Pickled Red Onions (Polish Style)

No barbecue meat is complete without a pickled vegetable. The savory, heavy flavor of smoked meat and the typically sweet BBQ sauces need an acidic accomplice. The possibilities for pickling are endless; standard cucumbers, red onions, and jalapeño (for a kick) are all incredible options.

I will provide many more recipes in Snakebird Secrets, but I wanted to share this one for now. I recently took a trip to Poland and was inspired by my grandmother and grandfather, who live in a small village. They grow and then pickle their own cucumbers in large 5-liter jars.

This recipe contains spices found in many Polish dishes and provides nice herbal notes to the classic pickled red onion flavor. Note that this recipe is not overly sweet, so feel free to double or triple the portion of sugar to taste.

PICKLED RED ONIONS

• One large red onion
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• Four whole black peppercorns
• Four whole allspice berries
• 1 tsp of whole mustard seed
• One bay leaf
• Two cloves garlic
• One sprig of dill

Step 1: Take a 32-oz mason jar and add the allspice berries, mustard seed, bay leaf, garlic, and dill.

Step 2: Start by slicing your red onion with a mandoline. I slice the onion using all the available settings to provide a variety of thicknesses. That is my preference; you can adjust it to yours. Stack the onion slices on top of the other ingredients in the mason jar.

Step 3: Place the apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and black peppercorns in a saucepan and heat on medium heat. Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved and the mixture is hot (do not boil). This will take about 3-5 minutes.

Step 4: Turn off the heat and let the liquid cool for 3-5 minutes. Pour into the mason jar and let everything sit without the lid for an hour.

Although you can eat immediately, the flavor will develop over time. Store refrigerated for up to two weeks.

Enjoy this recipe, and feel free to comment on this post or participate in the poll on the "Snakebird Secret" Newsletter to let me know what you think!