Recipe: Ketchup

[runpunkrun]

This ketchup is based on a recipe from Minimalist Baker, but I found the vinegar overpowering in that one (and I love vinegar) and the onion powder distracting. So I fiddled with it and hit upon this, which mimics your basic organic ketchups out there. It's sweet and savory, but not too much of either. It also holds together nicely without thickeners or gums.

Ingredients:

15 oz can tomato sauce (I use Muir Glen)
1/3 cup brown sugar (not packed, 40 grams)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp fine salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder

Time: About 15 minutes. Or longer, depending.

Tools: Saucepan. Heat source. Device with which to stir. A glass bottle that you stole from some salad dressing or other ketchup.

Instructions:

1. Put everything in a medium saucepan and stir together over medium low heat. Keep stirring occasionally until it comes to a light, bubbling simmer.

2. Keep it at that nice low bubble and stir until you're tired of it. The longer it cooks, the thicker and more intense it'll get. I usually give it, I dunno, 10-15 minutes? Time has no meaning.

3. When you're ready to move on to other things, turn the heat off and let the ketchup cool in the pan.

4. Decant into a bottle or other air-tight container and store in the fridge, where it'll keep for weeks if not months. Can also be frozen, though do that in a plastic container.

Notes: Check out the comments for a half-assed recipe for oven fries.

Variations: Make it vegan by using a vegan Worcestershire sauce or just leave it out.

Questions? Ask 'em!

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

That looks tasty. What do you deploy ketchup on?

[runpunkrun]

Last night I dipped both my meatloaf and my oven fries in it. We made the best french fries of my life last night. Crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Comparable to anything you'd get at a steakhouse. And in the oven! I fear I will never be able to duplicate their like. But I wrote down what we did just in case.

[jesse_the_k]

MyGuy has achieved almost-perfect oven fries. First he parboils them in the microwave until fork-tender. Next he slices them the long way into thin wedges. Toss 'em with olive oil, slide 'em around on a thick rim baking sheet and the result is pretty good.

BUT!

I bet an even better crunch would happen if one tossed the parboiled wedges with arrowroot or potato starch or corn starch or maybe even tapioca flour.

[runpunkrun]

That's pretty much how we do it too, though we cut them into fries first (the rectangular kind) and microwave them for one minute in a single layer. Then--and I think this was the secret to crispy fries--this time I wrapped them up in a clean dish towel and gave them a little rub to soak up all the moisture. Then toss 'em in olive oil, arrange 'em in a single layer on a baking sheet, sprinkle with kosher salt, and cook at 425F until golden brown and delicious, stirring them around every so often, ~1 hour.

Order up!

[jesse_the_k]

Ahhhhh! First cut then nuke makes so much sense.

Diving down the Serious Eats rabbit hole, Kenji Lopez-Alt highly recommends acidifying stage 1 (actually boiling with water + teaspoon of vinegar). ...but then I'm totally drooling over mashed potatoes made into waffles 😆https://www.seriouseats.com/waffled-mashed-potatoes-bacon-cheddar-recipe

Re: Order up!

[runpunkrun]

Hoo boy, those waffles look amazing. I knew you could mash mash potatoes into a waffle maker, but it never occurred to me that you'd end up with something very much like a french fry.