Pickled Okra

[your_comforting_company]

The gentleman decided to come over to my house to show me how to make his very delicious pickled okra, instead of me hauling everything over to his house. There's only a few ingredients, and the recipe can be adjusted from one jar to a hundred easily. Here's what we did.

Boil your jars lids and rings to sterilize them, and in the meantime gather your ingredients:
One clove of garlic
Dill seed
White vinegar
non-iodized canning salt (optional)
peppers (I used jalapeno)

Wash okra well and dry it. Stuff as many in one of your sterilized jars as possible, leaving enough room to add a few slices of peppers, a teaspoon of dill, and a peeled clove of garlic.
put 1 cup of vinegar to one cup of water PER JAR into a saucepan and add about 1/8 cup of canning salt per jar. Bring to a boil.
At this point it's a good idea to put your jars into a pan of hot (not boiling) water to help adjust for the shock of pouring boiling liquid into it.
Pour your vinegar concoction straight into the jar leaving as little headroom as possible and while it's still good and hot, use a towel to tighten the lids and rings on, then turn upside down and allow to cool.
Don't open or eat for 21 days.

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In my case, I'm using pint jars and had enough pickle to make one more jar, but this is as much okra as I've picked yet.
The Gentleman invited me to his house to pick plums for jelly, so that's today's project.. Plum jelly, and jam (If I don't eat em all before we get done!)

This recipe makes very crisp and delicious okra pickles. The flash boil is supposed to stop the enzyme action while not making the okra soggy. The Ball canning guide I mentioned in another thread says that some of these practices are "inferior or obsolete" but this man has been making pickled okra this way for 50 years, and since I already ate two jars he gave me, I'm certain that this method works just fine.

[1stimestar]

Yum! I do miss fresh fried okra. Okra is just one of those things I can't get up here.

[crashdive123]

I've never tried pickled okra (or that much okra at all unless it's been in gumbo). I guess that I'll have to add this to my list of things to try.

[hunter63]

I haven't had much experiance with okra either.....I do like pickled most anything........
Thanks for the recipe though.

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

Okra slimy with Black eyed peas or field peas...and a good chow chow! or fried! Yum! pickled would have to be good too!

[your_comforting_company]

Okra, oddly enough is listed in my "Weeds" book as a common roadside weed and lawn invader, tho I've never seen it outside a garden. One of my favorite soups is okra, tomatoes and squash, all sliced and equal portions, cooked and peppered to taste. I'm surprised at how many people I meet that don't like okra. I love it!

One thing I forgot to mention in the recipe is that the okra pods have air inside them, and as the boiling vinegar seeps in, air bubbles out. That's why you fill it so full.. some air will escape the okra and leave headroom in the top, which is why my jars have a little air in the top.

Jam pics coming soon. Made 12 jars today, and prepared juice for jelly tomorrow.

[your_comforting_company]

changed the recipe just slightly.. substituting three chiles instead of a half of a large jalapeno.
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And one of the guys at the building supply grows peppers, but can't eat them, so he gave me a few Thai Dragons. This one jar has one dragon pepper. I'm going to try to save the rest for relish.
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The first batch should be ready today, so I might have some at the bee class today for lunch, and to share with a few of my keeper friends!
Reports on the recipe to follow, so stay tuned!

[rwc1969]

Looks good!!!!

[your_comforting_company]

I thought the recipe was just about right for my taste, but some of the folks said it was a little "hot".
I'm partial to "hot". I put pepper on pepper lol.
I'd recommend making a few different mixes and try them till you find the one that suits your taste.

Garlic was not overpowering, Dill was a nice twang, okra was crisp and a bit spicy, and the peppers themselves, likewise, were crisp and a bit spicy. Salt was just right.

[Rick]

And all this time I thought you had some sense. Okra is slimy. I don't eat slime. And Thai peppers are a double misery that no one should put themselves through. Hot today. Hotter tomorrow.

[your_comforting_company]

Me? Naw, I play with dead animals and grab handfuls of bees from 8" pipes 3 feet deep in the ground. The only sense I got is change for a dollar!

[BENESSE]

I really like the simplicity of it and the fact you don't need much room/utensils/stuff to get it done.
I might try the same recipe with flat green beans and also bean sprouts I can get from a local farmer's market. Once in a while we order this at our favorite Chinese restaurant and I always wondered how I could do it myself. (As much as I love fried okra, the thought of potential slime is putting me off.)
Thanks YCC!

[your_comforting_company]

Pickled okra isn't slimy at all. At least neither of the two jars given to me by Mr. Miller were, nor was the jar I made. Very crisp and juicy!

I realize the "slime" is not appetizing to most, but it is very healthy for you. It is technically called "mucilage" and (according to my uncle) makes "doing your #2 business", (to quote him) "Very easy". I have not noticed this with pickled as much as boiled okra.

[crashdive123]

I had my first taste of pickled okra this past weekend. I think I may be planting okra in the future. It was delicious!

[Dylan]

I've tried this awesome version of pickled okra that has smoked paprika in it, instead of peppers. Great with beer.
And there's less slime in the younger/smaller pods. I still love okra, slimey and all!

[Rick]

YCC - I just re-read your post. May I suggest that when you get ready to put the lids on that you take a paper towel and lightly wipe the rim of the jar? Any thing, including liquid, that is on the rim of the jar can prevent a good seal.

[your_comforting_company]

I may have left that part out.. mostly because I thought it was just an unspoken rule.

Anything you can should have the rim of the jar cleaned before placing the lid on. It only takes a small particle of any of the ingredients to make a space between the rim and sealing compound.
It is a critical step. Thanks for pointing it out Rick. You are absolutely correct!!

[aflineman]

Really close to how we make ours. Kids love it.

[oldtrap59]

I think Mrs B mentioned beans as something she would like to pickle. I have used this recipe( a bit less salt I think) to do both okra and green beans for years now. Does a good job on both. Have given alot of folks pickled beans and they all seem to enjoy them.

Oldtrap