HP-style Sauce

• makes

  500 ml

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  1:25 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• ½ tsp onion powder
• 4 cloves
• ½ tsp black peppercorns
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 1 cinnamon quill
• 250 ml (1 cup) white vinegar
• 185 ml (¾ cup) apple cider vinegar
• 60 ml (¼ cup) orange juice
• 60 ml (¼ cup) apple juice
• 140 g (½ cup) tomato paste
• ¼ tsp Tabasco sauce
• 185 ml (¾ cup) corn syrup
• 95 g (¼ cup) molasses
• 60 ml (¼ cup) tamarind concentrate
• ¼ cup seeded fresh dates, finely chopped

Instructions

Using a mortar and pestle, coarsely grind onion powder, cloves, peppercorns, mustard seeds and 1 tsp sea salt flakes. Place spice mixture, cinnamon, 250 ml water, vinegars, juices, tomato paste, Tabasco, corn syrup, molasses, tamarind concentrate and dates in a large saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Strain sauce through a fine sieve and discard pulp. Return liquid to pan and simmer, uncovered, for a further 25 minutes or until thick and syrupy. Ladle hot sauce mixture into sterilised bottles (see Note) and seal. Allow to cool. Refrigerate after opening.

Note

• It is essential to sterilise jars before filling them to prevent bacteria from forming. You can reuse any glass jars as long as the lids seal well. Or buy kilners (jars with rubber seals). To sterilise jars in the oven, preheat oven to 120°C. Wash jars and lids in soapy water, rinse, then dry. Place jars and non-plastic lids on an oven tray and place in oven for 20 minutes. Remove and fill while still hot.

Photography Chris Chen

As seen in Feast magazine, October 2013, Issue 25. For more recipes and articles, pick up a copy of this month's Feast magazine or check out our great subscriptions offers here.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.