I don't know that we have a single family member who would heretofore have identified as a pickle fan (except Quick Pickled Onions for Minimalist Salmon Tacos and Black Bean Tacos, among other things). But while I was trying to come up with uses for vegetables that we sometimes buy in batches and then use only one or two of—like carrots and celery for making mirepoix—I came across this recipe for really easy refrigerator pickles. Joshua McFadden explains in his headnote that his former boss David Chang showed him that great pickles shouldn't be too sharp, because "[l]ow acid and always a touch of sweetness will allow you
taste the vegetable, not just the brine." So McFadden uses less acidic rice vinegar, with just a tablespoon of white wine vinegar, and a fair bit of sugar in his brine. That made sense to me, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
Mom was, again, skeptical of my pickling venture, but two days after I made the carrot pickles, I looked in the fridge and half of them were already gone, so she's clearly a convert! As far as the seasonings go, McFadden suggested using five smashed garlic cloves with a lot of the veggies. That sounded like a lot of raw garlic to me without even trying it, so I went with three in the first batch, and even that was too much for my taste (though Mom is surprisingly okay with it, despite her raw onion phobia). If you're a garlic fan, you can use however much you like up to five cloves, but I doubt I’ll be using more than one or two cloves from here on out. As McFadden suggested, I didn't use any flavorings to make the cucumber pickles. That really proved the point that his brine lets you taste the vegetable, as these pickles actually taste like cucumbers instead or whatever it is you usually get out of a store-bought jar or pickles.
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| I found three garlic cloves overpowering, but the dried chiles are spot on (note that they do get spicier the longer the pickles sit in your fridge) |
Homemade Pickles
Adapted from Joshua McFadden from Six Seasons (2017)
Time: 5 minutes to make the brine, then 10 minutes or so to prep the veggies and seasonings and fill the jar(s)
The brine will keep pretty much indefinitely in the fridge, so you can make a double or triple batch if you turn into a big pickle fan. You can skip the seasonings altogether, as David Chang does in his similar recipe for Vinegar Pickles from the Momofuku cookbook.
355 grams (1½ cups) water, piping hot from the tap
120 grams (½ cup) rice vinegar
15 grams (1 tablespoon) white wine vinegar
62 grams (5 tablespoons) sugar
11 grams (4 teaspoons) Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1. To make the brine: Place all of the ingredients in a 2-pint or larger jar or other container. Stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Cover and store in the refrigerator indefinitely. Makes enough brine for about 3 pints of pickles.
2. To make the pickles: Fill clean 1-pint canning jars with whatever vegetable(s) you’re pickling, plus any seasonings (see the headnote) in the manner directed below. Pour the brine over the veggies until they’re completely covered and the jars are almost full, with just a little bit of headspace at the top. Cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 months. The pickles are ready to eat when you think they are, but wait at least a few days to start tasting.
Here are just some of the vegetables you can pickle:
Carrots
Clean, trim, and peel the carrots, then cut them in half crosswise (I was able to fit about 5–6 carrots in one 1-pint jar). Arrange the carrot halves standing up in the jar; you can fit more in if you alternate the fat and skinny ends. Tuck the following seasonings in between the carrots:
• 2 dried chiles (I used dried chiles de Árbol);
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs;
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds; and
• up to 5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the flat edge of a chef’s knife (I used 3 and it was too much for my taste).
Cauliflower
Clean and trim the cauliflower, then break the head into bite-size pieces. Layer with 4 fresh thyme sprigs and up to 5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the flat edge of a chef’s knife.
Celery
Clean and trim the celery, then slice ¼-inch thick on a sharp bias. Layer with the same seasonings as for carrots.
Cucumbers
Kirby cucumbers (short and bumpy, not smooth like garden cukes) are the standard for pickling, although the French love them some gherkins for making cornichons. Clean and trim the cucumbers, then cut them crosswise into ¼-inch rounds. Don’t use any seasonings.
Radishes
Clean the radishes, then cut off the tops, leaving ¼ inch of the greens (leave the radishes whole). Don’t use any seasonings.
Wax or Green Beans
Clean and trim the stem ends only, leaving the little curly tips. Arrange the beans standing up in the jar, tucking the following seasonings in between the beans:
• 2 dried chiles;
• 2 fresh rosemary sprigs; and
• up to 5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the flat edge of a chef’s knife.
The brine will keep pretty much indefinitely in the fridge, so you can make a double or triple batch if you turn into a big pickle fan. You can skip the seasonings altogether, as David Chang does in his similar recipe for Vinegar Pickles from the Momofuku cookbook.
355 grams (1½ cups) water, piping hot from the tap
120 grams (½ cup) rice vinegar
15 grams (1 tablespoon) white wine vinegar
62 grams (5 tablespoons) sugar
11 grams (4 teaspoons) Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1. To make the brine: Place all of the ingredients in a 2-pint or larger jar or other container. Stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Cover and store in the refrigerator indefinitely. Makes enough brine for about 3 pints of pickles.
2. To make the pickles: Fill clean 1-pint canning jars with whatever vegetable(s) you’re pickling, plus any seasonings (see the headnote) in the manner directed below. Pour the brine over the veggies until they’re completely covered and the jars are almost full, with just a little bit of headspace at the top. Cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 months. The pickles are ready to eat when you think they are, but wait at least a few days to start tasting.
Here are just some of the vegetables you can pickle:
Carrots
Clean, trim, and peel the carrots, then cut them in half crosswise (I was able to fit about 5–6 carrots in one 1-pint jar). Arrange the carrot halves standing up in the jar; you can fit more in if you alternate the fat and skinny ends. Tuck the following seasonings in between the carrots:
• 2 dried chiles (I used dried chiles de Árbol);
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs;
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds; and
• up to 5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the flat edge of a chef’s knife (I used 3 and it was too much for my taste).
Cauliflower
Clean and trim the cauliflower, then break the head into bite-size pieces. Layer with 4 fresh thyme sprigs and up to 5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the flat edge of a chef’s knife.
Celery
Clean and trim the celery, then slice ¼-inch thick on a sharp bias. Layer with the same seasonings as for carrots.
Cucumbers
Kirby cucumbers (short and bumpy, not smooth like garden cukes) are the standard for pickling, although the French love them some gherkins for making cornichons. Clean and trim the cucumbers, then cut them crosswise into ¼-inch rounds. Don’t use any seasonings.
Radishes
Clean the radishes, then cut off the tops, leaving ¼ inch of the greens (leave the radishes whole). Don’t use any seasonings.
Wax or Green Beans
Clean and trim the stem ends only, leaving the little curly tips. Arrange the beans standing up in the jar, tucking the following seasonings in between the beans:
• 2 dried chiles;
• 2 fresh rosemary sprigs; and
• up to 5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the flat edge of a chef’s knife.
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