Whole Pickled Snacking Peppers Recipe
Colorful, crisp pickled peppers transform an ordinary deli sandwich into something extraordinary. Any pepper can be pickled using this brine, so mix it up, pickling jalapeños, serranos and other hot peppers as well as sweet Hungarian, banana or sweet Italian peppers. Omit the garlic to let a delicate flavor shine; substitute dill seed for the pickling spice and create an entirely different pickle. Brine the chilies whole, in strips or in rings, but put each type in a separate jar so the flavor remains distinct.
In this one instance, as this is a refrigerator pickle and will not be processed, there is no need to use a special canning jar. Use any pretty jar (with a tight-fitting lid) lurking in the back of the cabinet, or brine the pickles in a bowl you can cover.
The whole peppers need 5 days’ marinating time before serving. The peppers can be refrigerated for at least 1 month.
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Ingredients
measuring cupServings: 18 (makes 3 pints)
Directions
Step 1
Trim off and discard the stem ends of the peppers. Use a paring knife to stab each pepper three or four times, so the brine will suffuse the pepper inside and out. Snugly pack the peppers into the jars. If using, add 1 teaspoon pickling spice and 1 lemon peel strip to each jar.
Step 2
Combine the water, white and cider vinegars, salt, sugar and garlic, if using, in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat for 1 minute, making sure the salt and sugar have dissolved, then pour enough brine over the peppers to submerge them; there should be brine left over. Allow the peppers to absorb the brine for 15 minutes, then add more brine, pressing down on the peppers to encourage them to stay submerged. Repeat the brine additions every 15 minutes or so for the next hour. You might not use all of the brine in the end.
Step 3
Cap and refrigerate for 5 days before serving.
Step 4
VARIATION: If you'd rather cut the whole peppers into strips or rings, they will brine more rapidly and will be ready to eat in 2 days.
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From Cathy Barrow, author of "Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry: Recipes and Techniques for Year-Round Preserving" (Norton, November 2014).
Tested by Cathy Barrow.
Published September 16, 2014
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