Regular Food in Jars contributor Alex Jones is here to with a recipe to preserve delicious shishito peppers. They’re one of my summer favorites! – Marisa
One of my favorite moments of summer eating doesn’t involve handfuls of blueberries, icy-cold slices of watermelon, or peaches so juicy you have to eat them over the sink. (Although those firsts fruits are up there on the list.) It’s when I spy the first shishito peppers at the farmers’ market.
When I first see those wrinkly, electric green peppers heaped in a basket or bursting out of a fiber pint container, I know I have to have them.
Back my kitchen with my market bounty, I’ll get my cast iron pan ripping hot with a glug of grapeseed oil and add the peppers, cooking for a few minutes on each side until the skin is blistered deep brown and the flesh is just tender. Then, they go into a bowl with a big three-finger pinch of flaky sea salt. A few flicks of the wrist to toss, and then I’ll sit down and eat them all, one by one.
But inevitably, shishito season ends, and it’s rare to find them off-season in supermarkets, so I have to wait for that smoky, salty experience until next year’s pepper feast…unless I can preserve it.
After cooking and devouring the first pint of the peppers I brought home from the Urban Girls Produce stand in Clark Park last week, I knew what my hot-pack project for July’s Mastery Challenge would be: those precious shishitos, with some of that irresistible charred goodness and plenty of bright, tart flavor from the pickling liquid.
I picked a basic brine recipe and decided I’d pack the jars out with garlic, shallots, and black peppercorns for bite. (While I’ve read that one in 10 shishitos can pack a little heat, I’ve never had one like that — they’re quite mild.) And since it’s bursting out of my front yard garden plot, I ran down and picked a nice big handful of basil — lime and opal — to infuse their flavor.
First, I prepped a water bath canner, lids, and jars and set my cast iron to get nice and hot. Then, I snipped the long stems off of the peppers and sorted them into two batches, slightly smaller and slightly bigger, to help them cook evenly.
When the pan just started to smoke, I added the peppers, letting the skins blister for about three minutes so that the skin was nice and brown before flipping them over for another two. (You don’t want to cook them through, just blister the skin enough to tenderize them and add flavor.)
I put a little pot of brine on to boil, packed my jars, topped them off, and processed them for 10 minutes. Of course, I kept a few of the cooked peppers to snack on while my the canner bubbled away.
The next day, I opened one jar to find out if my experiment had worked. The aroma when I popped the lid was amazing — and while the peppers are a little softer than they would be fresh out of the pan, that smoky flavor I crave was there, plus lots of zing from the aromatics and vinegar.
These peppers would be amazing on an antipasti board, served alongside a rugged sharp cheddar or savory Manchego, or on a sandwich loaded with cold cuts and crisp lettuce. Or, as is my preference, all for me and straight out of the jar.
Pickled Blistered Shishito Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 dry quart shishito peppers
- Grapeseed or canola oil
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon pickling salt
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 shallots
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- A handful of fresh basil leaves I used lime and opal
Instructions
- Prepare a water bath canner and two pint jars and lids.
- Wash and dry peppers and trim stems if necessary. Sort peppers into two bowls, one for larger-sized peppers and one for smaller peppers.
- Heat a medium-sized cast-iron skillet on high. When the pan is hot, add a tablespoon or two of the oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan.
- When the oil just begins to smoke, add one of the two bowls of peppers, taking care not to crowd them (you may need to do this in a few batches). Let the peppers cook for two to three minutes on high, checking the skins occasionally. When most of the peppers have blistered dark brown, flip and cook on high for another two minutes. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, put the peppers back in the empty bowl to cool. Repeat with the other bowl of peppers, then set aside to cool.
- Put vinegar, water, and pickling salt in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil.
- Crush and peel garlic and add two cloves to each jar. Peel shallots, slice in half, and add two halves to each jar. Distribute peppercorns and a few springs of the basil evenly between the two jars.
- Once peppers have cooled, pierce each one with a knife so that pickling liquid can penetrate. Pack the peppers into the jars — they should be pretty soft by this point and easy to pack tightly.
- When brine has boiled, remove from heat and carefully pour over the peppers in the jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings, and process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.
This recipe looks fabulous, and I can’t wait to try it.
Will you please confirm how much pickling salt you add to the brine? I didn’t see it on the ingredient list, but you mentioned it in the directions.
Thanks so much!
The amount of pickling salt is not listed. The peppers look wonderful.
These look delicious! I love pickled veggies so much 🙂
Hi I came about your blog by chance as I have my hands on a recipe for Jalapeno jelly which I have never heard of or tasted although I regularly pickle Jalapenos. Searching for pectin and what it is and it’s ingredients It looks like Pomonas is my best bet unless I make it and then it requires more sugar for setting this I read on an old post of yours.
If I use this pectin would I need to add more sugar for a pepper jelly? As I haven’t tasted it before I am a little not wary but not knowing taste more cautious I suppose.
Thank you for your time 🙂
Oh I wish I had this recipe last year when I had oodles of Shishitos in the garden. I ate the whole skillet full in one sitting too but never thought you could get the flavor if they were pickled. I didn’t plant any Shishitos this year but will next year again for sure. Maybe more than one bush, but one bush always gives me plenty. They do start producing prolifically late in the summer for me.
I saw shishito peppers at the market this weekend and grabbed 4 pints (about 1 lb, 2 oz) at $4 each (DC area). I canned in square pint jars that I got last year at Fillmore containers that I really like. I don’t usually alter canning recipes, but I made some small safe alterations to the recipe by using home dried whole leaf oregano instead of basil, at a rate of about a 1/2 teaspoon packed (it crumbles). I also didn’t have any shallots, and not being sure about substituting onion, I left it out. All the other ingredients were retained with the same proportions. Looking forward to tasting it in a week or two.
I got 5 – 1/2 pint jars out of it, though I doubled the brine so maybe I could have packed more tightly and not needed more brine? I was concerned about air in the peppers causing float, even though I pierced them all and after adding the brine pushed them around with a spoon to expel the air. The recipe doesn’t say how much head space to leave in the jars, so looking at NCFHP recipes I went with 1/2 inch. After processing two jars look perfect, the other 3 look like they lost brine during processing (head space 1+ inch total, maybe having lost 3/4 inch?) or there was air in the peppers that was released. Who knows. The jars are all sealed and should be safe though. I completely forgot to have a pepper or two before canning. Whoops. 🙂 Once I open a jar I’ll have to decide whether I like it enough to put it into rotation.
I have a surplus of shishito peppers from my garden, and I’ve been researching how to save all of them, and came across this recipe.I just made one jar of these and they are so delicious! My peppers are rather small, and one quart of fresh pickles packed a pint once they were blistered. So next time, I’ll collect 2 quarts from my plants so I can make more than one pint.
Next time, I’d like to try using shiso leaves instead of basil while pickling to keep with more of a Japanese flavor profile.
I substituted shiso for the basil and while I haven’t tried basil the shiso was delicious!
Do I have to put in the fridge or once they are sealed are they okay in the pantry?
This recipe is processed in a boiling water bath canner for shelf stability. As long as you process the jars appropriately, they are fine for the pantry until opened.
Just made these this evening! Yum! I blistered in a little oil, then tossed in a little salt and lime! Wow! Yum. Will buy them every time. I almost ate the whole quart. Next time I will buy 2 and can one. Thanks for sharing!
YES! I have been wondering how to preserve my shishitos for longer term storage, and while I’m not usually a ‘pickle person’ – this recipe sounds delish! Thank you 🙂
Can I blister the peppers on the grill rather than in a skillet? Should I oil the peppers or the grill or neither?
You can use the grill, but you want to keep the oil to a minimum.
I oiled the grill more to clean it than anything. Worked great. The peppers dance and pop. Loved it. Ate a few an still got two jars canned. Thanks!
Is the salt necessary or can it be reduced or omitted entirely?
The salt is necessary. It helps draw the water out of the peppers so that the vinegar can fully penetrate. You can reduce it some, but you don’t want to omit it entirely.
This is a mainstay in prepping our winter larder. Quick question: I just got an air fryer and have been using it to blister our dinner time shishitos. Any reason I couldn’t do the same for this recipe? Thanks!
I don’t see why you couldn’t!
Fantastic! What a time saver!
This looks like a great tasting pickling project. I have a question: about how much would ” 1 dry quart of Shishito peppers weigh? I find it is much easier and takes the ambiguity out of the recipe when amounts are shown in grams or ounces. Then I know that I have exactly the right amount. Thank you.
Unfortunately, I don’t know how much a dry quart would weigh. If it helps, it is about four cups.
Hi there! I made these yesterday but noticed, today, that most of the brine has absorbed into the peppers so they are no longer floating in brine. Is this okay? Thank you.
They should be fine. There’s still ample acid in the jars.
How did I miss. this recipe before?! Finally something to preserve my end of season shishito harvest. Thank you.
I’m so glad you found it!
I’m trying this recipe out … looks amazing and I have a huge amount of shishitos and cannot eat them all right away!
I started with 16 cups of raw shishitos and did not have basil, so added some dried oregano to the brine. I also did half white and half apple cider vinegar.
I ended up with 6 quart jars.
One trick I used was to take a fork to the jars to gently press the air out of the peppers once I poured in the brine … I then topped up the brine in each jar before adding the lids.
I can’t wait to try them!
I hope you like them!
Hi
Is the water bath necessary?
Never had to do it with pickling jalapeños.
Is it cause you’re blistering the peppers?
Also what if the pickling liquid was 2 to 1 vin to water like for most things?
Just not understanding why there needs to be a bath.
Thank you
The water bath process is always recommended for pickles.
I didn’t even think about pickling blistered shishito peppers. I was so glad when I came upon this recipe. It is now our favorite pickled pepper! I did follow the directions except used what I had on hand – that being white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar, and jar basil instead of fresh. This was the second time I’ve made these and since I had so many I canned them. The first time I didn’t even have time to can them since my husband tasted them and said “just don’t bother with canning – just put them right on in the fridge!.
These are a WINNER!!! They are so delicious and I can’t wait to put them on a charcuterie with fall parties!!
I’m so happy you like this recipe!
Geeat recipe. I blistered my peppers on the grill instead and it is best then to measure the quantity after blistering. Did everything else as in the recipe and they are fabulous! Easy too.
So glad you like it!