How long does smoky chilli sauce keep?

Up to a month in the fridge, stored in a sealed jar or bottle. The recipe makes about 12 servings, so it is worth keeping a batch on hand for steaks, burgers and roasted vegetables.

Can I make the chilli sauce hotter?

Yes. Swap some of the 15 mild red chillies for a few scotch bonnets or bird's eye chillies. Everything else in the recipe stays the same, including the charring and the slow roast.

Why char the vegetables directly on the charcoal?

Charring gives the sauce its smoky depth, so do not rush it. Turn the vegetables on the coals until evenly blackened, then move them higher up on a tray to cook gently for 2 hours at 120°C (250°F).

How do I stop the sauce catching when I warm it?

Keep whisking as it warms through. Once the other ingredients are in the pan, heat it gently until it starts to bubble, and after about 10 minutes it will be rich and hot.

Outdoor Cooking & Charcoal Oven Recipes / Roast

Smoky Chilli and Tomato Sauce

Name: Smoky Chilli and Tomato Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 2 h
Yield: 12
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 15 mild red chillies, whole; 2 ripe tomatoes, whole; 2 red onions, peeled and halved; 1 bulb of garlic, whole; A good pinch of salt; 50g dark brown sugar; 100ml red wine vinegar; 1 tbsp (about 15g) to start English mustard; 100ml water; 200g butter

Tomatoes, red onions, garlic and mild chillies start on the coals, then simmer into a thick sauce. Sweetness and smoke come from the vegetables, with enough chilli to keep things lively. Useful beside grilled food, and well worth a dip of bread.

Chris TaylorFire cook and author

Roast

Prep10 minutes

Cook2 hours

Serves12

DifficultyEasy

Oven temperature120°C (250°F)

RackDirectly on the charcoal, then a tray or plancha rack higher up in the oven

CharcoalHalf a football of good quality lumpwood charcoal. This is a long slow cook, so you need a good bed

Method

Setting up Charlie

Fill the base of the Charlie Oven with about half a football of charcoal.
Light the charcoal and allow the oven to come up to 120°C (250°F).
Adjust the vents to maintain a steady low temperature for slow roasting.
The vegetables will be placed directly on the charcoal first, then moved to a tray or plancha rack higher up in the oven.

Get your Charlie Oven up to 120°C (250°F). Once you have hit that temperature, let the oven settle and get your veggies ready.
Place all the vegetables directly on the charcoal in the oven. Turn the vegetables to get an even char. Once blackened, remove and place further up in the oven on a tray or plancha. Leave to gently cook away for 2 hours until dark and rich, then rest on the tray under foil.
After 20 minutes, squeeze out the garlic from the bulb and place all the roasted vegetables into a saucepan. Blitz with a hand blender until smooth, or leave chunky if you prefer. Leave to cool to room temperature.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the saucepan, gently warm through until it starts to bubble and keep whisking, as you do not want it catching. After about 10 minutes the sauce will be luscious and roasting hot. Start with 1 tbsp English mustard, about 15g.
Store in the fridge for up to a month.

Tips

Do not rush the charring stage: the deeper the char on the vegetables, the more complex and smoky the final sauce will be.
Keep whisking the sauce when warming to prevent it from catching on the bottom of the pan.
For a hotter sauce, swap out some of the mild chillies for a few scotch bonnets or birds eye chillies.
This sauce pairs brilliantly with grilled steaks, burgers, or even drizzled over roasted vegetables.
The sauce will keep in the fridge for up to a month in a sealed jar or bottle.

More recipes

The cook

Chris Taylor

Fire cook and author

Chris "Chops" Taylor worked as a home economist on MasterChef before turning to fire cooking, and has co-written Fire Feasts and Backyard Baking with DJ BBQ. He co-founded Whittle and Flame charcoal and has taught steak and fire cooking masterclasses on Charlie.

More recipes by Chris Taylor

Frequently asked questions

How long does smoky chilli sauce keep?

Up to a month in the fridge, stored in a sealed jar or bottle. The recipe makes about 12 servings, so it is worth keeping a batch on hand for steaks, burgers and roasted vegetables.
Can I make the chilli sauce hotter?

Yes. Swap some of the 15 mild red chillies for a few scotch bonnets or bird's eye chillies. Everything else in the recipe stays the same, including the charring and the slow roast.
Why char the vegetables directly on the charcoal?

Charring gives the sauce its smoky depth, so do not rush it. Turn the vegetables on the coals until evenly blackened, then move them higher up on a tray to cook gently for 2 hours at 120°C (250°F).
How do I stop the sauce catching when I warm it?

Keep whisking as it warms through. Once the other ingredients are in the pan, heat it gently until it starts to bubble, and after about 10 minutes it will be rich and hot.