Quick-Pickled Spicy Peppers

This fun recipe is great for barbecues and picnics, transporting well in a sealed mason jar. Bring out this thin, spicy, acidic add-on when you want to add a little extra zing to your burger (whether that be classic, veggie, fake meat) or when you have some extra peppers to keep good a little longer!

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I recently made this recipe around the Fourth of July, when we decided to grill up some fake-meat hot dogs. I normally go for ketchup and sauteed peppers and onions on my dogs, but I didn't have any at home and I was looking for something similarly zingy and - importantly - FAST. These peppers did just the trick!

First, you'll want to ready a jar or another small container with a tight-fitting lid. You don't want to pick a container that is much larger than your quantity of peppers, because you'll wind up having to fill it with a lot of unneeded brine (vinegar) and possibly waste it once you eat the peppers out of the jar. I would go with an 8 oz ball or mason jar if you are using the quantity in this recipe. Adjust accordingly to your quantity of peppers. One of the nice things is that it doesn't hurt to pack the peppers in - you don't need extra room, so if you wind up stuffing them in toward the end, that's ok, as long as you can close the jar and fill it with liquid.

First, slice your peppers as thinly as you can, removing the seeds and the stem. The thinner they are, the more they'll take up the vinegar flavor. You can save the seeds for planting in a pot or in the garden.

Then you'll measure out your brine ingredients and put them right into your clean jar. After the brine ingredients are in the jar, put the peppers in the jar long-ways, as if you were putting pencils into a cup. If they are too long for your jar, you can bend them or cut them into halves. Or you can pick a larger jar that's a bit taller.

Lastly, fill the jar with the liquid, seal, shake, and fridge! You can use them nearly immediately or keep them in the refrigerator for use. Note that these are not sterile jars, so they won't keep well in the pantry or too long in the fridge, but they will last a few weeks in the cold thanks to the vinegar. However, you can follow my sterilization instructions with our fig jam recipe if you want to can these and keep them longer.

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I was impatient, so I used by peppers on my dinner within about two hours and they were already delicious!

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Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 0 mins

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

4 small hot peppers, such as serrano

1/2 tsp celery seed

1/2 tsp black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

1 tsp salt

Approximately 3 oz red wine vinegar

Equipment

8 oz mason/ball jar

Instructions

• Measure out your pickling spice mix and place in the bottom of an 8 oz mason jar.

• Slice your peppers as thinly as possible using a paring knife, removing the seeds and stem.

• Pack the peppers into the jar and fill halfway with vinegar. Depending on how tightly packed the peppers are, you may need more or less vinegar to fill up to the halfway mark.

• Fill the rest of the jar with watter.

• Seal with the jar lid and shake to distribute the flavor (it will settle when sitting, so before use, shake again).

• Refrigerate and enjoy!