Fire Roasted Tomato-Ancho Taco SauceStrained through fineStrained now ready to reduce on the stove!

Over the summer Better Homes and Garden published a canning magazine filled with lots of great recipes. Many of them I have done and posted on my site. Last week BH&G decided that they were going to take that magazine, add some more pictures, and a few more new recipes and put together a Canning Cookbook! The book Better Homes and Garden Can It! arrived to me on Friday and I was very excited to see what new recipes I was going to have to make.

Today I put everything aside and for the first time in a while worked to get four new recipes on my list canned and processed. It was important for me to use up some tomatoes that I had received from my neighbor who was going on vacation and to put into jars something that they would like to have when they got home. I had about 4 pounds of tomatoes and decided to look through the BH&G book there it was…  Fire Roasted Tomato-Ancho Taco Sauce! This is a new recipe not in the summer magazine and since I have not done a taco sauce and I know the neighbors would love it I got to work.

I used the vine tomatoes that I was given versus the plum tomatoes the recipe calls for in the cookbook. I didn’t find an issue but it did take an additional 10 minutes to cook down after I strained out the seeds to get a thick consistency.

Fire Roasted Tomato-Ancho Taco Sauce

This recipe is not a quick one, but a great flavor will develop over the cooking processes that makes the final product well worth your time.
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 2 hrs
Total Time 2 hrs 10 mins
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 40

Ingredients
  

  • 4 lb plum tomatoes
  • 1 t. cumin seeds
  • 8 oz fresh poblano (pasilla)chile,  seeded and chopped
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 pc. fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 4 1/2 t. minced garlic
  • 4 1/2 t. sugar
  • 1 T. kosher salt
  • 6 pc. dried ancho chili peppers, seeded into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 1/2 t. lime juice
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar

Instructions
 

  • Preheat broiler. Place tomatoes in a single layer in a 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Broil 3 to 4 inches from the heat for 8 to 10 minutes turning once until skins are lightly charred.
  • Transfer to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard loose skins. Coarsely chop and transfer to a large stainless steel, enameled or nonstick pot.
  • Meanwhile, place the cumin seeds in a small skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until seeds are lightly toasted and fragrant.
  • Remove from the heat and let cool. Finely, grind the seeds in a spice grinder or using a mortar and pestle, stir into the tomatoes in pot.
  • Add the poblano peppers, onions, jalapeno peppers, garlic, sugar, and salt to the tomato mixture. Bring to boiling, stirring frequently.
  • Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until peppers and onions are soft, about 30 minutes. Stir in ancho chiles. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes. 
  • Working in batches, transfer tomato mixture to a food processor or blender. Cover and process or blend until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, pushing liquid through and scraping the inside of the sieve with a rubber spatula, discard solids.
  • Repeat with remaining mixture. Return strained mixture to the large pot. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer sauce, uncovered, about 10 minutes or until slightly thickened  and reduced to about 4 cups. Stir in lime juice and vinegar. 
  • Ladle hot sauce into hot, sterilized half pint jars, leaving a 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe jar rims, adjust lids.
  • Processed filled jars in water bath canner  for 35 minutes (start timing when water returns to a boil). Remove jars and cool overnight.
  • Makes 5 half pints.
  • I didn't discard the solids, but put them in the frig to use as a schmear for the pork loin on the barbecue. 
Keyword Tomato-Ancho Taco Sauce