Recipe of the Week
Pickled chili peppers
Courtesy of
Richard Blunt
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Ingredients
Brine:
2 lbs. (1 gallon) fresh, ripe, chili peppers
1 gallon water
2 cups of sea or kosher salt
Marinade:
1 cup water
5 cups white vinegar (5% acidity)
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. dried thyme
10 whole allspice
1 tsp. whole coriander seeds
12 black peppercorns
12 white peppercorns
1 tsp. whole mustard seeds
2 juniper berries
6 whole cloves
Herb Oil Garnish:
4 dried bay leaves
12 whole, unpeeled, garlic cloves, parboiled for 2 minutes
2 carrots, par boiled for 2 minutes and sliced into 1/8-inch coins
6 peeled shallots
12 Tbsp. virgin olive oil
Method
Wash the peppers, trim the stems to a stub and prick each pepper twice with a fork on opposite sides.
Bring the water to a boil, immediately remove it from the heat, and dissolve the salt in it to make a brine. Let it cool.
Combine the washed peppers and the cooled brine in a glass, plastic, stainless steel, or other non reactive container. Place a china plate on top of the peppers to hold them down in the brine. Use 2 if necessary. Soak the peppers in the brine for a minimum of 12 hours.
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a heavy bottom stainless steel sauce pan. Bring this mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Wash and sterilize 8-12 pint-size canning jars and lids. In each sanitized, hot jar place 1/4 of a dried bay leaf, 1 garlic clove, several carrot slices, 1/2 of a shallot and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then pack the peppers into the jars. Pour marinading liquid into each jar leaving at least 1/2-inch of head space from the top of the liquid to the rim.
Use a boiling water bath method to seal the jars and process the peppers for 5 minutes. Store the jars in a cool, dark place for 3-4 weeks before using.
Refrigerate unused portions after you’ve opened a jar.
