Pickled Jalapeños
This year I decided to grow jalapeño and serrano chiles—those wonderfully hot and flavorful Mexican chiles that are used salsa, guacamole, and so many Mexican dishes. But I certainly wasn’t expecting each plant to yield over a pound of chiles. What to do with so many?
Make jalapeños escabeche, or pickled jalapeños!
Pickled jalapeños, or escabeche, are served as a condiment with many meals in Mexico. Chiles, onions, carrots, cauliflower are pickled with the jalapeños. My mother used to buy jars of escabeche when I was a child. The chiles can be cut up and used for many dishes.
Pickled Jalapenos (Escabeche) Recipe
- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Cook time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Makes about 4 to 5 pint jars
Ingredients
- 1 lb jalapeño (and/or serrano if you wish) chile peppers
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 medium white or yellow onions, thickly sliced
- 2-3 medium carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
- Florets from half a small cauliflower (optional)
- 1 head garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
- 4 cups apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Kosher salt or sea salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 sprigs of fresh marjoram (can sub fresh oregano) or 1/4 teaspoon dried
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
- 1 Tbsp sugar
Special equipment:
- 4 – 5 pint-size canning jars
Method
1 Prep the chiles: Wash the chiles, leaving the stems intact. Cut a cross in the tip end of each chile so that the vinegar will be able to penetrate the chiles.
2 Fry chiles, onions, carrots, cauliflower in olive oil: Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the chiles, onions, carrots, cauliflower if using, and garlic. Fry over medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning them over occasionally.
3 Add vinegar, salt, bay, oregano, marjoram, thyme, sugar, bring to boil: Add the vinegar, salt, bay leaves, dried oregano, marjoram, thyme, and sugar and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Make sure the chiles are entirely cooked through before canning. You will know they are cooked when they are no longer vibrant green, but a dull, olive green.
4 Pack jars with vegetables, top with cooking liquid: Pack 4 to 5 pint-sized sterilized jars with the chiles and vegetables. Top with the vinegar cooking liquid and seal.
5 Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.
Once opened, can keep for one to two months in the refrigerator.
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