Yield: 7 pint jars
Pickled okra are a delicious, low-calorie snack. They are a classic accompaniment to Bloody Marys. Serve them on hamburgers instead of dill pickles. They become a tasty hors d’oeuvre when placed on flattened white bread spread with soft cream cheese, rolled up and sliced into one inch pieces. Enjoy! And note: you can use this pickling brine for pickled radish, carrots,
cucumbers, or other vegetables.
Ingredients
3 ½ pounds okra (look for pieces 3 ½ inches long and the baby ones to stuff into small spaces)
21 small arbol dried chiles
7 bay leaves
14 garlic cloves
7 t. dill seeds
7 t. coriander seeds
7 t. mustard seed
5 ¼ cups water
5 ¼ cups champagne vinegar (or red wine vinegar or cider vinegar)
1/3 cup Kosher salt
Directions
- Clean and trim your okra. This recipe is packed into pint jars so you want pieces that are 3 ½ inches long to fit into the jar. You can use longer okra by packing it into a quart jar (which equals two pints).
- Make your pickling brine by combining the water, vinegar and Kosher salt in a large, stainless steel saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium high heat. Stir to be sure the salt is dissolved.
- Pack the okra into hot jars (see Canning 101 for details) by holding the jar at an angle and alternating ends and add the following in each jar:
- 1 bay leaf (put this in early and lay it flat against the jar so that you see it)
- 3 small arbol dried chiles
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 t. dill seeds
- 1 t. coriander seeds
- 1 t. mustard seeds
- Once the large pieces are packed, hold the jar upright and stuff the smaller pieces of okra into the smaller openings. When ready, ladle the hot pickling brine into each jar, leaving ½ inch of headspace. Wipe the rim, place lids and rings on top and place into canning pot. Process for 15 minutes with at least one inch of boiling water covering the jars the entire time. Remove lid, let the jars sit in the water for 5 minutes, and then remove jars to a towel covered tray to rest 24 hours.
Contact Martha at marthamcmillin@bellsouth.net or (404) 242-9265 if you have questions
about canning or interest in canning classes. She holds a certificate from the Better Process
Control School from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, Department of Food Science and Technology, which is prescribed by the US Food and
Drug Administration and the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
