Mango Sauce

Today, in this recipe video, I want to show you how to make a fresh Mango Sauce.  I’ve shown you how to make mango salsa on the site before…it is fresh, light and of course delicious. This sauce, takes the mango a step further, using savory vegetables like red onion and chili, and a bit of bacon to balance the sweetness, all blended together to make a smooth silky sauce.  In addition to the great flavor, the color of the sauce, a vibrant yellow, is super cool, and sure to impress.  I made this batch to go with a grilled pork chop, but it goes equally well with fish, and even chicken dishes.  I’m sure you’re going to love it.

RECIPE FOR MANGO SAUCE

Recipe Overview and Keys to Success

There are two things I want you to be aware of for this (and frankly all) sauce:

1. Balance:  this sauce uses sweet mango, savory onion, garlic, hot chili, salty bacon, tangy lime juice.  These flavors need to be in balance, and while the quantities below are good estimates, there’s no substitute for tasting….so taste and adjust the quality of ingredients as you go to make sure the sauce stays balanced with each component playing it’s part.
2. Texture: You want to make sure you blend the sauce enough to be nice and smooth.  To get there, all the ingredients need to be cooked thoroughly. You also need to add the right amount of chicken stock…remember you can always add more to get the right consistency, but it hard to take away.  You can also run the sauce through a strainer if you need to remove any chunks.

Ingredients for Mango Sauce (for 4 - 8)

• 1 Mango diced
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 – 2 slices of bacon finely diced
• Juice of half a lime
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 diced red jalapeno pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste

Making the Mango Sauce

• Sauté the bacon until crisp
• Add and sauté the onion, garlic and pepper in olive oil, until they are soft
• Add the diced mango and cook until it is soft, about another 10 minutes; add a bit of water or chicken stock if the mango starts sticking to the pan
• Transfer everything to a blender, and add a few tablespoons of chicken stock (just enough to enable to blades to turn) and a pinch of salt and pepper
• Add a light squeeze of lime juice
• Blend everything into a smooth sauce and taste
• The sauce may need a bit of sweetness (you can use honey or sugar), a bit more lime, salt or pepper – you may also need to add a bit more stock if the sauce is too thick
• If needed, you can run the sauce through a mesh strainer to ensure there are no chunks

You can serve drizzled over your favorite meat or fish; keep in mind this is a pretty thick, robust sauce, so you don’t need a ton of it.  Hope you enjoy it!