Sliced Refrigerator Pickles with Onion and Red Pepper

This recipe is a spin on my Sriracha and Red Pepper Refrigerator Pickles. I originally made the sliced version to serve with barbecue pulled pork, but you could just as soon use these pickles as a side salad or add them to a variety of sandwiches. Maybe a fresh crusty roll with turkey, salami, swiss, pickles, roasted red peppers, and Italian dressing. Yum.

Useless Facts

  • While verifying the name of my red peppers (pictured above), I came to learn that there are over 15 different kinds of habanero peppers. How did I not know this? For a list with expanded information check out the page here.
  • Apparently the peppers I used, hot paper lanterns, are 300,000-450,000 on the Scoville scale. That's scary spicy in my book. I didn't feel the pickles had that much heat but there was definitely a nice kick at the end. Ignorance is bliss.

Tools

I finally bought a mandoline even though I assumed it would only be used occasionally. Turns out I've been reaching for my new gadget to slice everything from potatoes and veggies to cheese. When we had family over for dinner last week, I used the mandoline to make large thin pieces of Parmigiano-Reggiano for salad toppers. Fancy and delicious. I've been happy with my Rosle Adjustable Slicer from Williams Sonoma since it's easy to use and clean.

Cucumbers at Milliken Family Farms - Santa Monica Farmers Market

Ingredients

  • 4-5 smallish pickling cucumbers, sliced very thin NOTE: Crispy Persian cucumbers have been my favorite to work with if you can find them.
  • 2 hot paper lantern peppers, thinly sliced NOTE: Red habaneros or jalapeños might be a nice substitution and easier to find. I've used 4 sliced jalapeños (most ribs and seeds removed) and the pickles were delicious.
  • 1 small lipstick pepper or red bell red pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 smallish red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 3/4 cup white vinegar
  • 1 cup water UPDATE: I increased this from 1/2 cup to 1 cup to mellow the vinegar flavor a touch.
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp tsp celery seed
  • 1 tsp flake-style salt
  • 4 whole peppercorns, crushed
  • 2 cloves of garlic, smashed and skin removed

Instructions

  • Over medium heat, warm the vinegar, salt, sugar, and water until the salt and sugar have dissolved.
  • Take the pan off the heat and add the garlic and peppecorns.
  • Let the liquid mixture cool.
  • Put your sliced peppers, onions, and cucumbers in a jar, gently adding as many as you can. You want the veggies to be snug but not so snug that the brine can't penetrate. You can also use glass tupperware.
  • Pour the liquid into the jar.
  • Seal, refrigerate, and regularly turn the jar to redistribute the brine.
  • The pickles are delicious after just a day and continue to get better as time goes on.

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