![]()
Hello Sandy and Julia,
Did you have any luck finding the glass canning jars? Sure hope you did. As promised Eleanor and I went home a searched for our father’s favorite recipe. He loved them on his hamburgers.
He was a fisherman and sometimes he would bring home a salmon; mom would serve them as a side dish. She always made a batch just for him; with a dried chili.
There's lots of leeway with the spices and herbs used; such as cinnamon, cloves, star anise, bay leaf and red pepper flakes. You could easily throw in some ginger, or swap out the chili flakes for some cumin, or allspice for the cloves.
Mom’s recipe calls for 1 pound of red onions, peeled and sliced into rings.
Next make brine with 3 cups white vinegar, 1½ cups of sugar, cinnamon stick, a few cloves, allspice berries, peppercorns and 2 bay leaves.
If want you can also add a dried chili, gives them a little extra “kick” of flavor.
Next you want to bring the brine to a boil in a 4-quart non-reactive saucepan, this means don’t use a copper or aluminum saucepan.
You will simmer the onions 3 times, I repeat 3 times as follows:
1) Simmer the onion rings, in three separate batches (that means, one-third of the onion rings at a time), for 20 seconds for each batch in the brine.
Remove onions to a baking sheet using a slotted spoon to drain them, and let cool.
2) Then you repeat that same cooking process again; simmer the onions in three separate batches, for 20 seconds each batch.
Then drain them, and cool.
3) Then you repeat that same cooking process again; simmer the onions in three separate batches, for 20 seconds each batch.
Then drain them, and cool.
Finally you chill the brine thoroughly.
Once chilled, add the onions and store in the refrigerator.
Hope you and Julia and company enjoy them, looking forward to seeing you again, and we are so glad that Bear found you; Mary and John were frantic that Bear was lost!
Eleanor and Grace Stelladoor – pronounced “Cellar Door”
