Ah....Pickled Peppers....

I love pickled peppers, I didn't even know how much I loved pickled peppers until I started to make them for the market.  Here they are pictured on my backyard table, all ready to be labeled and subsequently sold and eaten....YUM.    I've had a really amazing week in terms of new accounts, new business, new relationships and wonderful customers.  I am working so hard to trust in the process and my products.  I am giving you my general recipe to work with here, each time I have made this I seem to have tons of brine left over (to pickle other things with!).  I hope you will enjoy this recipe.  If you don't have anything else you want to pickle, feel free to cut the brine in half.

4 Cups Cider Vinegar

2 cups Water

1 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Kosher Salt

20 Large Peppers, I mix Red and Green

3 medium cloves of garlic (chopped fine)

The first thing you must do is roast the peppers.  I use a silpat and a 1/2 sheet pan.  Turn the oven on to 400, roast the peppers for 20 minutes and then turn them over and roast for an additional 20 minutes.    As soon as you take them from the oven, place them in a large bowl (or 2) and cover with foil.  Let them steam for at least 30 minutes.  Now you can go back and remove the skins easily.  After you remove the skins, open them and de-seed them.  Continue on to slice the peppers, I do them about 1/4 wide and 1 inch long.  Place these in a bowl and prepare your hot water bath canner.  You can make 8 oz or 16 oz jars--the yield is about 6 16 oz jars for this amount of peppers.  Sterlize the jars by boiling in the canner for at least 12 minutes. In the meantime, in a dutch oven, pour the vinegar, salt and sugar in and bring them up to simmer, then you can shut the flame.   Peel the garlic cloves and chop them finely.  Remove the jars from the water bath and fill with peppers and bits of garlic.  Pour the vinegar mixture over the peppers and seal each jar.  Process the jars in the canner for 15 minutes.  Take them out and listen for the lids to seal.  These taste amazing!  You should try to wait at least a day before sampling.  Enjoy!