remaining ingredients into the simple syrup you prepared earlier. Stir in the cornstarch (mixing with a few tablespoons of water first to create a slurry). Bring the mixture to a boil and the turn down the heat to simmer for 5-10 minutes. The consistency should be syrupy and chunky.
This recipe makes 4-5 pints of sauce. The sauce may be canned using a water bath for 15 minutes. Or placed in jars and frozen. Sauce should remain fresh in the fridge for approximately 2-3 weeks (if it lasts that long).
As with the store bought sauce, it is the perfect pairing with so many things including chicken, pork, fish and seafood. It makes a great appetizer when partnered with cream cheese or goat cheese and used as a dip or a topping on crackers or croutons. We love it to just dip tortilla chips (alongside a margarita and life is good).
