Hot Dog Relish...DONE!

The last of the green tomatoes were made into relish yesterday and today. Well, on Monday I ground up all the vegetables and put them in the bucket to salt overnight, then yesterday did the cooking.  Not enough time or energy was available to do the actual canning, so this morning early I brought the relish to boiling again and gave it a good boil while the water in the canner was coming up to temperature, then in they went.  Now they are done.  Hooray!

Here is the recipe I used...and tripled it-- which made 7 quarts and three smaller jars of mixed sizes to put in our refrigerator and to give as gifts.

Green Tomato Hot Dog Relish 18 August 2012

Ingredients:

• 8 cups finely chopped (processed or ground) cored green tomatoes
• 2 cups finely chopped (processed or ground) peeled onions
• 4 bell peppers, part red, finely chopped (processed or ground)
• 1/3 cup pickling salt
• 2 tablespoons mixed pickling spices
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 2 1/4 cups white vinegar
• 1 2/3 cups packed light brown sugar

Preparation:

Combine the chopped vegetables and salt in a large stainless steel pan. Cover and let stand in a cool place (about 65° F to 70° F) for 10 to 12 hours, or overnight. 

Pour the vegetables in a colander over the sink and let drain. Rinse with cool water and use your hands to squeeze out any excess liquids.  If you triple the recipe as I did, you will have to do this a batch at a time.

Tie the pickling spices and celery seeds in a cheesecloth spice bag.  Since I did not have a cheesecloth bag, I used some old white knit fabric and tied some cotton yarn around it multiple times as I did not want the spices to inadvertently come out of the bag into the relish.  That would have been too nasty for words.  We want the flavor, not the crunch of bay leaves, orange peel, peppercorns, etc.

 

In a large stainless steel, combine the vinegar, the spice bag, chopped garlic, and the vinegar. Put the vinegar mixture over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add the drained green tomato mixture and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and boil gently, stirring often, for 1 hour.

Fill hot, prepared jars and remove any air bubbles with a small plastic spatula, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Clean jar rims and fit with lids and rings. Process in a covered boiling-water bath canner for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, remove the cover, and let jars stand in the hot water for 5 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool completely. 

Makes about 7 half-pint jars of relish.