Pickled & Canned Jalapenos

This is the first time I’ve tried my hand at pickled jalapenos, so I made way to many jars. Not that it’s really that big of a deal, but I learned that all I really need to make is 2 jars of the jalapenos and I’d likely be set for the year (I’m the only one that likes heat in their food in this house).

With that said, I stocked up on a few pounds of jalapeno and had to can them, or they’d be left to rot – that’s definitely not going to happen – so canning a bunch of jalapenos was the solution.

Things you’ll need to get started:

• Gloves
• Knife
• Cutting Board
• 4 Mason Jars, Lids, and Rings

If you’re here, odds are you’ve cut jalapenos without gloves before, later rubbed your eye, and then felt the furry of jalapeno heat as your eyes watered and burned for 30 minutes. To prevent future eye burning or skin burning, wear gloves, please.

Let’s Get to Pickling Those Peppers

• 2 lbs Jalapenos
• 2 ¼ cups Vinegar (you can use apple cider – Bragg’s preferred – but if you want it clear, stick with white vinegar)
• 2 ¼ cups Water
• Spices: Pickling Salt, Black Peppercorn, Cumin Seed, Coriander Seed, Bay Leaf, Garlic, Dill Seed

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1. Start with sterilized jars, rings, and lids. Keep them warm until you’re ready to use them.
2. Cut up all of the jalapenos into thin slices. I used a mandolin to speed up the process and get consistent cuts.
3. In a pot, combine the vinegar and water. Heat until it starts to boil.
4. Take out the warmed jars and add to each of them the following amount of spices: ½ tsp pickling salt, ½ tsp black peppercorns, ½ tsp cumin, ¼ tsp coriander seeds, 1 bay leaf, 1 garlic clove (peeled), and ½ tsp dill seed. The big pot used to sterilize the jars will be used to process them. Keep the water warm in the pot, but not boiling.
5. Start adding in the jalapenos slices to the jars. Press down as you go to try to get as many jalapenos as you can, but don’t press down so hard you break the slices.
6. Pour the vinegar/water mixture over the jalapenos; stopping within ½ inch of the top of the jar.
7. Swipe a chopstick around the inside of the jar to try to remove air bubbles. Do a few swipes across the middle to get rid of any bubbles there, too.
8. Wipe the rim clean with a wet paper towel and put on the sanitized lids and rings.
9. Place the jars in the big pot of hot water and make sure the water covers the jars by at least 1 inch. Bring water back to a boil, and continue to process for 12 minutes.
10. Turn off heat after 12 minutes, but leave the jars in the hot water for an additional 5 minutes.
11. Remove the jars from the hot water and sit on a dry towel. Don’t push on top of the lids until the next morning. If the lids are pushed in, store the pickled jalapenos in the pantry. If the lids aren’t pushed in, sit the jar in the refrigerator. You can eat either of the jars right away, but the more time you give them, the better they’ll be (at least a day would be best).

If you want to add a bit of sweet to the mix, add 2 tablespoons of sugar or honey to the vinegar/water mix. Also, it’s hard to get through this recipe and not want to recite the nursery rhyme about Peter Piper and those pecks of peppers!