My Big Fat Greek Pickled Peppers
Winter blahs be gone! You are SO ready to add color to palate and palette.
Pickle Artiste Awaken!
It’s a fine time to compose a jar of pickled peppers. Mix sweet with hot. Many peppers are grown year round, so choose from sweet, to mild, to firey hot. You be the pepper boss! This is an oh so simple recipe. Cut peppers into 1/4-inch thick rounds, or for bigger peppers, cut into strips or half rounds.
For your pepper palette:
mild heat; Cubanelle and Anaheim, banana, Hungarian
firey heat; jalapeño, serrano
sweet; mini-sweet peppers, or yellow or orange sweet peppers
< This recipe I used Cubanelle, Anaheim, jalapeño and sweet minis
Look for color and a little heat. If the hot peppers are tiny, leave them whole and pierce once with a skewer to allow brine to enter.
Seed the hot peppers and save some to add back if you want to amp up the heat. If you keep the peppers in rings, diners can more easily avoid the hot ones.
Caveat: Red sweet bell peppers are at the peak of ripeness and are not ideal for pickling. You can use the red mini-sweets, or large reds if they are hydroponically grown. These type usually come in a three-pack of peppers in a sealed bag. Yellow and orange sweet peppers are fine if the stems are bright green and not withered.
Don’t slice the rounds too thin, they should be at least a 1/4 inch, otherwise they may get soft as a pickle.
You need to add vinegar after the primary fermentation is complete to keep the pepper skins in tact. I wait to add at the end so the resident bacteria can create the pickle and then the vinegar helps lower the pH to set the pepper skins.
Fresh pickled peppers are good for at least a month under refrigeration.
Greek Pickled Peppers- 1 Qt.; can easily be doubled
assorted peppers 1 LB. soaked in water, rinsed, seeded, 1/4” rings
thyme, fresh 2 tsp. (8 sprigs) or 1 tsp. dried
oregano, fresh 2 tsp. or 1/2 tsp. dried
fennel seed 1 tsp. lightly crushed
peppercorns 1 tsp. lightly crushed
standard brine 2 cups
After primary fermentation: Add 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar
Adjust herbs and spices: dilute with fresh brine or add more herbs/spices as desired
1. Soak the peppers for a few minutes then lightly scrub or rinse to remove any dirt.
2. Stem, then cut into 1/4 inch rings, or into 1/4 inch wide bite-size strips or crescents.
3. Save some hot pepper seeds or add dried red pepper flakes to taste if desired.
4. Toss the peppers in a large bowl.
5. To a clean 1-quart jar: add dried herbs and spices at the bottom and/or reserve fresh to add to the top of the peppers.
6. Add the peppers, lightly packing as you go until near the top of the jar. Don't pound or crush or over pack to get the last ones in.
7. Add the brine until nearly full.
8. Go to Perfect Pickler instruction booklet or web video for final directions to seal the kit.