So, we harvested our Tomatillos, now it's time to process them, and make them into yummy, yummy, Green Enchilada Sauce. If you've read this blog for ANY amount of time, you'll know I'm an Enchilada enthusiast. So, making my own Green Enchilada Sauce just seemed like a logical extension of my taste buds.
Tomatillos must be husked, washed, roasted and pureed before you can even start the Enchilada Sauce process...
So, here's me, husking tomatillos. The husks went into a trash bucket to facilitate their trip to the compost bin, while the tomatillos went into large bowls. Fur Baby #2 thought she wanted to help, but decided it was too much work, and went to nap.
The Man washed all the Tomatillos (fair, since I husked them all), then processed all the jalapenos. By processed, I mean, removed all the seeds and membranes... cause I'm a spice weenie. We put them in giant foil pans lined with canning towels (yes, I have special towels just for canning) along with garlic, and sliced onion. Then left them to dry overnight.
The next morning, we removed the towels, and roasted the vegetables at 400 degrees for 1 hour, scooped the contents in batches into our trusty blender, and pureed the whole kit and kaboodle down to a smoothie consistency. Then, it's into the big pot!
Once all the ingredients are in the pot, and it's all mixed up and heated through, you start the straining process. Tomatillos have a TON of tiny little round seeds, and nobody wants those in their finished sauce, so straining is a must. We strained straight from one big pot into another, so we could keep the mixture hot for canning purposes. The pulp went into a cheesecloth lined colander sitting in a bowl, over to the side. Once your colander is full, you can wrap the pulp in cheese cloth and squeeze out any excess juice that might still be trapped in there, or, you can skip this step and just toss it. But you'll be missing out on a fair bit more juice. Once all your straining is done, you'll have a pot of enchilada sauce ready for final seasoning, packing and canning.
Fill your pint jars, leave an inch of headspace. Process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes... and enjoy the fruits of your labor in all your favorite yummy recipes. In my case... for years to come...
Ingredient List: *This is for a single batch... mine was more like a 6x batch.
10 pounds Tomatillos
2 Heads of Garlic (separated into cloves)
8-10 Jalapenos (depending on how spicy you want your finished product)
2 large onions, chopped
^All this stuff gets roasted
1 bunch cilantro
^This stuff gets pureed along with the roasted stuff
1/2 Cup Lime Juice
3 Tablespoons Cumin
1/4 Cup Canning Salt
^These are the spices you add as your sauce is simmering.
Harvest
Process
Roast
Puree
Season and Simmer
Strain
Final season if needed
Fill jars
Hot water bath
Listen to that awesome popping sound as your hard work seals into shelf stable pantry supplies.
It took the whole weekend from picking to popping, but it resulted in 31 pints of Green Enchilada Sauce. And each one of those pints is a meal.
Now to figure out what to grow next year INSTEAD of Tomatillos. Enjoy!
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