Most every year John grows a variety of jalapeños which he prepares and cans as nacho rings and hot sauce. We skipped a year and our jalapeño stash ran out. Not good! Especially because we love Mexican dishes and cook them often. I bought a couple of supermarket pickled jalapeños and ended up throwing out two of the three jars, and kept one out of desperation. Their mushy texture was a real let down.
Something had to give, so I bought fresh jalapeños and a few Fresno peppers for their beautiful bright red color and made a batch of quick nacho rings. They turned out to be just what we needed on short notice.
Use green or a combination of green and red peppers for a colorful jar of nacho rings.
We use the jalapeños in quesadillas, tacos, burritos, Mexican cabbage slaw, and nachos. They are crisp, tart and delicious.
- 1 pound fresh jalapeños
- 1¼ cup white vinegar
- 1¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 medium garlic clove cut in half and smashed
- few dashes of dried oregano
- Slice jalapeños into rings and set aside while you make the brine.
- Combine vinegar, water sugar, salt, garlic and dried oregano in a pot large enough to hold the jalapeños. Bring brine to a boil. Turn off heat and add jalapeños to the brine. Let sit for about 10 minutes then transfer to mason jars. Let cool on a rack for 20 minutes or so, before refrigerating to chill completely. The jalapeños will become delightfully crisp and will keep for about a month.
