Pickled Onions
When I was a child, my grandfather made pickled onions and I loved them. I didn't get his recipe so I have been working on my own and I think this is pretty close. These bring back memories and I love them.
Boiler onions work well for this. Regular onions are too big and pearl onions are too small. The worst part of making these is peeling the onions, but there is a trick to it. Get a large pot of water boiling. Drop the onions in and let them boil for 10 seconds. Scoop them out and immediately drop them in ice water to stop the cooking. Slice the root end of the onion off and use the other end to squeeze the onion out of the paper covering. Trim the end.
| 1½ to 1¾-quart jar ( Clamp top jars are convenient) | |
| 2 | bay leaves |
| 1 tsp | peppercorns |
| 1 tsp | mustard seeds |
| 1 tsp | coriander seeds |
| 2½ lbs | boiler onions |
| 3 tbl | salt |
| 1½ cups | water |
| 1½ cups | vinegar |
| 1½ tbl | liquid crab boil |
Put the bay leaves, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and coriander seeds in a piece of cheese cloth and tie it closed with a piece if cotton string. Put the bundle in the jar. (The bundle keeps loose spices from covering the top of the vinegar mixture with floating seeds)
Peel the onions and put them in the jar.
Dissolve the salt in the water, then add the crab boil and vinegar.
Fill the jar to the top with the water/vinegar/crab boil mixture. Shake, seal, and refrigerate for at least 1 week, 3 weeks is better. They will continue to get better the longer they age.