Re: Doctoring Up Pickles

[zxcvbob]

On 12/19/2013 10:29 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
> Some of those more obscure "designer" pickle flavors can be pretty
> expensive. I was paying $7/quart for sweet horseradish pickle chips,
> and $5 for my favorite sweet hots. Thankfully, my grocers stopped
> carrying both of them recently.
>
> Fortunately it's super easy and cheap to make your own using a $1-$2
> jar of bread and butter chips.
>
> For sweet horseradish pickle chips just add 1 heaping TB of Atomic
> Horseradish(tm) (more if you're using a lesser brand) to a 24oz jar of
> B&B pickle chips. I use the thick-crinkle cut Vlassic or a good HEB
> store brand for ~$2/jar.
>
> Or for sweet hots just add the appropriate amount of your favorite hot
> sauce to the jar (you may also use fresh jalapeno, serrano, or hotter
> peppers).
>
> In either case just give the jar a quick shake and a take little sip
> of the brine to test for strength - however tasty your brine is,
> that's how your pickles will taste in about 24 hours in the fridge (3
> days if using fresh peppers, shaken daily).
>
> My next feat will be to perfect the bloody Mary pickle chip. But they
> haven't discontinued those at my local grocer so I haven't needed to
> reinvent those yet.
>
> Anybody else doctor up cheap, store-bought pickles?
>
> And to think I used to hate sweet pickles as a kid. Until I
> discovered that some pungency turns them into highly edible snacks. I
> eat 90% of them right out of the jar, rarely on sandwiches.
>
> -sw

I fill a quart jar (or is it a 24 oz? I don't remember, I haven't done
this in a while) about halfway with sliced fresh jalapenos, add a little
bit of vinegar, salt, and sugar, then dump in a 99� jar of Aldi bread
and butter pickles. If there's any room left in the jar, add a sliced
onion. Shake it up, and refrigerate for a week. They're ready when the
peppers get a "pickled" look to them.

The Aldi pickles are not tangy enough to begin with; that's why the
vinegar, sugar, and salt.

Bob

[Casa Sabrosa]

On 12/19/2013 9:29 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
> I
> eat 90% of them right out of the jar, rarely on sandwiches.
>
> -sw

Not what your attention whore deck railing shots say...

[Casa Sabrosa]

On 12/19/2013 11:01 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
> I like the idea of adding more vinegar to B&B's.

You're an attention whore, Sqwertoff.

[George Leppla]

> Anybody else doctor up cheap, store-bought pickles?

Becca buys a gallon jar of Dill pickle slices, empty's the jar and
strains away the brine. Packs the pickles back in the jar with a LOT of
sugar (maybe 3 to 4 pounds) and canned jalapenos and hot sauce until all
the pickles are back in the jar packed tightly. It takes more sugar
than you think it will. Let sit for a couple of weeks, turning upside
down every now and then.

The sugar dissolves, draws liquid out of the pickles and forms a new
brine which goes back into the pickles. Very hot/sweet, depending on
how many jalapenos she uses. The jalapenos taste great, too!

My favorite way to use them... spread cream cheese on a slice of ham,
add some pickles and roll up. Good, high protein snack.

George L

[gtr]

On 2013-12-20 04:44:56 +0000, zxcvbob said:

> On 12/19/2013 10:29 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
>>
>> For sweet horseradish pickle chips just add 1 heaping TB of Atomic
>> Horseradish(tm) (more if you're using a lesser brand) to a 24oz jar of
>> B&B pickle chips. I use the thick-crinkle cut Vlassic or a good HEB
>> store brand for ~$2/jar.
>>
>> Or for sweet hots just add the appropriate amount of your favorite hot
>> sauce to the jar (you may also use fresh jalapeno, serrano, or hotter
>> peppers).

Excellent!

>> In either case just give the jar a quick shake and a take little sip
>> of the brine to test for strength - however tasty your brine is,
>> that's how your pickles will taste in about 24 hours in the fridge (3
>> days if using fresh peppers, shaken daily).

[snip]

>> Anybody else doctor up cheap, store-bought pickles?

No--it's never occured to me, but I'm on my way! Great ideas, though
I'm wondering why I don't start off with pickling cucumbers from the
start?

>> And to think I used to hate sweet pickles as a kid. Until I
>> discovered that some pungency turns them into highly edible snacks. I
>> eat 90% of them right out of the jar, rarely on sandwiches.

Same here; it's only in the last few years eating Swedish and Danish
pickles that I'm really beginning to love sweet pickles. A batch I
picked up in a Swedish deli in LA has them sliced almost paper thin.
What's the point, I thought. But later that week I was making a
sandwich and they're perfect. I've never liked eating pickles on
sandwich (with a few rare exceptions), but these super-thin slices
allow me to put them all over the sandwich without them taking over the
taste. I've got a mandolin slicer so they're easy enough to do myself.

> I fill a quart jar (or is it a 24 oz? I don't remember, I haven't done
> this in a while) about halfway with sliced fresh jalapenos, add a
> little bit of vinegar, salt, and sugar, then dump in a 99� jar of Aldi
> bread and butter pickles. If there's any room left in the jar, add a
> sliced onion. Shake it up, and refrigerate for a week. They're ready
> when the peppers get a "pickled" look to them.
>
> The Aldi pickles are not tangy enough to begin with; that's why the
> vinegar, sugar, and salt.

This is also a great idea. I love pickled jalapenos--some of the time.
Some of the time they are two damned hot, but I might well be able to
temper that myself if I pickled them my own way. Another great idea.

Elsewhere this:

Another great one! Man, you wait around in this lobby and sooner or
later you get some great ideas! Kudos!

[Gary]

George Leppla wrote:
>
> My favorite way to use them... spread cream cheese on a slice of ham,
> add some pickles and roll up. Good, high protein snack.

Really. That's the strangest snack I've ever heard of but I'll have
to give it a try. I'm planning to buy a ham for Christmas.

G.

[Dave Smith]

It doesn't sound strange to me. One of my all time favourte sandwiches
in ham and pickle salad. In fact, the best thing about going to
funerals is that ham and pickle sandwiches seem to be standard dead
spread food.

[Brooklyn1]

Better:
http://boarshead.com/products/milk-free/308-pickle-pepper-loaf

[BessieBee]

Ham roll-ups are a holiday regular in my family. Spread cream cheese on
a slice of ham and use a dill pickle spear. Roll up and slice into bite
size pieces. Yum yum!!

--
BessieBee

"The pessimist see difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees
opportunity in every difficulty."
...Sir Winston Churchill

[Casa Milagro]

On 12/20/2013 9:03 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
> You complain about ground mystery meat and you eat THAT crap?
>
> -sw

You are a miserable nic-addicted dwarf.

[Casa Milagro]

On 12/22/2013 1:31 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
> Yep! I also like to do this with Lebanon bologna or salami.
>
> -sw

What kind of lube do you use to get it in?

[T]

In article <52B4CBE0...@att.net>, g.ma...@att.net says...

I just tried an experiment. I've got four pint and a half jars full of
pickling cucumbers, salt water brine, garlic and dill. They've been
fermenting for three days now. I've had to burp the jars - and it smells
like dill pickles! I'm going to give them five days before I try one.
They do say if you like a more sour pickle give it 7 to 10 days. So the
other jars will get that one.