The only drawbacks of this sauce are that you have to peel a lot of garlic and its aroma while cooking is very strong. Make sure you have plenty of ventilation in your kitchen. We’re talking exhaust fans and/or opened windows. A little of this sauce goes a long way and it should yield over a quart. It will stay good in your fridge, in a container like a mason jar, indefinitely. Put this sauce on anything, especially anything that has been grilled with the garlic and peppercorn marinade. You can also use it as a stir-fry sauce, as a marinade, a dressing for fresh vegetables (cucumbers are awesome!) and as an additive to other sauces (we’ll explore this option in a later blog). If you love garlic, sweet, sour and spicy, you will love this sauce!
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Cups peeled garlic (about 8 bulbs)
- 2 (or more if you like it spicier) Serrano chilies
- 3 Cups coarsely chopped cilantro
- 2 Cups white sugar
- 4 Cups rice vinegar (white vinegar will do as a substitute)
PROCEDURE
- “Pulse” the garlic and Serrano chilies in your food processor, 10 or 15 times
- Add the chilies and garlic to a 1 to 2 gallon stainless steel pot along with the remaining ingredients (you’ll need a pot this big because the sauce has a tendency to foam and boil over…a stainless steel pot is better than an aluminum pot because this sauce is acidic and tends to acquire a metallic taste when it is cooked in aluminum…some people notice this taste, some don’t)
- Cook on a high heat until the sauce begins to get foamy and appear to boil over. When this happens, reduce to a low heat and simmer for at least 45 minutes
- Ideally, you want to reduce this sauce by approximately half of its original volume. It will darken, the garlic will appear caramelized and it will become somewhat syrupy. At this point, it’s done. Allow it to cool before putting it in a sealable container and storing in your fridge.
TIP: Getting the garlic smell off your hands
After all of this garlic peeling, you may want to get the garlic smell off of you hands. One handy method is holding a large stainless steel knife by the dull side of the blade (with the hand that has the most garlic smell on it) and run cold water thoroughly over your hand and the blade. Magically, most of the odor dissipates. You can do a little deodorizing “touch up” afterwards with fresh lemon peel or juice. There are also stainless steel bars that you can buy—specifically for this purpose—which eliminate all kinds of kitchen odors from your hands.