Pickled onions are a national treasure - everyone loves them. They are eaten with fish and chips, on a Ploughman's Lunch, pies, and many other savory dishes. There are hundreds of commercial varieties but nothing beats a jar of homemade pickled onions.
Tiny pickling or buttons onions are available in the autumn and if prepared and stored are perfect by Boxing Day to eat with cold meats or pork pie.
Tiny pickling or buttons onions are available in the autumn and if prepared and stored are perfect by Boxing Day to eat with cold meats or pork pie.
Prep Time: 1 hour, 00 minute
Ingredients:
- 2¼ lbs/ 1 kg pickling onions, peeled (see note below)
- 4 tsp pickling spices or
- ½tsp coriander seeds, ½tsp mustard seed, ½tsp black peppercorns, ½tsp dried chili flakes
- 1 oz / 27g salt
- 35 fl oz/ 1 liter malt vinegar
- 6 oz/ 170g sugar
Preparation:
NOTE: Peeling pickling onions is fiddly and time consuming. To speed up the process top and tail the onions, then place the onions in a large heatproof bowl and pour over boiling water to cover. Leave to cool and hey presto, the skins will just rub away.
- Sprinkle the salt over the peeled onions, stir and leave overnight. Next day rinse the onions and dry with kitchen towel.
- Place the spices, vinegar and sugar into a large stainless steel pan. Heat to dissolve the sugar but do not boil.
- Pack the onions into clean, sterilized jars. Pour over the vinegar and spice liquid to fill the jars, make sure each jar has pickling spices in and check there are no air pockets. Seal the jars and leave to cool.
- The onions will be ready to eat after about one month or better if kept for two. Once opened store in a refrigerator.
