Topic: Pickled Shallot recipes

[Tin Shed]

I am preparing my first ever batch of pickled shallot recipes using Delia's recipes with sherry vinegar.
I am only doing one jar of these and want to a variety using different vinegars/spices so we can compare - does anyone have any favourite/different recipes?
Delia's recipe soaks in brine for 48hrs, another just salts the shallots for 24 hours and some people on the allotment don't brine/salt at all. Any ideas which work best?

[tim]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/photo04/cooking/ponions.jpg

[Tin Shed]

Thanks, Tim.
They sound delicious and will definitely be using that recipe ;D
It has more spices than the Delia one so it will be a good contrast.
Are there any more delicious, tried and trusted recipes lurking out there? :D

[valmarg]

Computer is playing up a bit, but it depends whether you want spicy or sweet pickled onions/shallots.

For spicy I brine the onions in one pint of water to 2oz salt to one lb onions overnight.

I rinse the onions, pack into jars, using the handle of a wooden spoon to pack them in, so that when you add the vinegar, the onions don't float to the top.

For spiced vinegar I boil up 2oz pickling spice to 1 pint of malt vinegar.  Bring to the boil, turn off the heat, cover and allow to go cold.

To the onions I add the spiced vinegar halfway up the jars, then add ordinary malt vinegar.  If you want them really spicy, add a few small dried chillies.

If you want a sweeter onion follow :-

PICKLED ONION/SHALLOT RECIPE

4lbs shallots/pickling onions
˝ pints pickling vinegar
žlb demerara sugar
3 wineglasses of sweetish sherry

Peel shallots.  Cover with salt and leave overnight.  Rinse off salt.

Boil vinegar and sugar for five minutes, leave to go cold.  Add sherry.

Fill up jars, and leave for about six weeks.

valmarg

[Ishard]

Salting the onions is to make a 'softer' pickle with less crunch.

If you like very crunchy onions/shallots then dont salt them.

Also with salting a bit of the flavour of the onions is pulled out with the salt, hence the liquid found after leaving them in salt.

[valmarg]

According to my cookbook "Brining is necessary to extract the water that would otherwise dilute the vinegar and prevent the pickles keeping."

I've always brined, and the onions stay crunchy, and keep their flavour for several years.  I always understood that if you didn't brine the onions went soggy very quickly.

valmarg

[kt.]

I have saved your recipe Valmarg.  Thanks.  Hope to pickle some shallots over the next few weeks having never donme so before.

[valmarg]

I have saved your recipe Valmarg.  Thanks.  Hope to pickle some shallots over the next few weeks having never donme so before.

I hope you enjoy them KT.

The only other advice I would give is that you make sure you buy malt vinegar, and not 'non-brewed condiment'.  It is acetic acid (I think) and gives the pickles a very sour taste.

valmarg

[the_enlightened_one]

Can i ask a question :)

When i make a brine am i making in one pint of water to 2oz salt to one lb onions ?

[valmarg]

Can i ask a question :)

When i make a brine am i making in one pint of water to 2oz salt to one lb onions ?

That's the recipe I have, and it's always worked for me.  It's an ancient Good Housekeeping brochure, cost 1/6d ;D ;D

After brining, drain the onions, and rinse.  Pack into jars and add the vinegar, spiced or sweet.

valmarg

[the_enlightened_one]

Going to give that a go valmarg :)

[saddad]

OH uses a Good Housekeeping "Complete Book of Home preserving" (1981)
cost slightly more than 1s/6d... 4lbs of Onions to 1lb of Salt and 8 pints of water...  :)

There is a sweet spiced vinegar recipe there as well...

We brine ours twice, with skins then without... 
(hence double salt and water)

[valmarg]

Either way saddad, you can't improve on the old 'tried and tested' pickles, jams, jellies, etc. ;D

To my knowledge, I'm at least third generation of pickling onions by the old family 'tried and tested' method.  They work for us, and we enjoy them. ;D

I am sure there are easier methods, but you can't beat the ones learned at granny's knee.

valmarg

[PurpleHeather]

I am not convinced that it is worth bothering with different vinegars but the vinegar can be filtered and re-used because it has the added onion flavour.

Dry brining overnight to take out the water is essential to keeping them the vinegar can penetrate but if you want do want soft ones just use hot vinegar instead of cold.

The flavour is more to do with the spices used in the pickling and sugar if you want a sweet pickle. For a mild pickle up to 50% water can be mixed with malt vinegar.

I have had them in expensive balsamic vinegar but was not impressed, I think a touch of black treacle would have given a similar result. At a much lower cost.

I am whole heartedly in favour of experimental cooking.

In the end it is down to personal taste and I know that there some one who loves them in pure vinegar with a load of chillis boiled into it to make them hot and sour.

Mixed pickles are interesting too, adding cauliflower, gherkin, chunks of green beans. A few colourful things like peppers and covered with a clear distilled vinegar makes a pretty dish full to serve with cold meats around Christmas.

Sadly, my digestive system no longer appreciates a lot of vinegar anymore.

[kt.]

If you want a sweeter onion follow :-

PICKLED ONION/SHALLOT RECIPE

4lbs shallots/pickling onions
˝ pints pickling vinegar
žlb demerara sugar
3 wineglasses of sweetish sherry

Peel shallots.  Cover with salt and leave overnight.  Rinse off salt.
Boil vinegar and sugar for five minutes, leave to go cold.  Add sherry.
Fill up jars, and leave for about six weeks.
valmarg

I did this (less the sherry); and only got enough vinegar to fill one jar.  Did you dilute the vinegar at all?

[valmarg]

No, most definitely not. You can add other types of vinegar, ie cider, sherry, tarragon, but never, never water.

If you add water you are reducing the preservative.  Vinegar is the 'preservative' in pickles.  Add water, and you reduce the keeping quality.

valmarg

[ceres]

I did this (less the sherry); and only got enough vinegar to fill one jar.  Did you dilute the vinegar at all?

If you didn't include the sherry (3 full wineglasses) you missed out most of the liquid so you wouldn't have enough to fill the jars.  You could have included 3 extra wineglasses of vinegar to make up the quantity.

[kt.]

If you didn't include the sherry (3 full wineglasses) you missed out most of the liquid so you wouldn't have enough to fill the jars.  You could have included 3 extra wineglasses of vinegar to make up the quantity.

Could the vinegar be diluted with water or something a little?  I dilute with 25% water for beetroot.  If not good for shallots then pure vinegar if must.  Don't want them too strong though or kids won't eat them.

[ceres]

I wouldn't dilute with water.  As Valmarg says, the vinegar is the preservative.  I've just had a quick look in my preserving 'bible' and there are no recipes that use water.  If you want something less strong than malt vinegar, I'd go for either a milder vinegar - wine or cider maybe - or sweeten/spice the mixture.