More and more I am thinking about canning things I see myself using a lot. These pickled red onions are a great addition to your collection of canned goods because of it versatility. Plop it on pulled pork, stir into tomato soup, or **gasp** slather it onto a grilled cheese sammie.
Having things like pickled red onions on hand really lets you create unique ("made in Sweden") combinations.
This recipe comes from Food in Jars, one of the best canning blogs I have found! She just released her first book too, which I am totally buying!
Alls you need:
3lbs of red onions (about 4 medium sized) slice thinly
2 cups of apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water (I used the water I boiled the onions in to get a pinker color)
3/4 cup of sugar
1 TBS of pickling salt (I believe you can sub regular salt as well)
2 TSP of mustard seed
1/2 TSP red chili flakes
Remember to always have your jars sterilizing before you begin! So place your jars into a canning pot or big mofo pot and cover with water and then bring water to a boil. Use some of this boiling water to pour over lids and rings.
Begin by slicing up your red onions very thinly, I spent about an hour sobbing over the onions, my eyes are very sensitive. Then bring a mofo pot of water to a boil and dump in those onions, boil hard for about 4-5 minutes.
Then drain onions through a colander and reserve 1/2 cup of the water. Pour the water, apple cider vinegar, sugar, pickling salt, mustard seed and red chili flakes back into the same pot and stir until everything dissolves. Dump the onions into this mixture called a brine and remove from heat. It should look something like the image below.
Now take your jars and use a funnel to ladle in the onions and brine leaving 1/2 inch headspace and packing onions down into the brine. Once packed and lids/ring one place back into the hot water bath and boil for 10 minutes.
So had to taste test and all I have to say is "ohhhh yeeaaa" and I just ate some on a cracker! Very nice combination of sweetness and tartness and I think this would be good paired with different types of cheeses too. The bright pink color is lovely too! If y'all have any questions/comments about canning feel free to comment below and I will answer, I promise! Do you have a favorite thing that you have canned? A special recipe?
I am making more jam as I type haha. These look good though I may have to start giving the veggies a try!
ReplyDeleteYou can never have too much Jam! If you like pickles you would love these! The hardest part is slicing the onions and after that it is so easy!
ReplyDeleteI bet they are great on wheat thins with cheddar cheese.
ReplyDeleteHow long do you have to wait to eat these after there canned?
ReplyDeleteThat is a great question. I am actually very impatient, so I ate some as soon as I was done canning and they were delish. I guess they would be described as being a little more crunchy than the ones that were canned for over a week. Either way you can eat them right away or later on:-) Oh put em on grilled cheese!
DeleteCan you substitute Vidalia Onions for the "red" onions? I have a lot of Vidalia on hand and would like to pickle some. Is the red chili flakes for color?? Does it make them HOT??? Can I use food coloring for color instead of the red chili flakes (if they make the onions hot)?
ReplyDeleteThanks
Hi Linda, Vidalia Onions would be a great substitute for Red Onions, the only difference is yours will probably be a bit sweeter and white instead of pinkish. The amount of red pepper flakes does not make them hot and I think the white onions would look lovely without food coloring.
DeleteHere is a link to another blogger who has a different recipe using vidalia onions. Hope this helped!
http://alongdaysjourneyinto.blogspot.com/2011/06/pickled-sweet-vidalia-onions.html
Hey Karly, I made 4 pints of pickled onions today... They look good, but I don't know yet how they will taste. Followed your directions and everything went well....Just thought I would let your know.
ReplyDeleteI opened a jar of those pickled onions over the weekend and they are out of this world. We have used them on hotdogs, hamburgers and chicken sandwiches. We have already emptied a jar. Can't wait till I pickle somemore. Just thought I would let you know how the Vidalia onions turned out using your recipe just in case someone else wants to use Vidalias instead of red oninons..... Absolutely Fantastic....thanks for your help
DeleteI am thrilled that it came out yummy! I love it on hot dogs too and it is most certainly addicting! I haven even used them on grilled cheese sandwiches:-) Fantastic canning Linda!
DeleteSo excited to try this recipe. I pickled some red onions last year, put the jars in cabinet to store for winter, and to my surprise...when I went to get a jar after about 6 months the onions were no longer a pretty pink, they had turned slightly brown...do you know what would cause this??? I used the hot water bath method when I canned them...all of the jars sealed good...was every disappointed, and ended up throwing them all out. I've looked for answers to what might have happened but haven't been successful in finding out...Thanks for any info. you could pass on!!!
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