I love pickled things. I hate the thought of actually pickling things. It’s quite a dilemma. Fortunately for all of us, it’s a dilemma that’s easily fixed.
There’s a lot you can do with this technique, or better put, you can use this technique to quick-pickle a lot of things. After all, going through all of the sterilizing and waiting for actual, fermented, pickled things is a bit of a chore. In this recipe, I’ll be talking about pickling watermelon radishes, but here is a list of some things you can use this technique for:
- Onions: The most versatile thing you can pickle. Use red onions and cut them thin. Cut the top off, cut it in half, and then either cut with a knife or use a mandolin.
- Cauliflower: Break up a head of cauliflower into small florets. Sometimes you can find purple or green varieties, which looks amazing.
- Radishes: If you can find these watermelon radishes, use them. They look amazing and are a touch sweeter than regular radishes. Of course, your garden variety red radishes that you get at the store are just as fantastic. Again, cut them thin using a mandolin or sharp knife.
- Jalapenos & Carrots: Any self-respecting taco truck has these waiting for you like sweet, spicy, crunchy bursts of flavor swimming in a murky liquid. If you’re going all out on a taco night, making carnitas, or barbacoa, take the time to make a batch of these, but consider putting the carrots in the liquid as you heat it to soften them up.
- Cucumbers: Duh. Try throwing some dill and peppercorns in with your thin-sliced cucumbers. Top tacos with these. You’ll thank me. If you slice these really thin, you can also salt them prior to pickling to get some of the water out. If you do, omit the salt from the liquid mix.
Quick-Pickling Technique
Ingredients
- 2-3 Watermelon Radish (or other vegetable)
- 1 cup Vinegar
- 1 cup Water
- 2 tbsp Sugar (more/less to taste)
- 1 tbsp Salt (more/less to taste)
Instructions
- Slice your vegetable as thin as you’d like. The thinner you cut, the faster it will pickle.
- Put your sliced product into a glass jar. Mason jars work really well for this recipe as you can pour the liquid over your vegetable and use it for storage.
- Combine vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan.
- Heat over medium heat and stir to combine. DO NOT LET THIS MIXTURE BOIL. You only need to heat it just to the point before boiling.
- Pour over your sliced product and let sit at room temperature for about an hour.
- Store your pickled things in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 7-10 days.
It’s that simple. I can’t stress enough not to let your liquid mixture boil. Boiling reduces the amount of water in the mix and will leave you with some sweet pickles. Feel free to throw in spices that you might enjoy.