Pickled Jalapenos Recipe

Stumbled across a recipe for pickled jalapenos the other day and tried it out tonight...

Previously, I had been buying Vlasic pickled jalapeno slices at Wal-Mart in the bulk foods section. They come in a 62 oz jar and are somewhat spicy and very crisp. I've tried a lot of jalapenos over the years and these were the best. A lot of people complained on Wal-mart's site about them no longer carrying that brand. Seems like every other brand (especially the canned ones) were "mushy" and mild. For some reason, Wal-Mart no longer sells these and have replaced them with the La Costena brand. I tried them, they're mushy and bland.

The recipe basically consists of:

1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
about 6-8 jalapenos (cut into thin [about 1/8" thick] slices)

Add the vinegar, water, garlic, salt, and sugar to a pot and boil it.
Wash out a jar with increasing temperature of water so that the jar will be warmed gradually in order to keep it from breaking when you put the hot jalapenos and liquid in later.
Add some jalapenos to the liquid and let them boil for about a minute or so and then remove them with a slotted spoon and put in a jar. I guess this would be called "blanching"?
Keep doing this with the rest of the jalapenos.
Using a ladle, transfer the liquid to the jar, pouring it on the jalapenos instead of the side of the jar to minimize the chance of shock breakage of the glass.
Put it in a refrigerator to cool down and within a couple of hours, it'll be cool and ready to eat.

I added a couple of habanero peppers sliced up with the jalapenos in order to make it a bit more spicy.

Thanks, this is something I'll do today.

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Originally Posted by wch

Thanks, this is something I'll do today.

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The original recipe said to use 2 tablespoons of sugar and to change it to 1 tablespoons if you want it hotter. Since I want something as hot as possible, I started out with just 1 tablespoon.

I used a bit more than the specified estimate of jalapenos and ended up with the liquid not completely covering the top of the peppers. But, it's easy to scale the recipe since it just calls for equal amounts of vinegar and water.

Skip the blanching and just pour the hot liquid over the peppers in the jar for fridge pickled peppers. I use this same basic recipe for fridge pickles and they keep 6 months easy. They also stay super crunchy!

The Old El Paso brand are usually crisp. They do suck when they're mushy.

I got hooked on candied Jalepenos after my oldest daughter brought a jar back from Branson. I actually found a cheaper brand that is just as good at my local Harps.

I hope to make some at some point.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/candied-jalapenos/

This sounds really good! Will have to give it a try. I buy these all the time.

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Originally Posted by 54bore

This sounds really good! Will have to give it a try. I buy these all the time.

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I like a recipe that doesn't require ingredients that I don't normally have in my kitchen. Some of the recipes called for kosher salt or "pickling mix". I'm not going to buy a whole container of kosher salt just so that I can just use a couple of tablespoons of it.

I use this type recipe for pickled Aleppo chilis I do remove the seeds and slice the peppers longitudinally They taste great on samwiches!

I add a 1/2 TSP of alum to my fridge pickles for peppers or cuke's keeps them crispy.

Box of Kosher salt is all of $1 or so... and it tastes better!

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Originally Posted by MaryB

Box of Kosher salt is all of $1 or so... and it tastes better!

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I figured that it's all sodium chloride and it's dissolved in the liquid, so it should taste the same. I can understand a larger flake size being better for adhering to meat when you are salt curing the meat, but when you're just going to dissolve it in a liquid, I would think that it would taste the same.

It doesn't have iodine or other additives that can turn the pickling liquid cloudy and affect flavor.

And in case anyone is curious about what iodine does and the history of adding it to salt, here's an interesting read:

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index....added-to-salt/

The other thing added to standard table salt is calcium silicate as an anti-caking agent (about 0.5%). The iodine content is considerably less -- 0.002% to 0.004%.

Probably the calcium silicate would be what might cause the pickling solution to get cloudy.

I am going to have to try this out myself

pickle crisp, aka calcium chloride, keeps them crunchy and can usually be found in the canning section, that is what the big commercial canning outfits use.

Add a grape leaf or two to each jar to keep them crunchy.
I`m not sure why that works , but it does....dale

I don't know how long these will stay crisp after pickling them if you leave them in your fridge for a long time. Mine were still crisp three weeks later when I finished up the last of the jar. :) I would have made another batch, but I figured I better finish off the not-so-great commercial ones that I bought before I discovered this simple and quick recipe.

According to this listing, "Ball's Pickle Crisp" contains calcium chloride.

And here's some interesting reading about using alum, grape leaves, etc...

Safe Preserving: Grape Leaves, Alum and Old Wive’s Tales

Ok I may have to try this, the "mushy" pickled jalapenos drive me crazy. Thanks for sharing.

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I like a recipe that doesn't require ingredients that I don't normally have in my kitchen. Some of the recipes called for kosher salt or "pickling mix". I'm not going to buy a whole container of kosher salt just so that I can just use a couple of tablespoons of it.

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I'm the same, I don't like buying a large container of something for 1 dish. I do use Kosher salt for almost all my cooking needs though, old habit. Iodized table salt just doesn't taste right or cook the same for me.

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Originally Posted by NavyVet1959

I don't know how long these will stay crisp after pickling them if you leave them in your fridge for a long time. Mine were still crisp three weeks later when I finished up the last of the jar. :) I would have made another batch, but I figured I better finish off the not-so-great commercial ones that I bought before I discovered this simple and quick recipe.

According to this listing, "Ball's Pickle Crisp" contains calcium chloride.

And here's some interesting reading about using alum, grape leaves, etc...

Safe Preserving: Grape Leaves, Alum and Old Wive’s Tales

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Yep, my bad, I corrected my post, it is calcium chloride,

Wow Read my pickle crisp it is not alum that my sister had said it was. Thanks for correcting me. :cool:

This recipe is very close to the one I use.
If you want a little extra spicy kick to it, add
1/4 teaspoon of horseradish per pint.

Is there any reason for white instead of cider vinegar? Would seem healthier.


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I've made similar recipe. Always sad when I run out of these around December/January.

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Originally Posted by fiberoptik

Is there any reason for white instead of cider vinegar? Would seem healthier.

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I know nothing about one type of vinegar supposedly being healthier than any other type.

I suspect that if you use any other sort of vinegar it is going to add some sort of other taste to it and I also suspect that white vinegar is going to have the most neutral taste. Feel free to experiment though.

Standard white vinegar is what I keep on-hand. I buy it in the gallon jugs at Wal-Mart and it lasts me for quite awhile between using in in cooking / cleaning / rust-removal / whatever.

Raw cider vinegar is only healthy if not boiled... otherwise it carries the same heath bennies of regular vinegar which is some but not a wonder cure.

Made another batch last night using the Morton pickling salt. The salt tastes the same to me.

Tried them out today and they are just so much better than the store bought type of pickled jalapenos. At that rate, I don't know if I'll ever finish up the store bought ones that I have in my fridge.

By my calculations...

$0.57 for the jalapenos
$0.24 for the vinegar

The salt and sugar would be a negligible cost since it's only 1 tbsp per cup of vinegar

and ended up with about a 32 oz container filled with pickled jalapenos.

So, let's say $1 for the jar... Cheap and so much better than the commercial brands...

Habanero's is a nice touch.

Shiloh

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Originally Posted by Shiloh

Habanero's is a nice touch.

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If I had access to some of those really hot "ghost peppers", I would try one of them chopped up and added to it. That should really give 'em a kick...

I do end of garden pickled hot peppers, go to farmers markets end of fall and make offers on whatever they have. Slice and fridge pickle them, last year had some Carolina Reaper peppers... yikes were they hot!

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Originally Posted by NavyVet1959

I figured that it's all sodium chloride and it's dissolved in the liquid, so it should taste the same. I can understand a larger flake size being better for adhering to heat when you are salt curing the meat, but when you're just going to dissolve it in a liquid, I would think that it would taste the same.

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Pickling salt won't turn your peppers brown like table salt. That's the main difference.
I pickle my peppers like so. Cut peppers in rings. Pack in pint jar. Add 1/4 tea spoon of salt. Add 1/4 tea spoon of alum. Mix white vinegar and water 50/50. Boil the water vinegar mix and pour in jars to cover the peppers. Place lid and they will seal. I have kept them 10 years that way in the cellar. Plenty hot for me . I also chop them up in a electric chopper my wife has and put them on my October beans . With a little cornbread and a onion your living like a king.

I forgot to ad, this recipe came from my aunt. She was a Hungarian lady and weighed about 400 lb. lol She sure could cook.

My motto "Never trust a skinny cook!"

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Originally Posted by maryb

my motto "never trust a skinny cook!"

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lol lol lol

We make pickeled Jalapenos similar to Navyvet's recipe and put them up in jelly jars--they're still crisp 2 yrs later(found one in the back of the cupboard).

Here in the south, pickled pepper vinegar is a staple for most of us. I really don't want to usually eat my greens without it! And maybe a little LA Hot Sauce as well. After 48 years of marriage, a good mess of greens will still excite my wife! I'll take what I can get there, I guess. :mrgreen:

She doesn't like jalapinos and says they're "too hot," but I've learned that if I put some in with the banana peppers, she usually doesn't notice, and she sure eats heartily when I make them that way. Any of y'all have that kind of "problem" with the wife and the hot stuff?