Forget the barbecue sauce! This simple tomato-based ketchup is sweetened with brown sugar and spiced up with the flavor of ancho chiles. It's great on all types of meat and poultry, even on burgers. Ancho chiles are dried poblano chiles and have a sweet, spicy flavor.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes


12 ancho chile peppers, stemmed and seeded
1/2 white onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups water
5 teaspoons packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons ground cumin
2 cups tomato paste
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste



Place the ancho chile peppers, onion, and garlic in a large saucepan and cover with the water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the peppers have absorbed some liquid and have become soft.

Remove the peppers, onion, and garlic with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a food processor. Add the brown sugar, cumin, tomato paste and 1 cup of the liquid the peppers were cooked in. Puree, adding more pepper liquid until you reach the desired thickness. Adjust seasonings with salt, pepper and more brown sugar if desired.

Spoon the ketchup into a glass container and store it in the refrigerator until ready for use.

Yield: about 5 cups



ENJOY ALL YOU HOT, HOT LOVERS!

Could I use jalapenos instead of ancho?

yes you can - may not be as hot - but that's fine too - or even a combination

Actually, it should be hotter using jalapenos.

The ancho is technically the dried form of the poblano, just as the chipotle is the dried (and smoked) version of the jalapeno.

More and more, unfortunately, ancho and poblano are being used as synonyms---which leads to a lot of confusion.

Be that as it may, poblano chilis run 1,000 to 1,500 SHUs (Scoville Heat Units), and are a very mild chile. Even Friend Wife, who doesn't do hot at all, eats poblanos---especially when I use them for chillies rellenos.

Jalepenos, on the other hand, run 2,500 to 10,000 SHUs. Those sold in the U.S. usually range towards the upper, rather than the lower, part of the scale. Most people (nonchileheads) consider jals to be hot, when they're actually a rather mild chili. But, compared to poblanos, they are firecrackers.

Thanks!
Ill make some today then. I have a bag full of jalapenos in the fridge.