Ingredients:
3 cups whole ripe fish peppers (jalapenos or cayenne would work too)
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon white peppercorns
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 cup water
1 1/2 cup white vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoon pickling salt

Directions:
Fill 1 pint jar with whole peppers (don’t overstuff the jar or they may float in the canning process and break the seal). Set aside. Slice the remaining peppers and place in the half pint jar. Evenly divide the seasonings between both jars. Combine the water, salt and vinegar in a saucepan and bring to a low boil. Stir to dissolve the salt. Pour brine over the peppers, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Remove any bubbles. Seal and process in a water bath for 10 minutes. Allow to sit one week prior to eating.

Yield: 1 pint whole peppers, 1 8-oz jar sliced

Note: A great source for canning information is the Blue Book guide to preserving. I highly recommend it for learning how to can. Here is a bunch of other canning books and equipment I find useful.

My thoughts:

Just a quick pickled pepper recipe for you this weekend! I always forget that I end up with more peppers in September than I do the rest of the summer. I’m really proud of how our heirloom fish pepper plants have been doing! Even with just two plants we’ve had enough to eat in few dishes and still have a bunch leftover. I thought I’d pickle some up so I can enjoy them later as well. This recipe makes a micro batch of pickles but you could double it if you have more peppers. Try them over nachos, in tacos, soup, salads, Bloody Marys, beans; any place that need a bit of pickled heat.

Note: you could skip the water bath step and just pop them in the fridge. It is a small enough batch, you could probably get through them in a couple of months before they’d spoil.