Cowboy Candy

It's that time of year when chilli enthusiasts wait with bated breath ready to start harvesting their fiery crop. earlier in the year they gleefully plant out a multitude of plants in anticipation of a bountiful harvest..... 

Come harvest time the realisation dawns that something is going to have to be done with all these chilli's, as there is only so many that can be used fresh. Now you can absolutely dry them, it's a great way to preserve your chilli's. 

Our favourite way to preserve our chilli harvest is to make cowboy candy. What is cowboy candy? I hear you cry. It is sweet pickled chilli's, they make a wonderful addition to lots of dishes and are a great way to add some spice to individual plates of food if you are cooking for plain eaters! 

We've found that harvesting as the chilli's ripen and freezing them until we have enough to make a big batch works well for us, but if you only wish to make a small batch work away. Most recipes call for slices of Jalapeno, we have experimented and found that it works really well if you chop the chilli's up in a food processor, this makes the cowboy candy a bit more like a relish and is much easier to mix through different foods. 

I would highly recommend making 3 times the amount of brine as it makes a wonderful marinade. We use it as part of the venison jerky marinade.
 

This recipe can be scaled up or down easily.

COWBOY CANDY
750g sliced or finely chopped chilli's
1 cup of cider vinegar
3 cups of sugar
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp celery salt (or seeds if available)
1 tsp garlic powder

1. Put all the brine ingredients in to a large pot and bring it to the boil, allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

1. Tip in the sliced/chopped chilli's and let them simmer for exactly 4 minutes.
    
2. Remove the chilli's from the pan with a slotted spoon, then turn the heat up and let the brine reduce down for 5-6 minutes.
    
3. While the brine is reducing put the chilli slices in to warm sterile jars, pour over enough brine to cover the chilli's then put the lid on.
    
4. Have a stock pot large enough to hold your jars on the hob with enough hot water to cover the jars by 2 inches in it.
    
5. Place your jars in the water and let the water come to a rolling boil and boil for 10 minutes.
    
6. Once the 10 minutes are up carefully lift the jars out as they cool you will hear the lids pop as they seal.
   Water bathing will make the cowboy candy shelf stable, so that you can enjoy it through the year until the next harvest!