Chilli Doppelbock Chutney

A few weeks ago I made some chilli chutney, using a recipe from a Jamie Oliver book given to me last Christmas. When I do my cooking I like to experiment and play with flavours. For example, the original chutney called for red chillies, so I upgraded those to habeneros which resulted in a very spicy chutney, with a lovely smooth sweetness that rounded it out nicely. Most of the liquid in the original comes from the balsamic vinegar, and it was this I wanted to change, and replace it with some kind of beer.

The decision as to which beer to use was a difficult one, did I want lager or ale, hoppy bitterness or malty sweetness? Then I remembered the night Mrs Velkyal and I had our first, and to date only, bottle of Primator Double 24° - a dark beer of incredible smoothness and sweetness with an alcohol content not far off that of wine, 10.5%. Despite the immense sweetness, it also has a touch of bitterness that I wanted in the final chutney. The night we drank the bottle of Double, both Mrs Velkyal and I passed out about 15 minutes after drinking it – a fact we put down to the beer.

So here is my variation on Jamie Oliver’s “Cheeky Chilli Chutney”:

• 8 Red Peppers
• 8 Chillies – 5 red chilli, 2 habanero, 1 jalapeno
• 3 Red onions – chopped finely
• 100g Brown sugar
• 1 bottle Primator Double 24°
• 5cm stick of cinnamon
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• splash balsamic vinegar
  

1. Char peppers and chillies until black and blistered



2. Put peppers and chillies in a bowl, cover with cling film and let steam for 20 minutes



3. Fry onions in a large saucepan slowly in olive oil with cinnamon, rosemary, bay leaves until sticky



4. When peppers and chillies are steamed, skin and de-seed then chop thinly



5. Add pepper and chilli mix to the onions



6. Add sugar and beer to the pan, stir and bring to the boil



7. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar



8. Lower the heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced and you have a sticky chutney



9. Remove cinnamon and bay leaves before spooning into sterilized jars

I let the chutney sit for about a week before tasting it properly, however I did have a few tries while it was cooking and it seems to have worked like a dream. Once the week is up and all the flavours have come together in the jars, I hope to have a sweet yet spicy chutney which will go wonderfully with cheddar cheese on rough oatcakes.