Pontack sauce

Name: Pontack sauce
Yield: Makes about 350 ml
Ingredients: 1 tbsp black peppercorns; A good pinch of salt; 250 g shallots, finely chopped; 350 ml cider vinegar or red wine vinegar; 350 ml cider vinegar or red wine vinegar; 200 g caster sugar; 3 cm piece of ginger, grated; A good grating of fresh nutmeg; 8 cloves; 5 allspice berries; 500 g elderberries (stripped of their stalks with a fork); 500 g elderberries (stripped of their stalks with a fork)

Preparation info

Makes about
350 ml

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

A Year at Otter Farm

By Mark Diacono

Published 2014

About

A fine, centuries-old dark, pungent spicy sauce for game and slow-roasted pork, and for adding depth to stews. It’s very good with sausages too.

It also works really well, if differently and more brightly in colour, with autumn olive berries instead of elderberries.

Ingredients

500 g elderberries (stripped of their stalks with a fork)
200 g caster sugar

Sauce
Spicy
Vegan
September
August
Autumn
Summer
Gluten-free
July

Method

Warm the elderberries, sugar and cider vinegar in a pan until the sugar dissolves. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until the mixture forms a glossy syrup and has reduced a little.

Blitz in a blender, then pass through a sieve and pour into sterilised bottles or jars. Seal and keep in a cool, dark cupboard. The sauce will keep and improve for years. Refrigerate once opened.