Pickled Red Onion

To tie in with my last post, as well as “Meatless Monday,” I am going to show you my staple red onion pickling recipe and procedure. I’ve talked about pickling before when we did pickled spring veg. These little suckers are packed full of flavor and provide a fabulous color to any dish. One thing I like to do is DIY tacos or flatbreads, and these are great toppers for those. Also try omelets, sandwiches, salads, and even sautés. Just think of it as additional acidity in the dish and the possibilities are endless.

One more note before I supply the recipe: you can leave the aromatics in, or strain them out. It’s really up to you. If you leave the spices in, they tend to provide a stronger flavor. However, if you strain them out, the liquid will only be as potent as it is at that point in time. I’d suggest doing a batch of each and figuring out what you like and basing your progression on that. I chose to leave the spices in this time.

Pickled Red Onions

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons pickling spice

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons sugar

3 cups white distilled vinegar

1/2 cup red wine

5 small or 3 regular red onions (julienne) 

Directions:

1. Toast pickling spice in hot pot
2. Add vinegar, red wine, salt, and sugar to pot. Bring to a boil
3. Place julienne red onion into container. You want it to be large enough to let the liquid cover it completely.
4. Once liquid is boiling, pour over onions. Let cool for half an hour. Cover and refrigerate.
5. Let sit for 12 hours minimum; 24 is ideal! 

How-to: Julienne Red Onion

I’m not sure if I’ve put this up on social media or on here, but I think cuts can make or break you. Consistent and precise cuts can take a dish up one or two levels easily. However, without a basic knowledge of how to execute these procedures, it may be hard to take a dish I put up on here and get it to look like it does in the picture. I know a lot of people see something that looks good and want to make it exactly like it is portrayed. So, I’m going to be doing a weekly how-to series on some basic procedures that will help you blow everyone’s socks off. No matter what you’re serving, nice simple consistent cuts make it look so much more polished and confident.

First up is how to julienne a red onion. The tricky thing with onions is that they are cylindrical. When you’re trying to get straight cuts from a circle, it can be quite precarious to say the least. Keep in mind that this cut can be applied to any onion shaped produce. I just chose to do a red onion because they’re great to have pre-sliced to dress up any dish with a little pop of color and flavor.

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them on the blog or put them on the Facebook page. 

Step 1:

Gather your SHARP knife and a red onion. Place on cutting board. 

Step 2: 

Cut ends off of red onion as depicted in the picture below. You are just looking to trim the ends off, not cut most of the onion apart. The goal is to create a consistent edge.

Step 3: 

Place onion on a cut side and slice down the middle.

Step 4:

Remove outer skin layer. Try not to take the top layer of flesh off. All you need to do is remove the dry layers from the onion.

Step 5:

Rotate the cut part of the onion so that it is facing you. Start slicing the onion from one side to the other.

Step 6:

You want to start off with a tilt in your knife. A 45 degree angle should do the trick. Since the object is round, proceed to cut radially as shown in the picture. This way all the slices will be as consistent as possible. 

Remember to guide your knife with your middle finger while having the tips of your fingers tucked in so you don't cut yourself. I've done that way too many times and it sucks. 

Step 7:

Continue to go through the onion until you have about a quarter left. Rotate the onion so that the rounded end faces you like in Step 5. This will allow you to finish your cut.

I hope this helps! If you have anything you would like me to do in my series, please let me know!