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Pickled Eggs

13 Aug

Pickled Eggs

M: The first time a ever had a pickled egg, I had just seen the movie Barfly. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a fairly depressing movie loosely based on a time in Charles Bukowski’s when he was drinking heavily. It stars Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway as people lost in a haze of excessive drinking and seedy bars.

Nothing about the film makes drinking glamorous and I’d never been much of a drinker, yet somehow walking out of The Movies Repertory theater in downtown Cincinnati, all I wanted to do is find a seedy bar and have a drink.

I may have my details wrong here, but I think we ended up in the lobby bar of the Milner Hotel just a block over. The Milner is now long gone, but at the time it was the kind of place you could get a room for less than 200 bucks a month and the accommodations reflected that. Perfect.

I ordered a shot of JTS Brown Kentucky Bourbon, because that’s what Paul Newman drank in the movie The Hustler (yeah, I was a huge movie geek. What’s your point?). I may have even been underage, but the bartender didn’t even glance up as he poured the drink. I was feeling more like Mickey Rourke every second. What else you you do in run-down bars? There wasn’t a pool table, so I had my eye on that jar of pickled eggs at the end of the bar. Bright pink in a way that should appeal to no one, and yet it beckoned.  One please.

The drink was awful. But nothing compared to that rubbery crunchberry pink atrocity that was my pickled egg. Everything tasted terrible, the place was filthy, poorly lit and just as depressing as anyplace Mickey had stumbled into. Awful. Just awful. But exactly what I was looking for and an absolutely great night out.

I took a few things from that evening. First, sometimes the worst places make for the best times. Second, I did not like whiskey. And finally, pickled eggs? No thanks.

Well, some 25 years later I still manage to have the best times in the worst places. That part has held true. But somewhere along the line I’ve developed a great affection for the the occasional whiskey. I’ll even order JTS Brown now and again (here’s to you, Fast Eddie). And that pickled egg? Didn’t touch another one for twenty years. I had established I didn’t like them and that was that.

Until I started raising chickens.

When you’ve got dozens of eggs piling up in the fridge, anything you can think to do with them is a good idea. And so the pickled egg came back into my life.

And here’s the thing. The bright pink pickled egg one might buy from a dusty jar at the end of the bar is not the best pickled egg in town. Turns out I’m a fan these days and they commonly live in the door of my fridge. I even include some pickled beet brine when I have it on hand to get some of that pink in there. A tip of the hat to the good people at the Milner Hotel, bless their hearts.

This recipe is a good place to start. It’s a solid brine and works very well just as it stands, but tweak at will. I tend toward skipping the mace and throwing in some sliced onions.

Best served with a shot of JTS Brown.

Recipe: Pickled Eggs

Summary: Not the pickled eggs one finds at the end of the bar. If you haven’t given pickled eggs a fair shot, this is the best way to remedy that. From  The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook.

Ingredients

  • 12 Hard Boiled Eggs, peeled
  • 3 c Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 T Salt
  • 3 Small Dried Peppers
  • 10 Allspice Berries
  • 6 Cloves
  • 2 Blades Mace
  • 12 Coriander Seeds
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • 1 T Sugar

Instructions

  1. Pack eggs in a sterile quart sized jar.
  2. Combine all remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to boil over high heat.
  3. Reduce heat to medium and allow to simmer 5 minutes.
  4. Pour brine over eggs to cover completely.
  5. Tightly close jar and refrigerate for at least one week before serving.

 

Variations:

Pink eggs: Add 1 c pickled beet juice to brine.

Golden Eggs: Add 1/2 tsp turmeric to brine.

Hot and Spicy: Omit allspice, cloves and mace. Add 6 jalapeno chiles cut lengthwise and 2 cloves garlic.

 

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Posted in Appetizers, Eggs, Preserving the Harvest

 

Yellow Squash Pickles

06 Oct

Yellow Squash Pickles

M:  In an earlier post, we talked about the abundance of yellow squash around these parts in the summertime.  Now here we are coming into October and summer squash can still be found, but first frost can’t be too far off.  While sautés and casseroles are always a great way to make satisfying use of the crop, how does that help in those hungry winter months? Canning, my friends, is the way to go.  And pickling is a great place to start.  There are few better ways to preserve your harvest.  Fun fact: Canning was developed when Napoleon offered a prize to anyone who could develop a method of extending the shelf life of military rations.  A couple of decades later, Nicholas Appert claimed the prize.

My expectations weren’t high for this one.  Not because it isn’t a nice recipe, but because it is much sweeter than I normally go for and a bit off my preferred flavor trail. . Consequently, I tweaked to my taste a little, cutting back on the sugar a bit and increasing the salt (as noted in the recipe).  In the end, I liked this pretty well.  Still sweet, but with enough tang to keep me interested and wandering back over for a little more.  The author says serve it with everything and with this alluring color it would look right at home in one of those fancy crystal relish dishes alongside some gherkins or pickled beets, but I mostly just ended up eating it out of the jar a forkful at a time standing in the kitchen.  Don’t look at me like that.  At least I had a fork.

Recipe: Yellow Squash Pickles

Summary: This fresh pack recipe uses a “bread and butter” style brine. Don’t skip the turmeric.  The cheerful yellow glow makes it look so pretty on the pantry shelf. Adapted from The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook

Ingredients

  • 6 c Yellow Squash, cut to 1/2″ slices
  • 1/2 tsp Salt (M: I used 2 tsp)
  • 1 1/4  c White Vinegar
  • 2 c Sugar (M: I cut back to 1 1/2 c)
  • 1 Bell Pepper, chopped
  • 2 Onions, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 c Pimentos, chopped
  • 1 tsp Celery Seed
  • 1 tsp Turmeric

Instructions

  1. Toss squash with salt and let rest at least 2 hours.
  2. Bring vinegar and sugar to boil in a large saucepan.
  3. Stir in squash, onions, bell peppers, pimentos, celery seed and turmeric and return to near boil and remove from heat.
  4. Pack in 4 sterilized pint jars, and seal with rings and lids.
  5. Process in water bath 5 minutes.

 

Pickled Squash

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Posted in Preserving the Harvest, Vegetables

 

Piccalilli

21 Aug

Piccalilli

M: When I was growing up in the Midwest, piccalilli is what we called sweet pickle relish.  When I moved South, I found that it referred to the type of relish we’re making here.  That is, one made from primarily green tomatoes and peppers.   So which is the real piccalilli?  After a little research, It turns out the answer, as is so often true,  depends on where you hang your hat.

Its origins seem to be British, where it has referred to a mélange of pickled vegetables, often including cauliflower and cucumbers.  In the Midwest, it refers to the aforementioned diced gherkin relish.  And here in the South it is pretty much what you see here, green tomatoes, peppers, sometimes cabbage.

So now that we’ve worked that out, I’m left with a new question.  This is my first piccalilli.  As I looked through the ingredients, I found this looks a whole lot like chow-chow to me (something I’ve been making for years). I usually use cabbage for my chow-chow, but green tomatoes are also common.  What’s the difference? The author of this recipe says it’s that chow-chow doesn’t always use green tomatoes, but you know, if it does, it’s still chow-chow, right?

I’m a fan in any case.  Distinctive and well-balanced, it enhances, but does not overpower whatever it accompanies.  Carolina red dog, anyone? This is a very sweet relish, and I did cut back on the sweet a couple of different ways here, but that is very much a matter of taste.  This is superb piccalilli.  Or maybe chow-chow.

Addendum: I wrote this post last night.  When I opened the newspaper this morning, what should I find but this featured article about, yes indeed, chow-chow.   Ain’t that a thing.  At least one person quoted in this article suggests the difference between piccalilli and chow-chow is in name only.  Once again, it all depends on where you hang your hat.

Recipe: Piccalilli

Summary: This sweet relish of green tomatoes and peppers is a winning topper for hot dogs, hamburgers, black eyed peas or just about whatever suits you.  Adapted from The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook

Ingredients

  • 3 Lb Green Tomatoes, diced to 1/4″
  • 1 Onion, diced to 1/4″
  • 3 Green Bell Peppers, diced to 1/4″
  • 3 Red Bell Peppers, diced to 1/4″
  • 2 Yellow Bell Peppers, diced to 1/4″
  • 3 c Apple Cider Vinegar (M: I used 2 c cider vinegar and 1 c white vinegar)
  • 1 3/4 c Sugar (M: I cut back to 1 1/4 c)
  • 2 T Salt
  • 1 tsp Ground Allspice
  • 2 Cinnamon Sticks
  • 1 T Celery Seed
  • 1/4 c Mustard Seed
  • 2 Bay Leaves

Instructions

  1. Combine tomatoes, onion and peppers in a large saucepan.
  2. Stir in 2 c cider vinegar and bring to boil for 30 minutes.
  3. Drain and discard liquid.
  4. Add remaining cup vinegar (white or cider), sugar, salt, allspice, cinnamon sticks, celery seed, mustard seed and bay leaves.
  5. Return to boil 3 minutes.
  6. Remove cinnamon sticks and bay leaves.
  7. Pack in pint jars and process in water bath 5 minutes to seal.

 

Piccalilli on Stove

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Posted in Preserving the Harvest, Sauces and Dips, Vegetables

 

Grape Leaf Pickles

16 Aug

Grape Leaf Pickles

M: Pickling is always part of summertime around here. By the time autumn rolls around, you can find quarts and quarts of pickled this and that in my pantry. If you’ve got a flavor profile or pickling method, I’m game. But what I’m always looking for is that crisp pickle. I’ve had decent success by making sure the blossom end of my cuke is clipped. Alum or pickling lime were popular for a long time, but seem to be out of favor these days. I am told Ball’s “Pickle Crisp” does the job, but calcium chloride just sounds so, I don’t know, artificial. So what’s a fella to do?

So here’s the deal with the grape leaves. I always kind of assumed the grape leaves were a flavor enhancer, but in researching this recipe I found that it isn’t really about flavor, it’s about the tannins. Apparently, the tannins found in grape leaves inhibit the enzymes that cause the cucumber to soften during the pickling process. I kind of thought clipping that blossom end (which is where those enzymes originate) would make this a non-issue, but why not? As always, I’m game. I picked some grape leaves from a vine growing over by my brother’s place and stuck them in the jar.

I am pleased to report these were some delightfully crisp pickles. Maybe I had some nice, young cukes, maybe the temperature was just so. Or maybe it was the grape leaves. In any case, I’ll do this again. Not only were these pickles crisp and tasty, but those grape leaves just look so cool in the jar.

Recipe: Grape Leaf Pickles

Summary: Natural tannins in the grape leaves give this traditional pickle its coveted crunch. From The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook.

Ingredients

  • 1 c Pickling Salt
  • 2 gallons Water
  • 25 Grape Leaves
  • 50-60 Green Grapes
  • 1 1/2 gal. Pickling Cucumbers

Instructions

  1. Dissolve salt in water in a large bowl.
  2. Layer 1/3 of grape leaves in bottom of large crock or glass jar.
  3. Add half of cucumbers and half of grapes to crock, crushing grapes slightly as you go to allow brine to permeate.
  4. Add another 1/3 of grape leaves in layer.
  5. Add other half of cucumbers and grapes.
  6. Cover with remaining grape leaves.
  7. Pour salt brine into crock.
  8. Fill a large ziploc bag with water and seal. Press bag down on cucumbers to submerge them completely.
  9. Let rest 2-3 days in a cool place.
  10. After 2-3 days lift bag, remove scum from surface and replace bag.
  11. After a week or so, taste daily until flavor is to taste.
  12. Once desired flavor is reached, pack pickles in jars and move to refrigerator to end process.
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Strawberry Jam

22 Jun

IMG_9485

K: Here in Massachusetts, as best I can tell, strawberry season is about 3 weeks long, depending on the fickle, turbulent, New England Spring. For do not doubt it, June is still spring here - a concept that I still have trouble accepting, having grown up where we could get our first 70 F day of spring as early as the second week in FEBRUARY, and it is full Summer by the end of April.  So, this year, after 10 years of trying unsuccessfully to correctly guess which two weekends in June to leave open for picking my own strawberries before the brief season ends, I joyfully bought a flat of 8 quarts from my CSA’s bulk offerings without the first twinge of guilt.  And you know what else? I’m doing it again this week, too.

M: Yes, life is pretty sweet down here in Zone 7B.  Winter is so short and mild we call school off if it looks like it “might be fixin’ to think about snowing”. There’s only about 5 minutes where you can’t have something going out in the garden.  So what’s with all the canning?  Much as I love to eat seasonally, I’m going to need a tomato in January.  Pickles in March.  And I’m going to need a jam-slathered biscuit… well, when don’t you need a jam-slathered biscuit?  Summer at my house means jars, jars, and more jars as canning season hits full stride.  Strawberry jam kicks it off in style.

In the six weeks or so when strawberries are in season, you can certainly hit the fields and pick them yourself,  and that’s a good time and all, but we’ve got work to do.  A trip to the farmers market finds booth after booth with long tables overflowing with luscious berries, every one of them offering samples and telling you why they have the best crop.  While quality and price are the priority, some good banter goes a long way.  I generally end up with a couple of flats sometime around late May, early June. Belly full and fingers stained, it’s time to get down to business.

Lest you think my enthusiasm translates into an impeccable success rate, know that I still stare at every batch I make, willing it to set.  Most of the time it works.  I did try my hand at homemade pectin stock this year, with great success, but it is hard to beat speed and ease of this simple SFA recipe using low/no sugar commercial pectin.  A dozen or so pints later you have to wonder.  Too much jam?  Drop by in February.  We’ll have some biscuits and talk about it.

Strawberry Jam

Recipe: Strawberry Jam

Summary: Nothing says summer’s here quite like the first batch of strawberry jam. For detailed theory and instructions on waterbath canning for jams, jellies, pickles and the like, you should hop over to the extremely helpful folks at the National Center for Home Food Preservation, and the Ball folks have good online resources.  There are also a number of fantastic books on the topic these days, thanks to the resurgence of home canning’s popularity. Adapted from The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook

Ingredients

  • 2 q Strawberries, hulled
  • 1 c Water
  • 1 (1.75 oz) package Low/No Sugar Pectin
  • 1 1/2 c Sugar

Instructions

  1. Crush strawberries (be sure to leave some good sized chunks in there!) in a large pot and add water.
  2. Stir in pectin and bring to full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring frequently.
  3. Add sugar and return to that full rolling boil.
  4. Once a temperature of 220 degrees is reached, continue to boil one minute and remove from heat.  (Please see note below regarding boiling times and commercial pectin.)
  5. Ladle into hot canning jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace, wipe rims, and add lids and bands.
  6. Process 5 minutes in boiling water bath to seal.

 

Note: K: With commercial pectins, it’s best not to dwell much on temperatures and sheeting tests.  Unless they are listed in your pectin’s instructions, save that sort of thing for non-added pectin canning.  Boiling more or less than is suggested on the package has the potential negative effect of ruining your ‘set’.   For instance, the pectin I used listed in its directions for step 4: “Return to rolling boil, then boil for EXACTLY one minute.”  Folks, if they say exactly? Pull out your watch, and ignore your thermometer.  If they say stand on your head and stick your left thumb in your right ear? You can believe they’ve tested that in their canning labs 8 million times & you’d best think seriously about listening. You should always follow the order of the steps provided with the commercial pectin you buy.  This is one case where it’s actually important to read the little insert that comes in the package.  If all of that is too rigid for you (as it generally is for me) then just don’t use commercial pectin.  Jam recipes without it are easy to come by now, and all you need is a decent, cheap candy thermometer to make it work.  Those can be found at almost any grocery store for around $10, but if you’re feeling motivated, you can spring for the $27 infrared thermometer. I truly love my long-boil jams and jellies, but the real payoff of the commercial pectin, if you’re willing, is its speed. Sometimes you just need to get your jam fix Right Now.  Nothing can get you to jam nirvana quicker than a fresh box/bag of pectin, and if loving that is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.

IMG_9512 Strawberry Jam

 

 

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Posted in Fruit, Kitchen Tools, Preserving the Harvest