How to Pickle Beets at Home

iMag's pickling guru teaches you this simple process.

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Beets may not be your go-to vegetable, but their sensual colors and ravishing flavors make for the perfect pickle. Learning to pickle beets at home can be a useful skill; pickled beets can stay good in your refrigerator for 2-3 months and are a colorful compliment to ordinary dishes. iMag went to pickling expert Rick Field to get the best recipe for pickling beets; so people, prepare to pickle!

Recipe makes three 16-oz jars.

Ingredients:
1,038 Grams of red beets
396 Grams of cider vinegar
203 Grams of water
96 Grams of Spanish onions
25 Grams of fresh lemon juice
35 Grams of brown sugar
48 Grams of 1/4” ginger medallions, 1- 1 1/2” in diameter (2 per jar)
6 Grams 3” of sprigs of fresh rosemary (1 per jar)
3.5 Grams of allspice berries
2.75 Grams of cinnamon sticks
1.2 Grams of whole cloves

Recipe:
1. Remove greens from beets and scrub beets in cold water. Place them in a pot of boiling water and cook until they soften enough to stick a fork in fairly easily, but do not overcook. They should remain firm. Depending on the size of the beets, this should take 15-45 minutes. Baseball-sized beets are ideal, and will cook to the right degree in about 30 minutes.
Note: oversized beets can be cut in half prior to boiling, and if multiple batches of beets are being boiled, try to group beets of similar size together so they will be done at the same time.

2. Remove beets from pot and run under cool water to stop the cooking. Once the beets are cool, slip the skins off the beets and cut them into half-rounds, quarter-inch thick. With large beets cut the half rounds into quarters.

3. Follow the guidelines provided by the jar manufacturer for prepping and handling the jars. In most cases, this involves immersing the jars and the lids in clean boiling water for 15 minutes.

4. Fill each of the jars with two ginger medallions and a rosemary sprig. Lean the rosemary sprig against one of the jar walls, so it will be visible when the jar is fully packed.

5. Peel and slice the onions into quarter-inch semi-circles or quarter them if they are very large. Mix the beets and the onions in a large bowl.

6. Pack the jars with the beet and onion mixture up to just below the fill line on the jar. The fill line on most jars is a notched band approximately 1/2 below the rim of the jar.

7. Using cheesecloth, make a spice sachet with the cloves, cinnamon and allspice.

8. Combine the cider vinegar, water, brown sugar, fresh and lemon juice in a large pot with the spice sachet. Heat the brine ingredients to a boil, then let cool to 190 degrees Fahrenheit.

9. Bring a second pot filled with 7” of water to a roaring boil. Place a circular wire rack in the bottom of the pot prior to heating the water.

10. Add brine to the jars, making sure the solids in the jar are completely covered, and make sure the contents do not come up above the fill line. Fill only as many jars at a time as the boiling water bath will accommodate. Depending on the size of your processing pot, you will probably make four to six batches.

11. Put lids on jars, tightening them without over tightening. Within 10 minutes, place the jars in a boiling water bath using a jar lifter. Once the jars are in the pot, the water will take a minute or two to come back to a boil. Start timing when water boils and process the jars for seven minutes. Make sure the boiling water covers the jars completely at all times. Remove from the boiling water bath promptly.

12. Separate jars on a rack to air cool.

13. Store in a cool place for 2-4 weeks for flavors to combine thoroughly.

For more:
How to Make Dill Pickles at Home

How to Pickle Your Favorite Vegetables Fast

30-Minute Recipe: Apricot Coconut Macaroons

For more information about Rick’s Picks and to order pickles please visit rickspicksnyc.com and also check out the cookbook co-authored by founder Rick Field, "The Art of Preserving."

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