A few weeks ago I went out for dinner with every intention of ordering my favorite burger in the city… but for some reason, the grilled cheese kept calling me. It pained me to order it (I’m kind of ridiculously picky about ground beef, so I don’t get to order burgers very often) but I’m so glad that I did. It was seriously the best grilled cheese I’ve had in my entire life! And I’ve eaten a lot of grilled cheese.
Obviously I had to recreate it at home the first chance I got.
The key to this sandwich is a thick smear of spicy jalapeno jelly and two kinds of cheese: cheddar for flavor and a good melting cheese like fontina or mozzarella for creamy deliciousness. Snuggle it all between two sliced of sourdough with a few thin slices of apple and you have yourself a pretty awesome sandwich.
This jelly was amazing and I have all sorts of ideas for how to use it. You should definitely make some, because I have a feeling I’ll be using it as an ingredient in a lot of recipes this fall. It’s the kind of thing that’s good to have around.
Let’s learn from my mistake though. Please, please, please buy a set of canning tongs. They’re coated in rubber and are designed specifically to grip onto wet jars, which are very slippery. I didn’t use canning tongs and I had a really hard time getting the jars out of the canning pot. I ended up dropping one and splashing boiling water all over the place, including on my face. I’ll be ok – it’s just a little pink – but it hurt like hell. Don’t be like me! (If you’re short like I am, you should also grab a stool so that your face isn’t inches above the rim of the pot. I didn’t use mine, and I wish that I had!)
(If you were already skittish about canning and that freaked you out, I’m sorry. It really is easy and this was just me being dumb and lazy. If you don’t want to can this jelly though, you can skip the canning step and keep the jelly in the fridge or freeze it for long term storage.)
Jalapeño Jelly
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh jalapeno peppers 10-12 medium
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 6 cups sugar
- 2 packets 3 ounces each liquid pectin
- 6 half-pint jars with lids and rings
Instructions
- Prepare your jars and lids for canning by simmering them in a large pot of water until ready to use.
- Remove the seeds from half of the jalapenos. Add the jalapenos and 1 cup of vinegar to a food processor or blender; puree until smooth. Add the puree, along with the sugar and remaining vinegar, to a large pot. Bring to a boil; boil for 10 minutes. Add the liquid pectin and return to a boil. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat.
- Use canning tongs (like these) to remove the jars from the hot water. Fill the jars with jelly, leaving 1/4" of space in the top of each jar. Wipe the rims of the jar clean and top with a lid. Screw the rings onto the jar to fingertip tightness. Repeat with remaining jars.
- Return the jars to the pot of water. Bring to a rolling boil; boil for 10 minutes.
- Carefully remove the jars from the boiling water and let cool. Check the lids for tightness after 24 hours – they should not flex up or down when pressed.
- Refrigerate any unsealed jars. Store sealed jars in a cool, dry place.
The only issue I had when I made it was when it started to boil, it instantly boiled over! That smell that comes from burning jalapeño syrup on a smooth top range will take your breath. It ran my whole family out of the house!! It was weird because I brought it to a boil very slowly. Then whoosh!!
Made the pepper jelly today. Good recipe but I like to make it hotter as it was a little sweet. Can I double the amount of peppers without altering recipe?
I think doubling the peppers would throw the ratios off and it might not set up. For more heat, you could use all of the seeds instead of discarding half (most of the heat is in the seeds/veins, although some jalapeno crops are spicier than others in general)
Yumm!! Thank you for the new grilled cheese idea! I’ve been on a gourmet sammie kick lately, but I am going to use my habanero gold jelly instead… Already drooling. If you want to try a great and different spicy jelly, I recommend canning up some of this. It always impresses on a cheese plate or with baked Brie. It’s a bernardin recipe, and I always make lots because everyone always wants a jar!
habanero jelly sounds great!
This is a great recipe and I don’t even like jalapeños ! This jelly is what everyone goes to the cellar for !!! It’s easy and delicious , I’m going to try it on the grilled cheese that sounds like a great combo !
I LOVE pepper jelly! What a great gift to send in the mail!
Lauren,
I agree on canning tongs! For years I canned with a non-canning pot, non-canning rack, and I still don’t even own a magnetic lid wand thingy, but I’ve always had a jar lifter/tong thing.
I made hot pepper jelly once when the CSA share overwhelmed me with peppers–it’s that season again, and this looks good. I love the idea of grilled cheese, too–I had a bite of delicious grilled cheese last weekend, I need to make some soon.
Thanks!
What a great Leftovers Club pick 🙂
I really hope there is a ton of grilled cheese in my life this fall…and that it will have this jelly on it! The spice and sweetness and CHEESE sounds fabulous. (But ouch on the face! Hope it’s feeling okay!)
I love the idea of a spicy jelly with grilled cheese!! Lucky Danielle 🙂
Wonderful post with a great recipe! Sounds delicious!!