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Ritter’s Green Tomato Relish: Top Condiment For Pennsylvania Beef BBQ
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Ritter’s Green Tomato Relish – “Green Tomato Relish is what this recipe needs!”
According to the DH, green tomato relish is the missing ingredient when making his mom’s “Beef Barbecue” recipe.
Not just any relish mind you but Ritter’s Green Tomato Relish!
Intro To Ritter’s Green Tomato Relish
Every so often, I get a request from the DH for this taste bud flashback to his favorite childhood meal. As you can see in the photo below, it is listed specifically by name in my mother in law’s original recipe.
We’re not talking Piccalilli or chutney but a tomato based relish. It means the main ingredient in this concoction is not cucumbers – which as all cooks will agree makes a big difference in the taste.
Time to make Beef Barbecue! Check out the variety of ==> Pennsylvania Dutch Tomato Relishes
I grew up with continental and intercontinental cuisines so it is rather difficult for this cook to get excited about a recipe that includes ground beef, sugar and a very Pennsylvania Dutch style condiment.
While it has been a long time since I last prepared what could more aptly be called a homemade Sloppy Joe mixture, this particular recipe was elevated to a different status with the title of Beef Barbecue.
In southeastern Pennsylvania, in other words, the Philadelphia area, ask for Beef Barbecue and you will get sloppy joes not pulled beef brisket in a barbecue sauce.
I have two versions of this recipe en direct from the Delaware valley. One version was written for inclusion in a fund-raising community cookbook compiled by the Women’s Auxiliary. The recipe is quite vague.
I’m thinking my mother-in-law Margaret was not going to divulge her secret ingredient! The other is the handwritten version found tucked away in her personal cookbook. It is considerably more detailed in listing specific ingredients and instructions for preparation.
Unfortunately, Ritter’s® relish is history (much to the chagrin of its devotees) but just this past weekend, I came up with a “tastes almost like it” culinary rendition of my husband’s favorite meal from back in the 50’s and 60’s.
It’s just one of the many Pennsylvania Dutch recipes I’ve learned to prepare. There is a moral to this story. Don’t go looking for a unique ingredient such as Ritter’s® green tomato relish at the last minute.
After scanning the condiment aisles of all our Woodbridge, Virginia neighborhood supermarkets à la recherche of the elusive green tomato relish – any tomato relish for that matter – it quickly became obvious that the beef barbecue was going to be prepared without that specific ingredient.
So… why not turn this into a challenge to figure out how to recreate the taste? Here is the original recipe, complete with ingredients and instructions.
This Beef Barbecue Recipe Calls for Ritter’s Green Tomato Relish! © www.food-crafting.com
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This version of the family Beef Barbecue recipe made it into the Church’s annual Community Cookbook files. Looks like Margaret was not going to share her secret ingredients with all the home chefs.
Scale
Ingredients
- 1 pound of ground beef (80/20%)
- One teaspoon of salt
- Pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire© sauce
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 jar of tomato relish
- 1 – 8 oz. can Hunt’s® tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Melt the butter, add ground beef, salt and pepper to taste.
- Keep turning until the beef has changed color
- Add the rest of the the ingredients in order listed. Keep turning with a fork so the meat does not burn or stick.
- As juice continues to form, fold in relish and sauce. Reduce heat.
- Cook uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until sauce is well cooked in.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4-6
Keywords: beef, barbecue, Pennsylvania, green tomato relish, Ritter's
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Barbecue #2 Was Reserved For The Family 😉
Description
Ritter’s Green Tomato Relish was a must-have ingredient for my mother-in-law’s Pennsylvania style barbecued beef aka Sloppy Joes. This is Margaret’s family only version of the recipe.
Scale
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground chuck
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons vinegar (Heinz apple cider vinegar)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard (regular yellow mustard)
- 1/2 jar Ritter’s Green Tomato Relish (or any green tomato relish)
- 1 8 oz. can Hunt’s® tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Spread the loosened ground chuck in a well buttered skillet.
- Keep turning the meat until no red shows, add ingredients in order over full flames, keep stirring until well mixed and the contents of the skillet begin to cook hard.
- Turn down the heat to half and cook for 30 minutes uncovered. Stir occasionally so it does not stick. The mixture should be thick not juicy.
- Don’t over cook. If the meat is fatty, skim off the fat before adding other ingredients.
- Makes 6 barbecue sandwiches.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 oz.
Keywords: beef, barbecue, Ritter's relish, green tomato relish, Pennsylvania
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Making Mock Ritter’s Green Tomato Relish
Homemade condiments – that’s what happens when you can’t find the green tomatoes! Needless to say, we were not going to find any green tomatoes (I considered using Salsa Verde however, tomatillos would veer towards “south of the border” flavor) but barring cucumbers, the two other principal ingredients found in most relishes are green peppers and onions. To save time, I purchased:
- An 8 oz. container of diced yellow onions and
- An 8 oz. container of diced green peppers [found in the produce section]
- For the tomatoes, I substituted a small can of plain tomato sauce with Hunt’s® seasoned tomato sauce. Any type of seasoned sauce with do but I opted for the sauce seasoned with basil, garlic, and oregano.
- For the sugar sweetness and a great tomato taste, I added about 1/3 of a cup of 100% natural Hunt’s® tomato ketchup.
Making Authentic Green Tomato Relish aka “Ritter” Style Green Tomato Relish
From now on, I will be keeping an eye out for green tomatoes at our local Farmer’s Markets and other fruit and vegetable road stands in the “Valley”; While nothing will replace Ritter’s® original relish, Efsitz gave us express permission to share a recipe for a homemade version of the original recipe.
There is Nothing Like Ritter Relish!
Indeed, for quite a few of us, “There is nothing like Ritter relish”!
Ingredients:
- 4 lbs of fresh green tomatoes (post-frost will NOT do)
- 2.25 lbs onions
- 1.25 lbs sweet peppers (red and green) with seeds
- 2/3 cup coarse sea salt (for draining)
- 2 cups cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tbsp. prepared mustard (ordinary yellow mustard is fine)
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. celery seeds
- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
- 3/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 2 tbsp. yellow mustard seeds
Instructions:
Chop the veggies to relish consistency (1/4 inch dice, a food processor works fine), put in a big “non-reactive” (non-aluminium) bowl, add salt, blend, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Drain, wash moderately, with cold H2O (in other words, get a lot of the salt off but you don’t have to go crazy), squeeze out excess water. Blend remaining ingredients in a pot, cook until sugars have dissolved. Add squeezed veggies and bring to a boil, then simmer at a good clip, stirring, for about ten minutes, until the peppers have changed color. Divide among clean 1/2 pint canning jars, leave a 1/4 inch of head space. Seal, boil 15 minutes in a water bath. Cool and store for at least two weeks to allow flavors to develop.
It’s Still Available…
As an Amish style condiment, so the next time, I will be sure to pick up a few jars at the General Store and try preparing the recipe with the real thing – just to taste the difference green tomato relish makes in the overall flavor of Beef Barbecue.
There are quite a few variations of tomato based relish. There is one in North Carolina, one made in Tennessee and no doubt, many homemade variations including the wonderful recipe posted above.
Unfortunately, we will never know the exact recipe or even all the ingredients that made Ritter® THE brand of relish other than the fact that this relish has its origins in the Southeastern corner of Pennsylvania. In the same corner of the state, the family called home.
What a surprise! We’ll have to stock up on green tomato relish the next time we travel north to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
When was the last time you made your own Pennsylvania Dutch condiments? Tomato, chow-chow or piccalilli?
This relish is the next best thing to Ritter’s Green Tomato Relish but I am guessing we could also order all the required veggies fresh from the farm!
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1 Cook, 2 Countries & A Taste For World Cuisines: Cooking A La Mode De Chez Nous - Cuisine d'Hier Et d'Aujourd'hui! For the love of home style cooking and great food. Memories are made of this!