Pickles don’t have to take days or weeks to make at home.  With the right pickling liquid recipe and thinly sliced vegetables you can make what chefs refer to as a “quick pickle.” Quick pickles develop a lot of flavor in just hours, and get even better as time goes by. 

Below you’ll find our favorite pickling liquid recipe, the basic quick pickle technique, and tips for pickling specific veggies.

Basic Pickling Technique

Pickling Liquid Ingredients:
1 tbsp Tellicherry Peppercorns
2 Bay Leaves or 1 California Bay Leaf
2 tsp Juniper Berries
1 tsp Caraway
1/2 cup Sugar
1 cup Vinegar (we usually use white or champagne vinegar)
1 cup Water
1 tbsp Salt

Pickling Directions:

1.  Combine all ingredients in a saucepan on the stove.

2.  Bring to a simmer, then pour over raw vegetables (this will partially cook them, but leave them with some crunch).

3.  Let cool and use immediately or refrigerate for use within one week. 

How to Prep Veggies for Pickling:

Pickled Carrots:
Peel and cut into thin sticks (batonnets).

Pickled Radishes:
Cut into wedges or slice into 1mm thick rounds.

Pickled Onions:
Peel, halve, and slice ~1mm thick.

Pickled Wild Ramps:
Pickled Ramp Recipe

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Great DIY Foodie Gift Idea!

Preserving lemons is a pickling technique where lemons or other citrus fruit are packed in salt and citrus juices.  Preserved lemons are often used in North African food, particularly Moroccan food, as a savory ingredient.  They are prized for their intense zest but also work very well pureed into vinaigrettes (how to make a vinaigrette) and beurre blanc for applications like our Sockeye Salmon with Preserved Lemon Beurre Blanc recipe.  Usually (but not always) the pickled citrus fruit is rinsed prior to use, so that the brine clinging to it won’t unbalance salt levels in your dish.

Here are two recipes for preserved citrus fruit:

Preserved Lemons Recipe:

We used Meyer lemons for this because they have a sweeter, less acidic flavor than conventional lemons, resulting in less acidic preserved lemons once the pickling process is over.  You could also use this same recipe for plain lemons without making any changes.

Ingredients:
Meyer Lemons (amount depends on how big your lemons are and the size of your container)
Fine Portuguese Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Juice half the meyer lemons.

2. Slice the other half into quarters, three quarters of the way through (they should stay connected).

3. Pack the gaps between the quarters with salt (see photo for visual reference).

4. Pack the quartered lemons into a jar tightly, cover with the lemon juice.

5. Cover the mouth of the jar with two layers of plastic wrap.

6. Seal & store at room temperature for at least 30 days before using.

Yuzu Preserved Buddha Hand Recipe

Update: We opened the preserved Buddha’s Hand and it ended up being too mushy to use…perhaps because it’s all pith? 

Reader Barbara Potter offered this helpful advice: 

Buddha hands are known for their complex flavored, intensely aromatic zest…but they don’t really have any juice.  To solve this problem, we’ve paired them with yuzu juice, which will add even more complexity to the preserved result rather than simply blanketing it with lemon acidity.

Ingredients:
1 Buddha Hand
Yuzu Juice to cover
Fine Portuguese Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Slice the buddha hand into ½” thick cubes/rounds. 

2. Put ½ tbsp of salt in the bottom of your jar.

3. Add a slice (or layer of slices if using finger slices) of the buddha hand on top of the salt.

4. Top with another ½ tbsp of salt, continue alternating buddha hand and salt until the jar is full.

5. Add yuzu juice to cover.

6. Cover the mouth of the jar with two layers of plastic wrap.

7. Seal & store at room temperature for at least 30 days before using.

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Culinary Techniques

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A couple of months ago, Marx Foods asked their fan bloggers to choose three ingredients and cook something with them.

I chose star anise, Madagascar vanilla and Demerara sugar.

I love the shape and flavor of anise and vanilla gives a soft depth to dishes that nothing else can, sugar is rarely in my kitchen, but in small amounts, it blesses food with occasional sweetness and if used sensibly it can give you a lot of taste and enjoyment without adding anything extra to your waistline.

These cookies are an explosion of flavors, the first bite meets you with Himalayan salt and dark chocolate, and then butter, vanilla, anise and brown sugar melt on your tongue. The aftertaste is sweet and deep and you cannot eat too many of them, which is what I like best.

This recipe will make about 25 cookies.

You can keep it simple and skip the chocolate and salt and have your cookies plain or you can go the whole way and have a flavor feast.

Here is what you need for the dough:

1/2 cup butter, cold and cut in small cubes
1 1/4 cup flour (mix of rye and wheat)
2 egg yolks
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp Demerara sugar
12 anise seeds (take out from shells and grind)
1 inch vanilla bean (scrape out inside)
1 tsp fine Himalayan salt

to coat:
2 oz melted dark chocolate
Himalayan salt crystals

In a large bowl, combine the flour, spices, salt and baking powder. Mix well. Mix in the egg yolks and stir. You will have large flour crumbs as a result. Mix in the butter and use your fingers to combine everything well until you have a soft uniform dough. Place it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 370 F (175 C).

To make the cookies, use a flat surface coated with flour. Roll out the dough and cut out 5 mm thick shapes. Bake on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes. Remove and cool off before coating with chocolate if you choose to do so. To coat with chocolate, dip each cookie in melted dark chocolate (melt over medium heat in a small pot immersed in boiling water or in a double boiler), then place on a sheet to dry and sprinkle Himalayan salt on top.

You can store the cookies in a cookie jar until someone sneaks them all out, and if they survive, probably for about a week. Place some star anise inside, to keep the wonderful flavor alive.

Brining is an easy technique that gives you a more moist finished dish while also imparting additional flavor.  It’s a particularly good idea when working with pork, lean game meats like wild boar, and poultry.

How to Brine:
1.  Mix up a brining solution (see below for ratios).  Boil it to a boil.
2.  Cool the solution to at least room temperature.
3.  Submerge your meat or poultry in the solution in a coverable container.  If using a zip top bag, we recommend placing the bag in a bowl in case it leaks.
4.  Store the brining food on the lowest shelf in your refrigerator overnight.
5.  Remove the food from the brine, and cook it.  If using a recipe that does not normally call for brined poultry or meat, reduce the amount of salt in the recipe to account for the salt that has been absorbed by the meat.

Basic Brining Solution Ratio:
Your brining solution should contain 1 cup of salt for every 8 cups of water you use.

Of course, you can (and should) add other ingredients to your brining solution to impart more flavor.  Here’s a recipe we like:

Example Brine Recipe: (makes 16 cups, feel free to halve or quarter)
¾ cup Honey
24 Bay Leaves
1 bunch of Fresh Thyme
1 bunch of Fresh Parsley
1 head of Garlic, cloves separated & crushed with the skin on
4 tbsp Black Peppercorns (Tellicherry Peppercorns)
2 cups Kosher Salt
16 cups of water

Directions:

1.  In a large pot, combine half the water with all the other ingredients.

2.  Bring the brine to a boil, and boil for one minute.

3.  Add the rest of the water (to dilute and cool the brine).  Let the brine cool completely before use.

Again, this is just an example.  The important constant is the salt & water ratio, beyond that you can use any combination of whole spices, fresh herbs, and other sweeteners you want.  We particularly recommend: fresh rosemary, tarragon, fresh sage, and brown sugar.

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Frying potato chips at home is surprisingly easy, and fresh potato chips are much more delicious than store bought.  That said, you don’t have to just fry potatoes.  Lotus root chips have a slightly creamy, slightly sweet flavor, look gorgeous, and crisp up even better because of their holes.  Taro root also makes great chips, and this same technique can even be used with sunchokes, as in our Perch Fish & Chips Recipe.

You can use any of our specialty salts to season your chips, but we’ve suggested a few varieties below that work particularly well.

Ingredients: (makes approximately 5 servings)
3 Fresh Taro Roots
2 Fresh Lotus Roots
2 large Heirloom Bintje Potatoes
Flor de Sal, Green Chile Salt, Szechuan Pepper Salt, or Truffle Salt to taste
Freshly cracked Tellicherry Peppercorns to taste
High heat oil (canola, peanut, etc) – amount depends on your pot or fryer.

1. Wash the taro, lotus, and potatoes.  Remove skin from the taro, but leave the skin on the lotus root and potatoes.  Slice them into 1/16th of an inch thick disks.  Though you can use a knife if you have exceptional knife skills and an exceptionally sharp knife, it’ll be easier (and you’ll have much more uniform results) to use a mandoline.

2. Soak the slices separately in bowls of cold water for at least 1 hour (up to 6 hours)  to draw out the starch.

3. While the root vegetables are soaking, heat at least an inch of oil in the bottom of your pot (or the amount of oil called for in your fryer’s instructions) to 375 degrees.

4. Remove your chips from the water and dry them off thoroughly sandwiched between two towels (the water running off the taro chips may be slimy to the touch…but don’t worry, that’s normal).  Be sure to dry the potato chips, as excess water can cause the oil to sputter.  Have a large bowl handy to toss the finished chips with salt and pepper.

5. Add the chips to the fryer one at a time so that they do not stick to each other.  Be careful not to overload the fryer or pot, as this can drop the temperature and result in oily chips.  If using a pot on the stove, do not put more than a single layer in at a time.  Use tongs or a spider to turn the chips in the oil, frying them until golden brown and crispy (taro chips will be darker).  Make sure your oil is back up to 375 degrees before adding more chips.

6. Remove the chips from the oil, shaking them gently over the oil to drain.  Put them in the large bowl, and top with fresh cracked pepper and the specialty salt of your choice. Toss to coat.

 7. Serve immediately.

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Homemade Pickled Salmon Recipe

The below recipe can be adapted for any quantity of salmon.  I used three whole salmon fillets.

Curing the Salmon:
1. Fillet and cut pieces of fish into about six inch squares.
2. Put a thin layer of rock salt or pickling salt in a crock, porcelain, or stainless, deep pan.  Layer the salmon pieces skin side up with additional salt, making sure the fish is completely covered. Important Note: do NOT use aluminum pans for pickling salmon.
3. Cover and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 10 days. (Do not be surprised if the salt becomes partially liquid after 10 days.)
4. After 10 days, rinse off the excess salt and drain the fillets.
5. Soak the fillets of salmon in milk for at least 12 hours  or overnight.
6. Rinse the fillets thoroughly until the rinsing water is clear of all traces of milk.  The milk will remove most of the salt from the salmon fillets.

Making the Pickling Brine:
Ingredients:
For each quart of White Vinegar, add:
2 cups White Sugar
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. your preferred Pickling Spice Blend, cloves omitted/removed

The amount of pickling solution you need depends on the amount of salmon you are pickling…I usually use three quarts.

Directions:
1. Optional: place the pickling spices in a cloth bag or wrap them in cheesecloth for easy extraction.
2. Combine all ingredients in a pot on the stove, and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for five minutes.
4. Remove from the heat, and let cool completely.
5. Remove the pickling spices (either by simply pulling out the bag/parcel, or straining the liquid).

Pickling the Salmon:
1. Remove the skin from the cured fillets (how to remove fish skin) and trim away any visible fat (often grey in color).
2. Slice the fish into desired bite size pieces and layer in jars with thin slices of lemon and onions.
3. Fill the jars with the cooled pickling solution and “age” for at least 8 days before using.

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Related Posts:
How to Quick-Pickle Vegetables
How to Brine Meat & Poultry

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Salmon Recipes
Vinegar Recipes & Techniques
Salt Techniques

Ingredients
1 4-5 lb. fresh whole fish, cleaned and scaled, such as rainbow trout, striped bass or small salmon.
4 lbs. Kosher salt
2 egg whites
2 large sprigs fresh lemon thyme or regular thyme
1 lemon

Technique:
• preheat oven to 475 degrees Fº
• rinse and pat dry your fish
• insert thyme and slices of lemon into the cavity of the fish (season cavity only)
• in a large mixing bowl, mix salt and egg whites until well incorporated
• on a large sheet pan, spread half of the salt mixture and lay the fish across ensuring the salt will encompass the entire fish
• pour the remaining salt on top of the fish and pack down
• put the fish in the oven: turn down the temperature to 400 degrees Fº
• the general rule is to cook the fish for 10 minutes for every inch of thickness the fish is at it’s thickest point

Presentation:
Let the fish cool for 2 minutes and then crack the coffin with a wooden spoon. Peel away the salt and remove the fish from the coffin. Place on a serving dish and dress with a flavorful E.V.O.O.

recipe, cooking and styling by Chris Tanghe

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Seafood Tips & Techniques
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The Foodie Blogroll and Marx Foods teamed up and sent a sample of Dulse Seaweed, Fennel Pollen, Bourbon Vanilla Beans, Maple Sugar, Dried Porcini Mushrooms, Tellicherry Peppercorns, Smoked Salt and Aji Panca Chilies to each of the 25 Iron Foodie Challengers.  Each blogger’s task was to create an original recipe incorporating at least 3 of the 8 ingredients.  As you’ll see below, the Iron Foodie Challengers delivered!

La Bouna Cucina’s timpano recipe was voted the best by readers of the Marx Foods blog, with Cookistry’s ice cream recipe being voted the best by the other bloggers participating.

Browse their incredibly inventive dishes below:

We Like to Cook!: Roman Oxtail Stew followed by Spicy Fennel Creme Brulee

The Well-Lived Life: Chinese Pork Confit Fresh Wraps with Vanilla-Maple Barbecue Sauce and Fennel-Dulse Slaw

The Smart Kitchen: Chile Cranilli Bacon Peanut Butter Sandwich & “Chee” Crab Sandwich

The Growing Foodie: Fennel Pollen Waffles with Vanilla-Chile Syrup & Maple Whipped Cream

The Colors of Indian Cooking: Chenna Poda Indian Style Cheesecake

Seriously Sassy: Spicy Gingerbread Biscotti with Maple Drizzle

Notes from the Alpha Test Kitchen: Toasted Ravioli

La Buona Cucina: Timpano di Maccheroni

Everyday Southwest: Aji Panca rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Porcini Tamale & Sweet Potato Haystack

Kate in the Kitchen: Warming Winter Soup

Kahakai Kitchen: Two Pepper Seared Ahi with Avocado-Dulse Yogurt Sauce, Porcini-Dulse Brown Rice & Smoky Lotus Chips

HyeThyme Cafe: Stuffed Pork Loin with Roasted Veggies & Cornbread

Foodalogue: Sweet, Spicy & Smoky Asian Shrimp

Dog Hill Kitchen: Cherry Pie Lattice Cookies

Cookistry: Ice Cream: Buttery, Salty, Sweet ‘n Nutty

Coco Cooks: Duck Rillettes on Goat Cheese Croquettes with Black Pepper Balsamic Cranberry Relish

Chez What?: Grilled Swordfish, Poached Baby Octopus & Fresh Cured Sardines

Chef It Yourself: Salt & Pepper Salmon with Fennel & Panca Cream

Can´t Believe We Ate: Porcini, Tellicherry & Smoked Salt Crusted Standing Rib Roast

Burnin´ Love BBQ: Potlach Salmon with Umami Risotto

Bite and Booze: Seared Duck Breast with Smoked Salt & Dried Chile over Homemade Pasta & Porcini Cream Sauce

At Home with Rebecka: Tang Yuan with Smoky Hoisin in Spicy Porcini, Seaweed Broth

Adventures of an Amateur Foodie: “Blasphemous” Guanciale Fennel Fried Rice

A Little Bite of Life:  Pfeffernusse Creme Brulee

A Good Appetite: Sweet & Spicy Spare Ribs

Thanks to all of the bloggers for contributing to this delicious recipe collection.  And a special thanks to the Foodie Blogroll for making this possible!