Got guests coming tonight and want to surprise them with something different? Here’s my recipe for quick pickled onions, which I think go with almost everything, from burgers and seafood to salads and charcuterie.
The short answer
Quick pickles made from 2 red onions, apple cider vinegar, salt, sugar and whole spices: 10 minutes to make, ready after 6 hours. I put them on almost everything, from burgers and seafood to salads and charcuterie.
Recipe
Quick Pickled Onions
- Prep10 min
- Rest6 hr
Ingredients
- 2 medium purple onions
- 500 ml apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp salt
- 4 dessert spoons sugar
- 1 tbsp whole black, pink and white peppercorns
- 10 cardamom pods
- 2 tsp aniseed
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 bay leaves
Equipment
Cutting board, knife, glass jar, spoon
Method
- Slice the onions into rings less than 1 cm thick and pack them into the jar until it’s full.
- Add the spices to taste, in whatever amounts you like.
- Pour in enough vinegar to cover, close the lid and leave somewhere out of the sun for 6 hours.
Notes
- I usually finish a jar in 2–3 days; don’t keep it too long.
- See the Storage section in the post for how to keep them safely.
How to make them
- Slice the onions into rings thinner than 1 cm and pack them into a jar.
- Add the peppercorns, cardamom, aniseed, coriander seed, mustard seed and bay leaves to taste.
- Pour in enough apple cider vinegar to cover, close the lid and leave somewhere out of the sun for 6 hours.
Where to use them
In a burger, next to seafood, in salads and on a charcuterie board: anywhere a rich bite wants something sharp and sour beside it.
Storage
My note: I usually finish them within 2–3 days; don’t keep them too long.
Please note: With pickling and keeping food at home, cleanliness, storage conditions and packing matter most. Wash the jar and lid well with hot water and dry them; keep the onions under the vinegar at all times. Once the 6 hours are up, store the closed jar in the fridge. Before eating, check the smell and look: if there’s foaming, mold, cloudiness, a bulging lid or an unusual smell, don’t eat them; if in any doubt, throw them out.
Keep reading and listening
- Caramelized onions
- Onion marmalade
- The Burger Handbook
- Onions on our podcast YBYK (in Turkish): episode 13, King Onion and Queen Garlic
- Pickles on YBYK (in Turkish): episode 28, Pickles 101, 201 and even 301
