Pickled Hot 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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Quart-size jars work best for packing a lot of peppers. Use the pint-size jar to put up a small batch to serve over cheese.

  • yield: Makes 2 quart-size jars and 1 pint-size jar

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds hot cherry peppers, washed well and dried
  • 6 garlic cloves, halved
  • 3 dried bay leaves
  • 3/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 4 cups white-wine vinegar (at least 5 percent acidity)
  • 1 1/3 cups water
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

Directions

  1. Step 1

    Trim cherry pepper stems. Divide peppers, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns among 2 quart-size and 1 pint-size sterilized glass jars.

  2. Step 2

    Bring vinegar, water, sugar, and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until sugar dissolves. Pour hot pickling liquid over peppers, leaving 1/4-inch headspace at tops. Can in water bath for 15 minutes.

Source

Martha Stewart Living, March 2010