Hairy Bikers Rhubarb Chutney Recipe

I built this Hairy Bikers rhubarb chutney on their chilli and green apple chutney from Perfect Pies, swapping the apples for a kilo of rhubarb. The spicing stays theirs, so allspice, a cinnamon stick, ginger, red onion and dried fruit, and it makes about 1.2 litres.

Their chutney already uses 500g of dried fruit, which turns out to be the perfect partner for rhubarb. Sultanas and apricots plump up as they cook and soak up the liquid that rhubarb gives off, so the chutney thickens without being boiled to death.

The rhubarb goes in a bowl with the sugar the night before. By morning it is sitting in a pool of pink liquid, and that liquid goes into the pan with everything else.

Hairy Bikers Rhubarb Chutney

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Simmering Cuisine:British Courses:Sides

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 25 minutesCook time:1 hour Rest time:8 hours Total time:9 hours 25 minutesServings:40 servingsCalories:45 kcal Best Season:Spring

Description

Half the rhubarb goes in at the start and half in the last twenty minutes, so some pieces keep their shape. A wide pan lets the liquid evaporate without stirring the fruit to a pulp. Take it off the heat while it still looks loose, because it firms up a lot in the jar.

Ingredients

• 1kg rhubarb, thick stalks peeled, cut into 2cm pieces
• 400g light muscovado sugar
• 300ml red wine vinegar
• 3 medium red onions, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh root ginger
• 200g sultanas
• 100g ready-to-eat dried apricots, quartered
• 1 to 2 long red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp flaked sea salt

Instructions

1. Macerate overnight: Put the rhubarb in a large bowl with all the sugar and stir. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight, or at least 4 hours. It will sit in a pool of pink liquid by morning.
2. Keep the liquid: Tip the whole lot into a wide, heavy pan, liquid and all. That liquid is flavour and sugar, so none of it goes down the sink.
3. Add everything else: Add the vinegar, onions, garlic, ginger, sultanas, apricots, chilli, allspice, cinnamon stick and salt. Hold back half the rhubarb for later.
4. Dissolve the sugar: Stir over a low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, about 10 minutes. Do not let it boil before then.
5. Simmer: Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for about 40 minutes, stirring now and then, until the fruit is plump and most of the liquid has gone.
6. Add the rest of the rhubarb: Stir in the reserved rhubarb and cook for another 20 minutes. Stir more often now, because it thickens quickly at this stage and the sugar can catch.
7. Sterilise the jars: Wash the jars, rinse in hot water and drain upside down. Put them on a baking tray and heat at 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4 for 10 minutes. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before filling, and handle them with a cloth.
8. Jar it up: Spoon the chutney into the warm jars while it still looks slightly loose. Leave to cool completely before putting the lids on, then label and keep somewhere cool and dark for at least 2 weeks before opening.

Keywords:hairy bikers rhubarb chutney, hairy bikers rhubarb chutney recipe, old fashioned hairy bikers rhubarb chutney recipe, rhubarb chutney hairy bikers, easy rhubarb chutney

FAQs

Why leave the rhubarb in sugar overnight?

Because rhubarb is around 95% water, and that water has to go somewhere. Sugar pulls it out overnight, so you start cooking with liquid you can see and control rather than liquid that appears halfway through.

Everything you draw out goes into the pan anyway, so nothing is lost. It just means the chutney thickens in about an hour instead of two.

Mine always goes to mush. How do I stop it?

Add the rhubarb in two goes, which is my change to their method. Half at the start breaks down and becomes the body of the chutney, and half in the last twenty minutes stays in recognisable pieces.

A wide pan helps too. More surface area means the liquid evaporates faster, so you are not stirring it for two hours and beating the fruit apart while you wait.

How do I know when it is done?

Take it off while it still looks too loose. Chutney firms up a great deal as it cools, so if it looks perfect in the pan it will be stiff and pasty in the jar.

Drag a spoon across the base and the trail should hold for a second before filling in. That is the point to stop.

Why less vinegar than the apple version?

Because rhubarb arrives sour already. Their apple chutney uses 400ml against 400g of sugar, which is right for sweet eating apples, but rhubarb brings its own sharpness so 300ml is plenty.

Taste it only after twenty minutes of simmering. Vinegar is harsh straight from the bottle and mellows as it cooks, so tasting early tempts you into adding sugar you do not need.

What do I eat it with?

Cheese, cold meats and a ploughman’s. The book pairs their apple version with a home-made pork pie, and their pork pie is seasoned with allspice as well, so the two match up properly.

It cuts through fat, which is why it works with their gammon in coke and its honey and mustard glaze. If you have rhubarb left over, their rhubarb and custard tart cooks it so the pieces hold their shape, the same thing we are after here.