A new addiction - Cowboy Candy

You may have heard of these, they are all the rage in the Canning world this yr. I had never heard of them tho. A canning group I hang out in was always talking about these and saying how incredible they are. Now I like pickled jalapeños so I couldn't figure out why these would be much different. But I kept seeing people raving about them and saying how great they are on sandwiches and burgers. Some would serve cream cheese or goat cheese on crackers and top them with this.

I kept seeing this over and over wherever any one mentioned these things tho so I figured I was missing out on something. I HAD to make some. OMG I'm so glad I did!!! I finally opened a jar tonight. We weren't that hungry so we were just going to have some cheese burgers off the grill here. I make a sauce of ketchup and mayo , sort of a Mickey Ds sauce. And then I sat down to eat and thought, hmmmmm I wonder how those jalapeños would be with this. My bf  never had them before either. He looked skeptical at the jar. And then he saw me try one and I said OMGGGG these are soooo good and I started to pile them on my burger. He tried it and agreed and did the same.

However I was bad. I only made 4oz jars but I kept eating them with the burger and on the burger and half the jar is gone now lol. I did buy more jalapeños tho to make another batch. Ive mentioned these before and friends were already asking me to send them some even tho I didn't know how they tasted. I just knew they were pickled, garlic, sweet jalapeños. Sounded like a nice combo.

When you make this recipe you will end up with a couple extra jars of syrup. Ive read its good brushed on chicken and steaks and things when you grill. I did that with my first batch. This time Ive decided to make this recipe with 5lbs. of jalapeños so Ill have full jars of them and no extra syrup. And I'm going to use fresh finely chopped garlic for more garlic flavor. And I'm going to can pts. of these too. Here's the recipe if you feel adventurous,,,trust me its worth it and  you will NOT be disappointed. 

COWBOY CANDY

• 3 - 5 pounds Firm, Fresh Jalapeno Peppers, Washed
• 2 cups Cider Vinegar
• 6 cups White Granulated Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Turmeric
• ½ teaspoons Celery Seed
• 3 teaspoons Granulated Garlic (or 3 or so tsp. fresh minced garlic)
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper

The easiest way to slice these is to hold the stem end of the pepper and cut slices from the tip to the stem end. You should probably wear gloves too.  Slice the peppers into uniform 1/8-1/4 inch rounds. If you like lots of heat you can use them like this. I washed mine in a colander and then scooped out the peppers, leaving whatever seeds fell out, in the colander. I still had seeds in the peppers tho. The more seeds, the more heat you will get. Doing it this way I had a nice bite but not so much that you were running for a drink. Set aside.
In a large pot, bring cider vinegar, white sugar, turmeric, celery seed, granulated garlic and cayenne pepper to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pepper slices and simmer for exactly 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the peppers, loading into clean, sterile canning jars to within 1/4 inch of the upper rim of the jar. Turn heat up under the pot with the syrup and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 6 minutes.

Use a ladle to pour the boiling syrup into the jars over the jalapeno slices. Insert a cooking chopstick to the bottom of the jar two or three times to release any trapped pockets of air. Adjust the level of the syrup if necessary. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp paper towel and fix on new, two-piece lids to finger-tip tightness.
If you do not want to can these to the point of shelf stable, you can simply put the jars in your refrigerator and store them there.I dont like to clutter the fridge up with all this extra stuff so I can mine.  If you wish to can them, follow the instructions below.

Note: If you have leftover syrup, and it is likely that you will, you may can it in half-pint or pint jars, too. It’s wonderful brushed on meat on the grill or added to potato salad … don’t toss it out! I got 8 half pt. jars and 4 jars of syrup. I dont want that next time so Ill use pt. jars for all and hopefully wont have extra syrup.

To can, place jars in a canner and cover with water by 2-inches. Bring the water to a full rolling boil. When it reaches a full rolling boil, set the timer for 10 minutes for half-pints or 15 minutes for pints. When timer goes off, use canning tongs to transfer the jars to a cooling rack. Leave them to cool, undisturbed, for 24 hours. When fully cooled, wipe them with a clean, damp washcloth, then label.
Allow to mellow for at least two weeks, but preferably a month before eating.