Pickled Hot Pepper Rings

This is a simple canning recipe for some tasty hot pepper rings.  This works with most hot peppers, and is an easy and affordable way to preserve an abundance of peppers.

I love using these on sandwiches, pizzas, wraps or even chopped up and mixed with some cream cheese on a morning bagel.

Occasionally I'll just eat them right out of the jar, good for clearing out the sinuses...

I used about a pound of mixed peppers, some hot banana, some long hots, and whatever else was out in the garden.

You will need:

1 lb of hot peppers
3 cups of white vinegar
2 cups of water
3 cloves of garlic
3 teaspoons of picking salt (any non-iodized salt)

3 pint jars with lids and rings
Canning rack or canning basket
Jar Lifter
Rubber gloves

Cutting board
Knife
Measuring cup
Saucepan
Large pot (enough room for jars to be covered by 1" boiling water)
Dishtowel

Run your jars in the dishwasher or wash by hand with hot water and antibacterial soap to sterilize.

Place your canning rack the large pot (if you don't have a basket) and fill with enough to cover the pint jars once they are added.

Put pot on High heat and bring to a boil

Put the empty jars and rings in the large pot while the water heats to keep them hot.

Measure 3 cups of vinegar and 2 cups of water into the small sauce pot and put on medium heat.

Peel and smash the garlic cloves and toss them in the vinegar mixture.

Heat the mix to boiling.

Equip your gloves and get to cutting!

Trim the stems off and slice peppers into rings.  I cut somewhere between 1/4" and 1/2"

You can mix different types of peppers or just do one type at a time.

You can keep all the seeds or do your best to shake them out.

They are your peppers, make them how YOU like them!

Now it's time to pull your HOT jars out of the bath tub, use the jar lifters to move the hot jars to a dishtowel.

Now fill your hot jars with the pepper assortment of your choice, making sure to leave 1/4" of headspace

Once all the peppers are in you can add a teaspoon of picking salt or add a little sugar (up to you)

Now pour (or ladle) the hot picking liquid into the jars, you can opt to include the garlic or not.

Fill the liquid to cover the peppers maintaining the 1/4" of headspace.  Just give the jars a light tap to get the air bubbles out.

Grab a towel and give all the jar rims a quick wipe to remove any debris that may interfere with sealing.

Now I give the lids a quick dip in the hot water bath and place on the jars, then tighten the rings (just a little, some air still needs to escape)

Now take your loaded, lidded jars and set them in your canning basket, or use your jar lifters to lower them into the boiling water bath.

Make sure the water covers the tops of the jars, then go set your timer to 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes of boiling take your basket out, or individually take the jars out with the lifter and set on a dishtowel to cool.

You should start hearing the "POP" of the lids sealing

Once the jars are cool test for seal, put your sealed jars in your pantry for up to a year.  Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used in the next couple weeks.

Feel free to modify or multiply this recipe, just make sure you maintain the vinegar/water ratio for maximum food safety

Have fun canning!

Depending on your choice of peppers there are plenty of uses for these tasty rings.

Slap them on a burger for a little kick.

Use the brine to replace vinegar in a salad dressing recipe.

Chop up pepper bits and add to salsas to to add a little kick.

Mix some chopped peppers into your cream cheese for a spread with kick.

Toss some rings right on your pizza. Awesome!