First of all, I’m so sorry to those of you who have been waiting for this recipe! Life got a little hectic and I didn’t have time to write this properly! But I’m back!

As you may recall, I recently tried my hand at pickling, starting with asparagus, and it came out pretty delicious!  I brought some jars into the office for testing, and received very good feedback (more on that in a second!) But best of all – it was really easy to make and you don’t have to wait too long (24 hours is the minimum) before eating, so the payout is immediate.   My kind of snack!

I used the pickled asparagus two different ways – as a salty treat and also as a garnish for a Bloody Mary.   Both were dee-lish and I would recommend trying them both!

Here is the simple step by step on how to make them. I adapted this recipe from a very cute site called “Food in Jars” so do check them out, too, if you are interested in learning more about pickling.

First, you’ll need:

• Mason jars (the size is up to you, and adjust the amounts below accordingly, but I used 8 oz. mason jars)
• One bunch of asparagus (I used about 1.5 pounds)
• One clove of garlic for each jar, peeled
• One slice of lemon for each jar
• One and a half cups apple cider vinegar
• One and a half cups white vinegar
• Three cups water
• Four tablespoons of McCormick pickling spice (or another spice like Penzey’s if you’d like.)
• One tablespoon chili powder

And here’s what you do.

Jar Prep: In all my research, one of the most stand out things was that your jars should be sterilized. This was very easy! Heat up a big pot of water and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, use a pair of tongs to drop in the jars, lids and rings and let them boil for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, use tongs to remove the pieces and put them on a clean dry cloth.  Later, when you are dropping the asparagus into the jars, just do your best to not touch the jars or the lids.  This is fairly easy.  If you do wind up touching the jars, it should be okay, just make sure your hands stay clean. We’re not doing anything too complicated here.

Asparagus Prep:

Step 1: Rinse the asparagus under very cold water.

Step 2: Depending on the size jar you are using, cut the asparagus down to size so that you can fit them within your jar.

Step 3: Blanch the asparagus. To do this, boil a medium pot full of water (this is separate water from what you need for the pickling portion of things.)  Lay your asparagus down in a baking dish. Once the water is boiling, slowly pour it over your asparagus and let sit for five minutes.  Remove the asparagus from the water once it reaches your desired crunchiness. I like my asparagus a little crunchy, so I wound up removing it right at the five minute mark. If you want yours a little softer, let it sit a little longer.

Pickling:

Step 1: Drop a garlic clove and lemon peel into each jar.

Step 2:  Place a bunch of asparagus into each jar. I liked mine tips down so that they really get the max opportunity to soak up all the pickling spice! I filled each jar until fairly full, but I didn’t pack it in too tight.

Step 3:  In a large saucepan, combine your vinegar, water and all your spices. Bring to a boil.

Step 4:  Once boiling, remove from heat.  I dipped my measuring cup into the liquid just to control the pour, but if you are strong enough, pour the pickling spice into each jar leaving about a 1/2 inch of space at the top of each one.

Step 5: Using your tongs, place the lids on each jar. You really want to try not to touch these just to control sterilization. You can use a clean, dry rag to push it in place if you need to.

Step 6: Screw on your rings nice and tight! For this, you can use your fingers. It’s ok.

Step 7:  For me, this was the toughest part- stick it in the refrigerator and let it sit! I let mine sit for 24 hours before I had to tear into it to taste my handiwork!  It was so good! The one criticism I received from my workplace taste test was that a strong clove flavor came through, but that was more due to the flavors in the pickling spice I used. Next time, I will try to make my own to control that.  I didn’t taste it or think it ruined it in any way, so I would still recommend using it!

This makes a great snack, a great garnish for a good drink (like a Bloody Mary, and while you’re at it, pour in a little of the liquid for some extra flavor) or just something fun to have on hand for parties!

More to come, I’m not done pickling that! According to one of my new favorite shows, Portlandia, you can pickle just about anything!