Pickled serranos

I recently discovered how hard it is to do home microbiology when the weather heats up. I wanted to try my hand at pickling a few other items, beyond sauerkraut, but sadly the heat led me to grow a lot of fungus. I'll have to wait until fall.

But dinner does not wait, and acidic condiments are the perfect counterpoint to greasy, smokey meat. Think coleslaw with pulled pork, and kimchi with bo ssäm.

So let's make a bright and spicy condiment, quick pickled serrano peppers.



I modified Lisa Fain's recipe, over at Homesick Texan. I substituted the vinegar in her recipe for sherry and rice vinegars. They make an uglier pickle (the vinegar is darker) but in my opinion and tastier one.

½ lb serranos, chopped
½ cup sherry vinegar
½ cup rice vinegar
½ cup sugar
1 tsp mustard seed
½ tsp whole cloves
½ tsp whole allspice
1 cinnamon stick

Mix the vinegars and seasoning. Bring to a boil.



Pack the peppers into the smallest non-reactive container you can fit them in.



Pour the hot pickle juice over the peppers, and allow to cool on the counter.



Then cover and place in the fridge. Serve as soon as 24 hours later. These quick pickles are bright, sweet and spicy. They are fantastic on sandwiches and on pizza, or next to a smoked brisket. And I'm trading them for some homemade Vietnamese hot oil. Not bad for 15 minutes of work.



Next time I'm throwing in a few spears of asparagus to soak up the pepper juice. Yum.

By Bbq Dude