Washed chile peppers, free of blemishes Vinegar, 5% Sugar Cajun-type blackening seasoning Cumin seed Garlic powder Chili powder Turmeric Estimate the number and size of canning jars that you need to hold the peppers that you want to pickle (peppers will be well-packed in the jars). If necessary, actually pack the peppers into jars to determine this. Sterilize the appropriate numbers of jars and lids (e.g. 10 minute boil at sea level). Meanwhile, prepare a boiling water bath in a large saucepan and slit the outer skin of each pepper 3-4 times with a sharp knife. Boil the peppers for three minutes; placing a collander or wire strainer that is about the size of the saucepan on top of the saucepan will help keep the peppers submerged. Meanwhile (yet again), prepare a boiling 2:1 solution of vinegar and sugar. You will need half as much solution as the total volume of the jars you are filling. For example, if you are using three one-quart jars, you would need 1.5 quarts of solution. 1.5 quarts is six cups, so you would dissolve two cups of sugar in four cups of vinegar. Add the spices once all of the sugar is dissolved. For each cup of vinegar that you use, add 1/2 tsp blackening seasoning, 3/4 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/3 tsp chili powder, and 1/2 tsp turmeric. The idea is to have the vinegar/sugar solution boiling just as the peppers are done boiling. When the peppers are done boiling, pack them tightly into the jars, leaving about a half inch headspace. Cover the peppers with the boiling vinegar solution, again leaving about a half inch headspace. Place lids on jars as recommended by the jar manufacturer, and process the jars in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes at 15 psi (at sealevel) following the directions provided by the pressure cooker manufacturer. This recipe was added: 1 November 2003 |