PREP: 1 hour COOK: 2 hours 45 minutes PROCESS: 20 minutes MAKES: 7 half-pints
12 lb. ripe firm tomatoes
3 cups chopped onion
2¼ cups chopped celery
2¼ cups chopped red or green sweet peppers
3 fresh hot red chile peppers, cored and chopped (tip, page 107)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups cider vinegar
1½ cups packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 tsp. salt
4 tsp. paprika
4 tsp. dry mustard
½ tsp. black pepper
1. Wash tomatoes. Remove stem ends and cores. Cut tomatoes into quarters.
2. Place tomato quarters in a 10- to 12-qt. stainless-steel, enamel, or nonstick heavy pot. Cook, covered, over low to medium heat about 15 minutes or until tomatoes are soft. Add the next five ingredients (through garlic). Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes.
3. Press tomato mixture through a food mill. Discard seeds and skins. Measure 19 cups tomato mixture; return to pot (measure depth with a ruler). Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 1 to 1¼ hours or until mixture is reduced by half, stirring occasionally (measure depth again with a ruler; should be half of the original depth).
4. Stir in the remaining seven ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, over low to medium heat about 1 hour or until desired thickness, stirring frequently.
5. Ladle hot barbecue sauce into seven hot sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving a ½-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands. Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner 20 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling). Remove jars from canner; cool on wire racks. (Canning tips, pages 461–466.)
Spicy Coffee-Bourbon Barbecue Sauce: Prepare as directed, except reduce vinegar to 1⅔ cups and substitute soy sauce for the Worcestershire sauce. In Step 4, add ⅓ cup bourbon and 2½ tsp. instant espresso coffee powder with the vinegar.
Freezer Directions: Prepare as directed through Step 4. Place the pot of sauce in a sink filled with ice water; stir mixture to cool. Ladle sauce into half-pint wide-top freezer containers, leaving a ½-inch headspace. Seal and label. Freeze up to 10 months. (Freezing tips, page 467.)
PER 1 TBSP. SAUCE, PLAIN OR VARIATION: 26 cal., 0 g fat, 0 mg chol., 105 mg sodium, 6 g carb., 1 g fiber, 1 g pro.