I had a couple of girlfriends over last night for carnitas, and I failed to take a single picture of our massive, colorful spread. Our kitchen island was covered with bowls of bacon-infused pinto beans, fruit salsa, salsa verde, guacamole, sliced radishes, cilantro sprigs, feta, sour cream, diced onions, pickled red onions, big pieces of slowly cooked and then crisped (maybe a little too much) pork, and warm corn tortillas, but we were too busy drinking margaritas and eating tacos to think about snapping photos. The consolation prize is a day-after photo of the pretty, pink, pickled red onions.
I can’t count the number of times that I’ve considered pickling red onions or cucumbers or fennel or whatever else and then backed out when I remember the time a few summers ago that I got in way over my head and canned dozens of jars of cucumbers and peppers only to realize that I had made sweet pickles, the one kind of pickle that I don’t like. All of that work for no reward. Even knowing that quick-pickling foods and canning foods are two different animals, I tend to be overwhelmed by the thought of either one, but yesterday at work I was daydreaming about carnitas and any last-minute toppings that I could throw together. I googled “pickled red onions,” saw that they require four ingredients and about four minutes of time, and I was sold. Within ten minutes of getting home I had put away the groceries and pickled a batch of red onions. So easy! Just try to avoid sticking your head over the pan and inhaling vinegar steam – it’s not a nice sensation. The onions add a great sweet, vinegary tang to salty carnitas, and I’m sure they’d be delicious on any number of things – a salad with citrus slices and feta, a pulled pork sandwich, a grilled cheese sandwich, a salad with roast beef and blue cheese… If you’d like to make some, I recommend this recipe from David Lebovitz. I left out the bay leaf, allspice, and cloves for simplicity’s sake and didn’t feel like they were missing anything. I can’t wait to pickle more things! In the (altered) words of Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz, “Pickle some red onions, then I’m on to the next one, on to the next one.” Maybe pickled okra?
