Texas Style Homemade Canned Jalapeno Peppers

In the last few years I have been trying to learn to put food away in the old style like my great grandparents and those before them did on a day to day basis. I have learned about brining, drying and smoking meats. In the last month I have been working on pickling such things as eggs, sausage, cucumbers and jalapeño peppers. I hope to have a recipe for you in the future to be able to make pickled spiced peaches like I used to sneak out of my grandmothers house. I could sit behind the barn and eat a whole quart jar of those things. I never got her recipe but have been able to get several that I think will do her proud so we will talk about pickled spiced peaches again in the future.

My family grew up on Tex-Mex foods and we have an addiction to hot peppers. There is always a search for a brand of canned jalapeños that have flavor, heat and yet retain crispness and do not get soggy. It seems like as soon as you find a brand you like they go out of business or they are no longer imported into this Country. Success has come with a simple recipe that has been tested by those close to me and pronounced a success. You can make them sweetened or not depending on your own preference in flavor.

Start with a batch of your favorite fresh jalapeño peppers.

Wash them well and place in a cold water bath.

Peel and slice some fresh carrots and set aside.

Cut your favorite kind of onion in quarters and set aside.

Peel two cloves of garlic for each quart of peppers you wish to pickle and set aside.

Wash your jars and lids in the dishwasher and set out on a clean towel on a counter top.

The pickling brine consists of two parts water and one part white vinegar, for a little different flavor you may substitute cider vinegar.

Place the brine in a large sauce pan and bring to a rolling boil.

Stir in Kosher salt until it starts to fall out or no longer dissolves in the brine. This is about ½ cup for every 4 quarts of brine.

If you wish to try the sweeter tasting peppers use equal amounts of salt and sugar in the brine.

Now take a jar and place some carrot slices, onion and two garlic cloves in the jar.

Pack the jar full of the clean jalapeño peppers and set in the sink in case you spill some of the brine when filling the jar.

I then dip out the boiling brine, about a cupful at a time, and pour over the peppers until the jar is full.

Screw the lid on tightly, rinse the jar with warm water and set upside down on the towel on the counter. Repeat until all your jars are full. I let them sit upside down and cool for about ten minutes before setting upright. After they have cooled place them in the refrigerator. They should sit for about 10 days before you start to eat them. Be careful who you feed them to as these are Texas style and they are hot.

Good eating, Wild Ed

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