Tomato BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

Instructions

1. 1Wash 8 half-pint jars, bands, and new lids in hot soapy water and keep the jars hot until ready to fill.
2. 2Simmer the new lids in hot water per the manufacturer's instructions.
3. 3Wash the tomatoes, score an X on the bottom, blanch 30 to 60 seconds in boiling water, cool in ice water, slip off the skins, cut out the cores, and chop the tomatoes.
4. 4Simmer the chopped tomatoes and onion together for 20 minutes until soft, then run the mixture through a food mill to remove skins and seeds.
5. 5Return the smooth pulp to the pot with the garlic and boil it down over medium heat, stirring often to prevent scorching, until reduced by nearly half and thickened, about 45 minutes.
6. 6Stir in the vinegar, brown sugar, molasses, salt, smoked paprika, black pepper, and cayenne, and continue simmering, stirring frequently, until the sauce mounds thickly on a spoon, another 15 to 20 minutes.
7. 7Add the required bottled lemon juice or citric acid directly to each hot, empty jar before filling, in addition to the vinegar already in the sauce: 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid per half-pint or pint jar.
8. 8Ladle the hot BBQ sauce into the jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace.
9. 9Remove air bubbles with a nonmetallic tool, wipe the rims clean of any sticky residue, center the lids, and screw the bands on fingertip tight.
10. 10Process in a boiling-water canner, jars covered by 1 to 2 inches of water, timing from a full rolling boil: 20 minutes for half-pints and pints at 0-1,000 ft, adding 5 minutes at 1,001-3,000 ft, 10 minutes at 3,001-6,000 ft, 15 minutes at 6,001-8,000 ft, or 20 minutes above 8,000 ft.
11. 11Turn off the heat, wait 5 minutes, then move the jars with a jar lifter to a towel-lined counter and let cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours.
12. 12Press each lid to confirm sealing, label with contents, acid added, and date, and refrigerate any jar that did not seal.
13. 13Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place up to about 1 year; refrigerate after opening and use within about a week.
14. 14Keep the onion at the amount specified and still add the full bottled lemon juice or citric acid to every jar, since a thick, sweet sauce like this can mask spoilage and must not skip the acid safeguard.