Uses: in Mexican foods, bowls, sandwiches, salads, burgers, etc.
- 1/2 large red onion halved, thinly sliced (1/8-inch)
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt (or table salt)
Optional Add ins:
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1-2 star anise
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice or ½ tsp allspice berries
- 2 bay leaves
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Add sliced onions into a 1-pint mason jar; set aside.
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Combine the vinegars, water, sugar and salt in a medium sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Simmer just for 30 seconds to dissolve the sugar, then remove from heat and add any additional add-ins if using.
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Carefully pour the solution into the jar with the onions (I do this in the sink using a funnel). Press the onions down with a spoon until submerged in the solution. Let the pickled onions cool to room temperature for 30 minutes, then seal and refrigerate.
Storage
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The pickled red onions are ready to enjoy after 30 minutes or can be refrigerated for 3 weeks if using the basic recipe or dried herbs. They are good for up to 1 week if using fresh herbs.
POSSIBLE RECIPE VARIATIONS:
Red onions, vinegar, sugar and salt are all you need to make fabulous pickled red onions. Still, its’s fun and tasty to customize your own quick pickled onion recipe depending on what you’re using it for. You can add peppercorns, fresh herbs, Latin spices, Asian spices, etc. Here are just a few options:
- Use a different vinegar. This pickled red onion recipe calls for a ½ cup apple cider vinegar and ¼ cup red wine vinegar. But you can use any combination of white vinegar, apple cider vinegar and red wine vinegar. You can even swap ¼ cup vinegar for orange juice, lime juice, grapefruit juice, pomegranate juice, etc.
- Make it peppery. Add ½ -1 teaspoon whole peppercorns to the vinegar solution after bringing it to a simmer. If you don’t have whole peppercorns, you can add some freshly cracked pepper.
- Make it spicy. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes, sliced habañero peppers or sliced jalapeño peppers.
- Make it garlicky. Add 1-2 smashed cloves of peeled garlic to the vinegar solution after bringing it to a simmer.
- Make it herby. Add a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, fresh oregano leaves, basil, mint, tarragon or bay leaves. Keep in mind, fresh herbs will only last a week in the fridge, so use dried herbs if you want to extend the shelf life.
- Change the flavor profile with whole seeds. I recommend 1 teaspoon whole seeds of any of the following: cumin seeds, fennel seed, coriander seeds or caraway seeds. You can also add ½ teaspoon allspice berries or 1-2 star anise. If you don’t have whole seeds, you can use ¼ teaspoon ground seasonings.
- Other flavorings. Ginger, cinnamon, Szechuan pepper, nutmeg, mace or horseradish for some fun and flirty flavorings.
- Asian inspired. Use rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon ginger and seasonings such has Chinese 5 spice, star anise, cinnamon or Szechuan pepper.
- Mexican inspired. Use ½ cup apple cider vinegar and ¼ cup lime juice OR ½ cup freshly-squeezed orange juice + ¼ cup lime juice along with 1 ½ tablespoons sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt, ½ teaspoon black peppercorns, 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 2 garlic cloves, crushed and 1 bay leaf.
Carlsbad Cravings