Pickled Red Onions in Ginger & Juniper Berry Brine

Bonjour!

That beautiful pink delightfulness is a jar of homemade pickled onions, that I am officially cracked out on! I have also managed to get my son addicted and got repeated requests for more. We have been serving them with all kinds of stuff, I used them in a dressing, as a side with some grains, but I am loving them in shredded spiced chicken sandwiches. I have eaten a sandwich with these in them every lunch for the last 5 days and feel that is absolutely fabulous! Check it out:

My family and I enjoyed them at a recent dinner party and I was happy that just after 24 hours of marinating, the onions were well pickled with good flavour. I still think they are better the longer they sit though, we had happy faces all around at the dinner table. There was mucho trash talking and laughter after supper when we played Sequence, we have some seriously competitive personalities in our group.

My son getting teased about his double loss by his girlfriend.

Asking him to show us his defeated face

Asking her to show us her happy, I won face!

My brother and I stayed out of it, made them stick to the rules, laughed at the trash talk and enjoyed hanging with our pooch, The Rockstar! Aka Rocky. He wasn't very good at holding still for pics thanks to all the boisterous activity.

We topped off the evening with my oft requested black bottom maple pecan pie.

It's one of our absolute favourite desserts and I am just happy to have gluten-free pie that has an awesome crust with my beloved pecan pie filling.

I knew Poppa Bear was a keeper when I found out he likes pecan pie too, first time out together for supper, he allowed me to sneak some filling from his triple serving and that was a reason for extra smooches!

I love how flaky this crust comes out and the toasted pecan filling is extra scrumptious. I make it only 2x a year because I do it the old fashion way with corn syrup, I have tried other methods but it does not yield the same filling results. As a Chef I think some things need to be respected and traditions followed. I am just not willing to sacrifice quality and taste for healthy methods where desserts are concerned. It's dessert, a special treat, do it right I say! I am putting this recipe into my cookbook, so I am sorry to say it will not be going up on the blog.

Pickled onions, right. Shall we?

When you start off making them they look very pekid and really plain, the smell of the pickling liquid is also not great & will cause kitchen stinkies but as a few days go by, you realize these babies sure are worth the wait!

This is what they looked like when I first put them in my brine marinade.

Different weren't they?

I know most recipes call for plain vinegar but I am a flavour punch kind of woman. I want to be delighted and enthusiastic about the first bite and all those that come thereafter. Of course that means making these my own by throwing in a variety of ingredients that help your taste buds stand at attention.

How I do this is by adding juniper berries aka gin berries, along with ginger and other bright flavours.

They are quite ridiculously easy and go well with vegetables and meat; pickling and canning may just become your new thing after you try these!

Pickled Red Onions in Ginger & Juniper Berry Brine

Ingredients:

2 Large Red onions sliced thinly

5 Medium Size Slices of ginger with skin on

6 Whole allspice berries

8 Whole Juniper Berries

6 Whole Black pepper

Pinch fresh cracked black pepper

1 1/2 -2 Tbsp Kosher Salt

2 Whole Bay leaves

1 Stick cinnamon

1 Clove garlic Sliced

1 Lime juiced ( can use 2 if you like)

1/2 Cup Apple cider vinegar

1/4 Cup Rice Vinegar

1/4 Cup Gluten free white vinegar

3/4 Cup Boiling water

1/4 Cup Honey

2-3 Tbsp Coconut sugar (depends how salty sweet you like your pickles)

Method:

-Place sliced onions in a large wide mouth Mason jar

-In a non-reactive pot place all other ingredients, bring to a boil. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly.

-Using a canning funnel, pour marinade over onions. Close with lid and shake well.

-Place in fridge and allow to marinade at least 2-3 days, shaking them once in a while.

These last a few weeks in the fridge, feel free to use a sterilized and sealing canning method if you want to make batches of these and keep them stored in the pantry for later use or to give as a gift.