Growing up in a fairly austere food-household in my younger years, I’m not sure at what point I developed a taste for pickled beets. One of my grandmothers was an avid gardner and she loved to “put up” all sorts of pickled goods; her cucumber pickles (fermented dills, sweets, as well as bread and butters) were great, as were her pickled okra and “dilly beans”.
She made her pickled beets in small, crinkle-cut cubes; they were over-sweetened by primal / paleo standards but fit the cuisine of the day in South Texas, but man, oh man, they were astoundingly good.
She liked to add a bit of red or sweet onion to her pickled beets, and we do too.
We like to mix it up a bit when making quick pickles out of various root vegetables (try radishes sometime) by varying the spices we add, hence the list of consider adding spices below. Try various combinations and find your (or your family’s) favorite(s), and by all means vary the vinegars as well. The recipe below is scaled for a single quart jar by the way.
With beets coming into the farmer’s markets now, it’s time to “put some up” as my grandmother used to say…
3-4 medium size beets, trimmed
1 small red onion, trimmed, peeled, thinly sliced
1 cup apple cider vinegar
or
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar + 1/2 cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp pickling saltWater as needed
Consider adding
1 tbsp pickling spice mix
Cloves (1 or 2)
Allspice berries (2-4)
Peppercorns (3-6)
A cinnamon stick
Honey (1-2 tbsp)
Trim the beets, wash (scrub) them thoroughly, throw in a pot and cover with water; bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes until they can be easily pierced with a fork or knife.
Remove the beets from the heat, drain and rinse with cold water; when cool enough to handle, slip off the skins, and slice into approximately 1/4-inch thick slices.
Start a pot over medium heat with the vinegar(s), bay leaf, salt, and whatever spices from the “consider adding” list you want to try. Stir the honey in if using. When boiling, turn off the heat and set aside.
While the vinegar mixture is heating up, take a sterilized one-quart canning jar and layer the sliced beets and onions in artfully, taking care to pack fairly tightly. When full, pour the just-boiled liquids over the beets, leaving about 1/2-inch headspace.
Leave on the counter to cool, then screw on the lid and into the fridge they go. The beets will be better a day or two down the road, but will be tasty within a few hours of setting them up. With appropriate cautions, they’re probably good for up to two weeks, but ours never last that long.
Enjoy.
Leave a Reply