Pickled Roasted Bell Peppers with Hot Pepper Rings
When you are craving a great sandwich in the winter, these peppers add the wow factor. Roasted bell peppers pickled in cider vinegar infused with garlic and a variety of hot pepper rings are sure to please your palate. If hot and spicy does not appeal to you, these peppers can be pickled with mild pepper rings from poblanos and sweet banana. Whichever you choose, be sure to take advantage of the variety of colours to give your jars an eye popping effect.
YIELD : 6-500 ml jars
WATER BATH PROCESSING TIME: 15 minutes for altitudes of 1000 feet or below. Adjust processing time for other altitudes.
Equipment
- 8-litre stainless steel pot
- 2 rimmed baking sheets lined with tin foil
- canning pot
- wire basket or tray for the bottom of the canning pot
- jar lift
- magnetic wand for lid placement
- funnel
- 6-500 ml sterilized jars with lids and rings
- disposable gloves
Ingredients
- 4½ lbs bell peppers use a mix of red, orange and yellow
- 1½ lbs mix of jalapeno, habanero and small poblano peppers sliced into ¼" rings (Use peppers such as yellow banana peppers and the mild poblano peppers if you prefer a mild flavour.)
- 6½ cups cider vinegar 5% acidity (You can substitute white vinegar which results in a brighter pickle, but in my opinion with less flavour.)
- 1â…“ cups water
- â…” cup sugar
- 4 tsp pickling salt
- 3 large garlic cloves
Instructions
To prepare and roast the bell peppers:
- Preheat the oven to 450°F and move the rack to the upper third position.
- Cut the peppers into quarters, remove the stems, seeds and membranes. (Note: To ensure even roasting on the top of the pepper, trim the corners so that the pepper will lay flat when placed skin side up on the baking sheet.)
- Arrange peppers on the tin-foil lined baking sheets, with the pepper skins facing up.
- Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the skins are blistered and have some blackened spots. (It is not necessary to blacken the peppers completely.)
- When the peppers are done, remove them from the oven and bring up the corners of foil to enclose the peppers. Let them steam and cool down for 10 minutes or until they are cool enough to handle. (Alternatively, put them in a large casserole dish and put the lid on, leaving the lid slightly ajar.)
- Using a paring knife, gently remove the skins.
Prepare the remaining ingredients:
- Wearing disposable gloves, remove the stems, core and slice the hot peppers into rings. (Gloves are necessary to protect your hands from getting a chemical burn from the caustic oils in the hot peppers.)
- In an 8-litre stainless steel pot, add the cider vinegar, water, garlic, sugar and salt. Heat to boiling; reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove and discard the garlic cloves.
Fill the jars and process:
- Fill each sterilized jar with a layer of the hot pepper rings, add a layer of the roasted bell peppers. Repeat the layering until the jars are about three-quarters full. Add some hot brine and then "debubble" by running a sterilized thin plastic utensil around the jar while pressing on the peppers. Continue to layer the remaining ingredients to within ¾ of the and top of the jar and then add brine, leaving ½" headspace at the top.
- Run a thin plastic utensil along the inside of the jar to remove air bubbles again. Really press on the peppers. After doing this, check the headspace again. Add additional brine to maintain the ½" headspace.
- Wipe each jar rim with a paper towel or cloth dampened with boiling hot water.
- Top each jar with a washed and briefly warmed snap lid. (I put the snap lid in boiling hot water for 30 seconds, this softens the seal.) Add the sterilized ring and tighten to finger tip tightness.
- Process using the boiling water method in a canning pot for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, turn off the stove top and let the pot rest for 5 minutes with the lid on. (Leaving the peppers in the pot resting for 5 minutes as the pot slowing stops boiling will help prevent liquid from coming out of the jars when you remove them from the pot.) Note: Often there is a bit of siphoning that occurs.
- Remove the jars using a jar lift and place on a cutting board. Do not disturb for 24 hours.
- Remove the rings and inspect the jars. Wipe the jars clean with a soapy cloth. Store the pickled peppers without the rings on in a dark cool place for up to a year. If any jars have failed to seal, store in the fridge and use immediately.
- The flavour of the pickled peppers will be best if you let them sit a couple of weeks before opening.
Video
Notes
I always roast 2 full trays of bell peppers when making this recipe. This might weigh more than 4½ pounds. If I have leftovers, I just eat them as a snack or save them in the refrigerator for another use.
Nutrition
Serving: 1-10th of a 500 ml jarCalories: 27kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 158mgPotassium: 111mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1069IUVitamin C: 52mgCalcium: 6mgIron: 1mg
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