I guess it is a little late in the season for me to get in the pickling/canning mode, but better late than never. I randomly had the idea to make Sriracha Pickles. You see, I recently purchased a mandoline and have been itching to use it.
My mandoline came with a crinkle cut blade perfect for making pickle chips. I always enjoy those expensive, gimmicky, spicy pickles that have been popping up lately and it seemed to me that I could recreate these at home for a pittance. I decided upon Sriracha as my main source of flavor.
I am almost ashamed to be writing about Sriracha. It has become such a clichéd fad among Top Chef contestants and "foodies" (I shudder at typing that word, I hate it so), that I almost don't want to hear any more about the red stuff. But it really is a work horse condiment and will bring both garlic and heat to my pickle party.
I started by rinsing a few pounds of smallish cucumbers and subsequently chopped them up into lovely, crinkly rounds with the mandoline (a great addition to my kitchen arsenal).
I boiled up a brine of 6 cups water, 2 cups white vinegar, and 1/3 cup pickling salt. 2 sterilized 1 quart ball jars got loosely packed with the pickle chips. I added about 1/4 cup of Sriracha to each jar and then poured the hot brine over the cucumbers. I sealed the jars and processed them in boiling water for 15 minutes.
I figure the pickles should be tart and spicy enough in a few weeks. I have high hopes for these guys, I think they will be the perfect pulled pork sandwich toppers. Maybe not though, sometimes my experiments turn out a little funky. We shall see.
ooooohhhhh pickle. made even better w/ sriracha!
ReplyDeleteOf course you have a kitchen arsenal.
ReplyDeleteNow that you say it, it's just so obvious.
WOW-You HAVE to let us know how these turned out! There was a time in my life when I used to keep Siracha in my purse...I was just googling "spicy pickles" and found you!
ReplyDeletewww.picklefreak.com
I used Sriracha for color too. I was making bright Crayola colored Vegan soups and the red was a useful addition to tomato, carrot and squash soups.
ReplyDeleteI made these. A little too salty but smashing otherwise. Note that if you're cutting them up so small prior to canning there's really no need for days or weeks of canning -- the pickles I made were tasty in less than three hours and were as good as they were gonna get in two days. Also for those who aren't prepping for a long, cuke-free winter -- an airtight, foodsafe container works just as well. I used one left over from a curry dinner.
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