Spicy Tomato Peach Bourbon BBQ Sauce
Spicy Tomato Peach Bourbon BBQ Sauce
I had a bumper crop of peaches and tomatoes. Yes, I froze a bunch of the peaches and tomatoes to be used later on when we had time, but I felt the need to try a recipe for BBQ sauce.
In Colorado, our peaches, tomatoes and onions are generally smaller than ones you buy in a grocery store, so I started with 6 peaches, 6 tomatoes and 2 large onions. (Some people have said leaving the peach skins on it gives you a slimy or bitter taste, but I haven't found that) I also used 5 Jalapeno peppers, and just for an extra kick, 1 Carolina Reaper pepper.
I threw the tomatoes and chilis on the barbeque grill to give them a smoky flavor.
I used the blender to chop everything up. Every time I would add a cut-up peach to the blender, I would always sprinkle on a little bit of lemon juice. Don't know why, but I heard that it prevents the peaches from browning. I also think it helps with the preservation of the barbeque sauce.
While chopping up the fruit, I also added in a couple of Tablespoons of Worcester sauce, and 4-5 chopped up cloves of garlic. I put the blended mixture in a saucepan on the stove, added 1 Tablespoon of salt and 1 cup of apple cider vinegar. The vinegar, along with the lemon juice and the tomatoes, brings the acidity to a level you can safely can. It also gives the sauce a little punch.
Then I added about 1 cup of brown sugar and let it simmer. You can adjust the sugar if you want it sweeter or tangier. As it is simmering, I add a cup or a cup and a half of bourbon. The alcohol will cook out the the sauce, leaving a nice flavor.
You will notice that the barbeque sauce is a bit runny. I decided to let the sauce simmer, thickening it up as it cooks. In the meantime, I took a hand held blender to the sauce to to chop up any particles, giving it a silky texture. Once it has simmered down to the thickness I was looking for, I put the sauce in sterile jars and processed them in a hot water bath for 16 minutes.
This recipe gave me 10 half pints of barbecue sauce.