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Mexican-style Pickled Veggies

In Austin all the Mexican joints have an addition to their salsa bar that I rarely see elsewhere – pickled sliced vegetables. The blend always includes carrots and jalapenos, and sometimes onion, cauliflower or other firm veggies. They are sour, spicy, and delicious. I’ve pickled many things, but never hit the distinctive flavor of these Mexican pickles.

After reading a number of recipes, I think I’ve got it just about nailed. This will be a standard “fresh pack” pickling recipe – you will need a water bath canner, which is easy to improvise if necessary. If you haven’t done this type of pickling, do a few google searches – there is a LOT written about it. It is very easy, but food safety requires that you understand the basics.

Ingredients

• Carrots and other veggies, sliced into regular sizes and shapes (carrots on the bias, cauliflower into pieces, jalapenos halved and seeded, etc.)
• Brine (this is enough for 2-3 quart jars full of veggies, make as much as you need)
  • 1.75 cups White Vinegar
  • 0.25 cups Cider Vinegar
  • 1.5 tsp Salt (pickling salt preferred)
• Spices for each jar (again, get as much as you need for your batch size)
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 1 tsp Paprika
  • 10 Black Peppercorns
  • 3 Bay Leaves (this is the key ingredient for that authentic flavor)
  • 1 tsp Ground Mustard
  • Optional – more spicy in the form of cayenne or similar

Process

Slice and dice your veggies into desired shapes. Traditional seems to be carrots sliced on the bias, jalapenos halved and seeded, cauliflower and onions into “chunks”, but really, it is up to you.

Load the fresh veggies into canning jars – I prefer wide-mouth quart jars. Make sure you have fresh lids (rings can be reused, lids should not).

Get your water bath canner fired up – I like to have it at a low boil before starting my brine so that I can load the jars into the canner as soon as possible after filling with brine.

Bring your brine to a boil. I find I needed one “batch” for each 2-3 jars, but it depends on your veggie density. Add the spices and bay leaves directly to each jar, and then pour the brine over the veggies, filling the jar to 1/2″ from the top. Tap to shake out the bubbles, add a bit more brine if necessary, and then put on a lid and a ring (ring should be finger tight only, just enough to hold it together).

Load the jars into your water bath canner, and return to a boil. Measured from when the canner is boiling again, you should process for 15-20 minutes (USDA has charts based on altitude for fresh-pack pickling process times). After processing, pull the jars out and let them sit on the counter until cool. Once they are cool, remove the rings and let the jars hang out for at least a week in a cool dark place. Then crack them open and enjoy! I like them by themselves, or on tacos, or in burritos. Remember not to eat the bay leaves. Once open they do need to be refrigerated.