Looking for help pickling

[drbanks]

I have finally achieved the point where I have more peppers ripening than I can reliably use them in my cooking.  So, I'm about to take some freshly harvested Jalapenos as well as a bunch I have in my freezer, cut them into rings and pickle them.

Except I've never done that before. 

Does anyone have a good guide?  mike, do you have any recommended recipes for the pickling brine?

[mike]

This is my base brine recipe:

2 cups Distilled Vinegar
2 cups Water
1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
½ cup Agave Nectar
2 Tbs. Sea Salt
½ tsp. Liquid Smoke (optional, I really love this for jalapenos)

Boil these items for a couple minutes and let cool.

Items to add per pint jar:

½ clove Garlic
½ tsp. Whole Black Peppercorns
½ tsp. Pickling Spice
½ tsp. Yellow Mustard Seeds
½ tsp. Turmeric

If I have it, I also like to add a sprig of fresh dill to each jar.

Do not pack jars too tightly.

[drbanks]

Sounds excellent.  I especially like the liquid smoke idea.

I just started a basic pickling.  I think I'll go back and add the liquid smoke now.

[mike]

BTW, I have never pickled previously frozen peppers. When they thaw, they are quite soft. They may fall apart in a brine. I usually only use frozen peppers for sauce or chili.

[drbanks]

Looks like they're holding up ok.  Knowing that they'd be soft, I made it a point to slice them while still frozen (the wonders of a recently sharpened chef's knife).

I boiled the brine, then threw the rings in, both frozen and fresh.  After it cooled down for a while, I put it in a zip-lock bag, squeezed most of the air out and put it in the fridge.  So far, I can't tell the pre-frozen from the fresh.

[mike]

Good luck. If nothing else, the pre-frozen should pickle faster.

[MaryL]

Why would the pre frozen pickle faster?

[drbanks]

Presumably because they're soft and the freezing can break cell walls, making them more prone to pick up the pickling fluid.

[mike]

That is correct. Like I said before, I've never tried it before. I hope it works well. Please let us know on  the results.

[drbanks]

Well, after a week, I really can't tell the difference between the fresh and previously frozen.

I've been using them in my eggs, and they are outstanding.  I have a whole quart jar full, and am still replenishing with new peppers as they ripen.

[MaryL]

That's fantastic!  It's so good to hear there's no noticeable difference.  On the other hand, there's a huge difference if you let your peppers rippen too long and then pickle.  No bueno.  At least, they're not so great.