Asparagus refrigerator pickles

[Blues Heron]

made another jar :D

1 cup white vinegar
2 cups water
a little less than 1 Tb kosher salt
1/2 tsp sugar
3 cloves garlic
2 pearl onions

2 lbs asparaugus, cut to jar size, blanched ~ 90 sec.
rinsed cold water

that's it! these have been flying out of the jar lately - great on sandwiches..

plus you have the trimmed ends for stir fry, soup etc.

[NMDemDist2]

1. wow those look GREAT!!

i have an asparagus patch but by the time I think about it, they are usually already gone to fern

:banghead:

[elleng]

2. OMG! Where ARE you?

I'll be there!!!

[NMDemDist2]

3. they grow wild all over around here in SE New Mexico

like weeds in the ditches

truly

:hi:

[Lucinda]

4. I used to be able to find them along the old railroad tracks when I lived in Arkansas.

It seemed so weird at the time! LOL

[Lucinda]

5. That looks sooo good!

What happens to the texture? Are they super crunchy or do they soften?

[Blues Heron]

11. Texture is great!

They crisp up a little as they brine - was a little worried with the last batch that I thought I over-blanched, but they ended up with a nice crunch. :)

[hippywife]

6. Those look lovely and delicious!

I wonder how long they'll keep since you're not really canning them. I can't imagine you'd need to worry about it if you did them in small batches that will get eaten quickly.

:hi:

[Blues Heron]

10. So true! We'll never know!

But they seem pretty well preserved, so I'm thinking at least a month or two? Don't have much experience with this kind of thing. :)

[AlecBGreen]

7. OMG

those sound AWESOME! They wouldnt last two minutes at my house!

Nice picture too. Did you take it?

[Blues Heron]

12. Heh - here too I can't believe how fast the last one went!

re. photo - Broke out the macro for this pic, 1/25 sec wide open at 1600 ASA, the light was just the kitchen overhead flourescent. Glad you like it! :)

[Vinca]

8. Those look great (and we have an asparagus bed!).

Am I correct this goes right in the jar without processing in a hot water bath or anything? How long should they sit before eating?

[Blues Heron]

9. Correct, no water bath necessary with these

Once you blanch and cool the asparagus it goes right in the jar, cover w/ the brine. then into the fridge. They should sit at least 4-5 days before eating (but you should test one spear each day to monitor the progress :D

Hope you get some good spears this spring from your bed! When do they usually emerge? I'd love to know more about growing asparagus - we have a community garden plot and always looking for tips on tasty growables! :)

[Vinca]

13. Thanks for the info. I bet this would work well for fresh green beans, too.

Our asparagus appears really early in the spring, depending on the weather. It's pretty easy to grow once you get it started. The initial planting is a pain. You have to dig a trench, add mulch and nutrients to the soil and work it in, then put down the roots and gradually fill the trench in over time, then you need to pick it very sparingly for a couple of years.

[Native]

14. Can't wait to try these - thanks so much! n/t