Recipe: English Pub-Style Pickled Onions (refrigerator pickles with canning variation)

ENGLISH PUB-STYLE PICKLED ONIONS

"This pickle is made the traditional way, with a short-brining step to keep the onions crisp, and with cool rather than hot vinegar."

1/2 cup pickling salt, divided use
2 quarts water
1 1/2 pounds very small onions or shallots, unpeeled
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cups malt vinegar*
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon whole allspice berries
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1 Mediterranean bay leaf, crumbled

In a bowl, dissolve 1/4 cup salt in 1 quart water. Add the onions. Weight them gently with a plate that fits inside the bowl. Let them stand at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.

Drain the onions and peel them. Return them to the bowl.

Make a brine with the remaining 1/4 cup salt and 1 quart water, pour it over the onions, and weight them gently again. Let them stand at room temperature for 2 days.

In a saucepan, bring the sugar and vinegar to a boil. Let the liquid cool.

Drain the onions, rinse them, and drain them well again. In a sterilized quart jar,** layer them with the peppercorns, allspice, pepper flakes, and bay. Cover them with the cooled, sweetened vinegar. Close the jar with a nonreactive cap and refrigerate the jar for at least 1 month before eating the onions.

Refrigerated, the onions should keep for at least 6 months.

*Sharp-tasting, brown malt vinegar is available at some supermarkets. If you can't find it, or if you'd like a milder pickle, use white wine vinegar.

**CANNING INSTRUCTIONS:
If you'd like to can the onions, use 2 pint or 4 half-pint mason jars instead of a quart jar, and pour the spiced vinegar over the onions while the vinegar is hot. Close the jars immediately with two-piece caps, and process the jars in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes.

Makes 1 quart
Recipe copyright 2013, Used by permission from Harvard Commons Press
Source: The Joy of Pickling, Revised Edition by Linda Ziedrich