Marinated Peppers
I ran off to the market early on Saturday to buy fresh red peppers from a local farmer. This summer has been so wet that they are finally coming in season now – in mid September. It’s crazy! I got the little ones, that are kindly gnarly in shape but only 50c each. They are great for roasting because they fit nicely in half pint jars.
There is nothing so satisfying as the sound of a post-processing “pop”. In fact, after I finished this, I ran back to the local farm to get a basket of beets and made another 6 pints … it’s becoming an issue, lol!
- 4 pounds firm, fresh peppers (see note below re: spiciness)
- 1 cup lemon juice (bottled is recommended)
- 2 cups white vinegar (5%)
- 1 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, quartered
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- sterilized canning jars (1 pint or 250mL are ideal for gifts and most recipes)
The cute couple selling tomatoes across the aisle kindly let me use their scale. 4lb is 1.8kg (FYI). I used bell peppers but if you wanted to add some kick, any pepper can be substituted:
jalapeño: bell ratio for spiciness
4:0 lb hot, 2:2 lb medium, 1:3 lb mild
Steve taught me how to use the BBQ (my first time) to roast them. That was interesting. Not really my favourite method of cooking. You only have to preheat once in an oven, but every time you open the lid the temperature drops to nothing! Crazy … anywho, there are notes below so I remember for the future. You can ignore those.
The yield for me was but two identical recipe sources called for 9 half-pints vs 3 pints, which don’t add up.
- Roast the peppers to blister the skins and soften the flesh. I flipped them every 5-7 min to get all sides. Place in a plastic bag or covered dish and let cool. The steam will help loosen the skins. Peel each pepper and remove stems/seeds. Leave yourself lots of time – this took almost 2 hours! Mind you, it was my first time and Meaghan came for a visit with my nephew Tim.
- Fill jars with peppers and add one piece of garlic.
- Mix all remaining ingredients and heat to boiling. Add hot, well-mixed oil/pickling solution over peppers, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process for 15 min in a hot water bath. You should hear the jars “pop” as the lids seal. If a jar does not seal, store it in the refrigerator and use up within a few weeks. Otherwise the jars should last a year.
My mixture looked separated with clear liquid on the base and the yellow-tinted oil on top. It didn’t look right but it sealed okay. I will try one in early December before deciding on whether this is a suitable Christmas basket gift, or not. I’ll keep you posted.
On to the BBQ:
- Take off the cover. Open the lid and lightly scrape the grill surface.
- Bottom knob is the starter (turn to high). Wait 2-3 sec and press the igniter. Check for flame.
- Turn other two knobs to high. Close the lid and pre-heat to 400F. Open and lightly scrape the grill sides. Close the lid and pre-heat to 400F.
- Add food. Close the lid and heat to 400F. Adjust gas flow as necessary to maintain cooking temperature.
- Once the food is cooked, close the lid and turn knobs to maximum; heat to 500F. Turn off all knobs (and the gas source at the wall) and let cool naturally (about 1 hour).
- Clean the grill and put the cover back on.
