Spiral Cut Sausages with Curry Ketchup

I got the idea for these Spiral Cut Sausages with Curry Ketchup from Beantown Baker.  And I enjoyed the results so much I wanted to post about it.  I'll be spiral cutting again soon.

Curry ketchup before sieving

First, let me tell you about the curry ketchup.  It was a bit of work but the results made it worthwhile.  Next time though I might not sieve the mixture at the end – that was the most time-consuming part and I think a chunkier mixture would still be fine.

Curry ketchup

The quantities mentioned here made one almost full large jar of ketchup.

First soften 1 chopped onion in some oil.  After a couple of minutes, add 4 to 6 chopped cloves of garlic.  When that is softened too add the following spices:

1 ½ tblsp salt

1-2 tblsp tomato paste

1 tblsp curry powder (I used half of one of my own mixes  and half a commercial Vencat (Indian) curry powder)  (suggest you use a bit less if you aren't a curry demon like me)

1 tsp mustard powder (you could use prepared – in which case I'd double the quantity)

½ tsp smoked paprika

Pinch of ground cloves (small pinch)

¼ tsp of ground allspice (I didn't have any so used mace instead)

1 tsp crushed chilli flakes

Let those spices and the onion and garlic simmer away for a couple of minutes to deepen the flavour.

Then add 2 medium tins of crushed tomatoes in juice, ½ cup of brown sugar and ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar.

Simmer all this for about 45 minutes, stirring now and then so it doesn't catch on the bottom.  Take it off the heat and stick blend it till smooth and then strain the mix through a sieve and you have it.

This ketchup needs to be stored in the fridge – since I didn't sterilise or seal the jar.

How to spiral cut your sausages

I used frankfurters – the sausage needs to be a reasonable firm one I think for this to work well.  Achieving the spiral effect was actually easy – the most difficult thing was sticking the skewer through the sausage first – I kept going off course and having to start again.  As you can see from the pic my spiral cuts were not particularly even but I must say the taste of the sausage was enhanced because all of the cut edges get a bit crispy.

So you stick a bamboo skewer through the middle of each sausage long ways.  Try to keep it straight!  When you have done this, just take your knife and start cutting at one edge on an angle through to the skewer and just keep going round and round till you get to the other end.  Then pull out the skewer and there is your spiral cut sausage ready to cook.  The sausages were a hit – I think kids would really like them too.