It’s Picklin’ Time
There are many skills in the kitchen that attribute to a world class chef, professional cook, or home cook. This is one of those basic skills. Think to yourself about the last time you had a sandwich, and ask whether or not it had that tangy kick from a pickle or some other bit of pickled vegetable. Pickling veggies is as easy as it gets and you can do it in less than 20 minutes.
Imagine having a pulled pork sandwich, and after you just spent 14 hours smoking the pork shoulder and preparing it, then slapping it onto your roll, and there’s just something missing. You have a savory pulled pork, and a sweet and soft roll, yet nothing else, what could add a little more depth to it? Sure, a slaw is great and all, but there may be too many flavors mingling in there to appreciate the pork in all of its glory. Imagine putting some pickled red onions onto that sandwich, pairing the rich and savory tastes with a slight tangy kick and crunch from your red onion. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
Here is everything you need to pickle your own veggies:
3 cups of distilled white vinegar
2 cups of filtered water
2 tablespoons of salt (get a good salt, no iodized table salt garbage)
Veggies(eg. 1 large boy red onion, cabbage, yellow onions, cucumbers etc.)
1) Cut your veggies into strips, or slices, whatever your size preference is. I prefer strips, as you see illustrated in the accompanying photo(s) and fill 3-16oz Mason jars almost all the way up(make sure there isn’t too much space left in those jars).
2) Combine your vinegar, water and salt into a medium pan and bring to a boil.
3) Once boiled, pour your hot brine over your veggies in those mason jars, until the liquid is right above the veggies, and lightly move the veggies under the surface of the brine.
4) Once everything is cooled off completely, cap off those jars and store in your refrigerator up to 6 months, but I doubt they’ll make it past the one week mark.
It is worth mentioning that you should experiment with adding different flavors to your brine. Adding some fresh dill, mustard seeds, a little sugar, or even cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes adds a whole new dimension to your basic brine. Use whole spices that were lightly toasted or cracked to add depth and dimension.
