Pickled Red Onions

Wow - what an amazingly easy recipe! I had no idea, otherwise I would have been pickling things years ago. Now - I can't say the shelf life is what you would expect from most preserved/canned items as this is not traditionally canned. There is no water bath, no process that you need to follow here... which is why it is so easy! Not only that, its very tasty and almost the same as eating pickles out of the jar. Plus the pretty pink color is enough to impress anyone.

I made these because I was going to make steak tacos for dinner and was trying to think of a tasty interesting condiment to make the steak tacos extra special, yet required very little effort and ingredients. Why not pickled onions! Not only are these good with the steak tacos, but I added them to some beer brats since I didn't have any saurkraut or relish... and it was sweet and sour, so worked perfectly for those as well. So - don't pass these up if you ever make steak tacos in the future!

Pickled Red Onions
makes about 1 pint

Ingredients:

• 3/4c white vinegar
• 3T sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 allspice berries*
• 5 cloves*
• 1 large red onion, peeled and sliced thinly into rings, about 1/4"

Directions:

1. In a small, nonreactive sauce pan, heat the vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices to a boil.
2. Add onion slices and lower heat and simmer for 30 seconds.
3. Remove from heat and let cool.
4. Transfer onions and liquid to a jar and refrigerate until ready to use.
   

The onions should keep for several months in the fridge.

* you can use a variety of spices based on your personal preference. I had a bottle of pickling spices and used about a teaspoon of these spices since I didn't have a jar of allspice berries on hand. You can add cinnamon sticks or star anise for a totally different flavor.


Enjoy!
Lauren