Cowboy Candy

I actually got more questions on what is cowboy candy on my instagram stories than I expected. So I figured I would add this to the top of my list and get the recipe out! I started enjoying this a few years back and love having it around! This is definitely a pantry staple and I purposely plant extra pepper plants to my summer garden to help have enough to make a few batches.

I don't always have enough peppers so I also get some from my dad every year. He is who actually has shared this recipe with me. Cowboy candy is candied jalapeños cooked in a pot and then transferred into jars to can.

We use this on top of tacos, in burritos, on enchiladas, nachos, and burgers mostly but I am sure there are many more amazing uses for these! They add a sweet and spicy taste to your food. Also, you can add more seeds or less seeds depending on how spicy you want it to be.

Ingredients

Approximately 3 pounds fresh jalapeños

2 cups apple cider vinegar

6 cups white sugar

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

3 teaspoons garlic

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

** Not pictured is of course the peppers and sugar!

AND Yes, that is home made apple cider vinegar! I helped process over 100 gallons of apple juice from a local couples personal orchard last year and he shared his homemade apple cider vinegar with me. I love being able to use it in recipes!

Prep

Start by cutting your jalapeños. I cut the tip off and the stem off then cut down the middle. I get the seeds out and then cut into about small rings. This feels like the longest part of the process and I think that is because it is!

Making the Mixture

Make sure you start boiling your water in your canning pot because the next steps don't take too long. You want enough water in the pot that they will cover your jars when processing, make sure to account for some water evaporating when boiling. At this point I also wash my jars and let them soak in boiling water to heat the glass while I am making the mixture to pour into them.

Next, add all ingredients EXCEPT the peppers to a saucepan or pot and bring it to a boil stirring occasionally. Once it boils then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes or so and stir occasionally.

Now you add your sliced jalapeños to the simmering pot and let simmer for another 5 minutes and stir occasionally.

If you want it hotter then add some of the seeds back in at this time. When I prep my jalapeños I am not meticulous and I let some seeds stay on the peppers so I tend not to add any seeds at this point because mine is usually hot enough.

Transferring

Now you will want a get your jars ready for transferring. I like to set up a station on each side of my oven. One is the side I will be pouring the contents into the cans and then other side is where my cans will be placed after they have processed.

Now you are going to use a slotted spoon and fill your jars with the jalapeños using your funnel and leave 1/4 inch headspace. You don't need to pack them down tight just fill the jar to the appropriate height leaving your headspace.

Once your jars are filled you turn up the mixture and allow the leftover sauce mixture to come to a boil for about 5 more minutes. Once it has boiled for the allotted time ladle the boiling sauce mixture over the jalapeños ensuring to still leave the 1/4 inch headspace. The sauce should fill the empty spaces from the jalapeños.

Now, if you don't want your sauce mixture to go to waste like me, you can fill jars with just the sauce mixture that is left over and can them along with the jalapeños with the same cooking time. I like to do this because the sauce is great for adding to taco meat while cooking, putting on vegetable when sautéing, adding to rice for extra flavor. I mean their are endless ideas and I hate wasting anything.

Canning

Now you are ready to can! Start by wiping the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel or rag. Then place the lid on top and hand screw the band onto the jar. Just finger tight no need to go hulk on the cans!

Once the lid is secured on the jar then add jar to your canning pot that should have water boiling by this point. Once the jars are all in then place the lid on the canner and return it to a full boil! Once the full boil has been achieved set a timer. 15 minutes for pint jars or 10 minutes for 1/2 pint jars. Pictured here are 1/4 pint jars so I did about 8 minutes and they turned out great! I prefer these in smaller jars since it takes sooo many peppers to make this and I like to feel like I can open a jar and not worry about any of it going to waste if I don't eat it fast enough. Also, these small jars are fun to give to friends and family as gifts!

After you timer has gone off, turn off the heat and remove lid. Let the jars sit an additional 5 minutes and then lift the jars out of the pot and place on counter or towel. Now the hard part.... Wait wait and wait. Don't touch the jars, let them naturally do their thing and finish their sealing process. You might get to hear the amazing popping noise knowing they sealed! Most books recommend waiting 24 hours before touching to ensure they have had time to seal. However, sometimes I get impatient and mine luckily all sealed within about 18 hours and I was able to move them to my pantry for storage.