Pickled Cherry Peppers

A very meaty chile pepper that is great to add heat to hot pepper jelly or relish. It can also be stuffed or chopped and used in fresh salsas.

In Italy these first are pickled in vinegar brine then stuffed with ingredients like provolone cheese and prosciutto ham. After being stuffed they are marinated with herbs and olive oil.

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Ingredients:

For the brine:

2 pounds fresh, ripe, cherry hot chile peppers
1 gallon water
2 cups of sea or kosher salt

Marinade:

1 cup water
5 cups white vinegar
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. dried thyme
10 whole allspice
1 tsp. whole coriander seeds
12 black peppercorns
12 white peppercorns
1 tsp. whole mustard seeds
2 juniper berries
6 whole cloves

Herb Oil Garnish:

4 dried bay leaves
2 whole, unpeeled, garlic cloves (par boiled for 2 minutes)
2 carrots, par boiled for 2 minutes and sliced into 1/8-inch slices

Instructions:
Wash the peppers, trim the stems to a stub and prick each pepper twice with a fork on opposite sides.

Bring the water to a boil, immediately remove it from the heat, and dissolve the salt in it to make a brine. Let it cool.

Combine the washed peppers and the cooled brine in a glass, plastic, stainless steel, or other non reactive container. Place a china plate on top of the peppers to hold them down in the brine. Use two if necessary. Soak the peppers in the brine for a minimum of 12 hours.

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a heavy bottom stainless steel sauce pan. Bring this mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Wash and sterilize 8-12 pint-size canning jars and lids. In each sanitized, hot jar place 1/4 of a dried bay leaf, one garlic clove, several carrot slices, 1/2 of a shallot and 1 Tbsp. of olive oil, then pack the peppers into the jars. Pour marinading liquid into each jar leaving at least 1/2″ of head space from the top of the liquid to the rim.

Use a boiling water bath method to seal the jars and process the peppers for five minutes. Store the jars in a cool, dark place for three to four weeks before using.

Refrigerate unused portions after you’ve opened a jar.

Recipe from www.backwoodshome.com.