Pickled Jalapenos Recipe

[NavyVet1959]

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.

[wch]

Thanks, this is something I'll do today.

[NavyVet1959]

Thanks, this is something I'll do today.

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.

[MaryB]

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!

[frankenfab]

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/

[54bore]

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

[NavyVet1959]

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

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.

[JWFilips]

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

[Geezer in NH]

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

[MaryB]

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

[NavyVet1959]

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

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.

[MaryB]

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

[NavyVet1959]

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.

[gtrpickr]

I am going to have to try this out myself

[duke76]

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.

[dale2242]

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

[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

[DerekP Houston]

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

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'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.

[duke76]

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

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

[Geezer in NH]

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