Savory caramel sauce

[JLam]

So I came across a recipe for a caramel based apricot sauce for pork in the great cookbook "Why It Works" by Kevin Ryan. I'd never considered using caramel in a savory sauce, but it came out great.

I deviated from the recipe quite a bit, and since I never write anything down when I'm cooking, I'll give a rough approximation of what I used.

1/4 cup of sugar + 1 tbsp. water, cooked that until it was golden brown.

Removed caramelized sugar from heat. Added 1 medium chopped red onion and 3 cloves finely chopped garlic.

Returned mixture to heat and cooked for another 3 mins. or so. Added 3 tbsp. Cider Vinegar, 1 tbsp. salt, about 1/4 cup of dijon mustard and about 1/2 cup water (I didn't measure any of those...just kinda did what felt right, and I am approximating).

Cooked that down until it was reduced by about half, and added about 1/4 cup of Apricot Preserves (the stuff simply labeled "spreadable fruit"...not the stuff loaded with corn syrup).

I added a bit more salt to counter the sweetness of the sauce, then added the juice of 1 small lemon. I finished it by whisking in 3 tbsp. of butter.

I strained the sauce to get rid of the soggy onions and garlic, and that was that.

The sauce had a wonderful combination of flavors. It was a little bit sweet, a little bit salty, with a hint of mustard and an overall note of apricots. I served it over a simple pork roast, and it really complimented the meat well. I have to say I was pretty impressed with myself, and now I'm going to play around with caramel sauces and see what I come up with.

Ya learn something new every day!

Edited October 5, 2006 by JLam (log)

[Pat Churchill]

That reminds me a little of these spiced pears which I make to go with duck breast, though your recipe has more sugar:

2 tablespoons duck fat or oil

1 medium onion finely diced

1 teaspoon ginger finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoon white wine vinegar

8 small pears or 4 larger ones

Peel the pears and quarter lengthwise, leaving the stem on if possible. Remove the core. Drop into acidulated water till you are ready to use them.

Saute the onion and ginger for 10 minutes then add the pears the spices and brown sugar and cook gently till the pears start to caramelise. Add the vinegar and cook for a further five minutes.

Edited to add photo

Edited October 5, 2006 by Pat Churchill (log)

[The Old Foodie]

There is a wonderful syrupy caramelised garlic Thai-style sauce with chilli and lime and ginger that is great for serving with fish. I dont have my recipe on hand at present, but there are quite a few versions of it in Thai cookbooks.

[C. sapidus]

Vietnamese food includes some wonderful savory dishes with caramel sauce. Here is an example from Viet World Kitchen.

Here is something that I made: fish in claypot (copper pot, really) from Mai Pham's Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table.

[ludja]

Thanks for sharing your successful pork recipe, Jlam. It sounds very good.

There is a wonderful syrupy caramelised garlic Thai-style sauce with chilli and lime and ginger that is great for serving with fish. I dont have my recipe on hand at present, but there are quite a few versions of it in Thai cookbooks.

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Caramel sauce is also used in some classic savory Vietnamese dishes which is where I've had this combination first, mainly with shrimp. Here are some recipes using Vietnamese Caramel Sauce in a few different dishes: Chicken and Ginger, Shrimp and also Pork Riblets. Click

Kerry Beal recently shared a recipe for Vietnamese Caramel Chicken Thighs in her recent foodblog.

The addition of fish sauce, garlic, shallots and sometimes ginger and/or chile reallly make the dish successful although it may not be intuitive before you try it the first time.

edited to add: I cross posted with C.sapidus... We both linked to the same website which looked like one of the better recipes I saw online; i.e. similar to some of my Vietnamse cookbooks.

Edited October 5, 2006 by ludja (log)

[Swisskaese]

I have also used caramel in a wonderful, but time consuming chicken tagine I make.

[The Old Foodie]

I have also used caramel in a wonderful, but time consuming chicken tagine I make.

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Sounds fabulous! Would you part with the recipe?

[Swisskaese]

I have also used caramel in a wonderful, but time consuming chicken tagine I make.

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Sounds fabulous! Would you part with the recipe?

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Sure. I thought I got the recipe from Daniel Rogov's website, but I can't find it.

I serve this with fine couscous that I purchase from a little mom and pop restaurant in Jaffo. I am suppose to be getting a couscous lesson in the next week or so.

I put the recipe in RecipeGullet:

Moroccan Chicken

Edited October 5, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)