If you grow jalapeño pepper plants you know it is one of the most generous plants. Just one plant will yield dozens of peppers throughout the summer and well into the fall months if the temperatures remain balmy. After you’ve used the fresh peppers in gazpachos, guacamole and burguers, and shared them with your friends and neighbors, you’ll start thinking about what to do with your abundant harvest —or in other words, how to keep enjoying them in the winter months. I’ll show you how to pickle jalapeños.

Pickling jalapeños is a great way to achieve this, and it’s very simple to do. You can also choose to quick pickle them, storing them in the fridge and enjoying them for months, or canning the pickled jalapeños and be able to enjoy them for up to a year. The choice is yours.

No matter what method you use, you’ll be glad to have pickled jalapeños on hand to use in dishes like salads, tacos, burritos, chilis, burguers, salsas, fajitas, wraps, sandwiches, avocado toasts, bean stews… The options are endless! 

 

Equipment:

• 6 medium jars with lids
• Stock pot tall enough to cover all upright jars completely

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Lbs fresh jalapeño peppers
• 2 cups white vinegar 5% acidity 
• 2 cups water
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 Tbs sea salt
• 2 Tbs sugar

 

PROCESS TO PICKLE JALAPEÑOS

STEP 1

                    Prepare the jars and lids: 

1. Fill the stock pot with water
2. Immerse the jars and bring to a boil (fill them up with some of the water so they sumerge). Boil the jars for 10 minutes. Carefully remove from the pot and let dry
3. Now immerse the lids in the water and boil for 3-4 minutes. Remove carefully and let dry

NOTE: 

When you sterilize the lids, do not put them together with the jars. Also, replace any older lids that do not look good

 

STEP 2

                    Prepare the jalapeño peppers:

1. Place the water and vinegar in a saucepan and bring to a boil, Add the salt and sugar and stir to dissolve. Remove from the heat and let cool down to at least room temperature (I like to place the sauceapn in the fridge to cool the liquid down further. This will preserve the crispness of the jalapeños).  
2. Wash the jalapeños.
3. Protecting your hand with disposable gloves to avoid the burning oils from the peppers, slice them into rings about 1/4 inch rings. Next, pack the tings into the jars, pushing down slightly to fit more rings. Add one garlic clove per jar. 
4. Remove the gloves and wash your hands throughly after handling the peppers.
5. When the brine has cooled down (this could take a couple of hours) pour it into the jars, leaving about 1/2 inch of space at the top of each jar. Place the lids on the jars. 

 

STEP 3

Now you have 2 options:

1. For QUICK PICKLED JALAPEÑOS, place the jars directly in the refrigerator where, after 24 hours of maceration, will be ready to be consumed and will last for several months

2. For PRESERVED PICKLED JALAPEÑOS, place the jars back in the stock pot, fill with enough water to cover the jars completely, bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low and process the jars for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the altitude (higher processing times at higher altitudes). Note that the jalapeños will change color slightly, from bright green to a duller shade of green. 

•       Carefully remove the jars from the pot and set aside to cool.      
•       Store the processed jars in a cool pantry, where they will be preserved for up to a year

In both cases, once you open a jar you’ll have to store in the refrigerator, where the pickled jalapennos will last for months