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Pickled Okra Recipe?

3,869 Views | 16 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by amanda04
agcrock2005
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AG
I have made several batches, but never any that compare to a friend's grandmothers. Does anyone have a badass recipe they would be willing to share? Thanks.
Martin Cash
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AG
This is for a quart jar.

Stuff okra in jar with 1 dried red pepper, 1/2 tsp celery seed, 1/2 tsp dill seed, 1/2 tsp mustard seed, 1 pod of garlic.

In pan, heat 2 cups water, 1 cup of distilled water vinegar and 1 tsp pickling salt. Heat to boiling and pour over okra. Screw lid on snug, but not tight. Place in a medium-high water bath (not boiling) for 20 minutes until okra changes color. Remove jar, tighten lid, place back in water bath upside down for 5 minutes. Remove and place upside down on counter until it cools.
dahouse
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AG
Grabbed from post last summer:

I've been canning okra recently as well as jalapenos and cucumbers for pickles. I use a family recipe that always gets rave reviews, and the juice is awesome in bloody mary's.

Ingredients:
Dill (fresh or frozen)
Fresh Garlic
Dried chile Arbol
Canning Salt
Vinegar
Okra or cucumbers

Materials:
Jars w/bands and lids (quart or pint)
Large pot to boil jars
Jar grabber thing


Wash the jars first, also rinse the veggies.

Concoction: Pour 1 quart vinegar, 2.5 quarts of water, and .75 cups salt into a pot. Turn heat to med-high.

Fill your large pot with enough water to cover the jars by about an inch. It will help if you have the jar rack to out in the pot, they're cheap at wal-mart. If not, put a towel in the bottom of the pot to keep jars from banging the bottom, and have a couple of rags handy to wedge between the jars so they don't rattle and break during boiling.

Put on high heat, it will take a while to boil.

Jars: Put a handful of dill (enough to fill about .5" to 1" of bottom of jar), 3-4 thin slices of garlic, and some of the dried peppers into the jar. If using quart jars, put 5-8, depending on heat preference. Pint jars get 2-4. If you're pickling peppers, leave all this out, you'll just fill jar with fluid after packing.

Pack okra as tight as you can into jar, we need to maximize the jar space. Same with cucumbers and jalapenos, pack them tight. I use pint jars, so I have to spear my cucumbers or slice them for sandwich/burger style.

Place lids (not bands) into a bowl with hot water. This will soften the rubber seal a little and help ensure a proper seal on the jar.

By now the concoction should be boiling, if not, turn up heat and make it boil.

Pour boiling/simmering/hot concoction into jars, leaving about .5"-.25" space below top of jar. Place a hot/warm lid on and tighten band hand tight. Not too tight, but snug. Maybe half a turn past finger tight.

If you have the jar rack, hang it over the boiling water pot and lower the jars in once you have a rolling boil.

If no jar rack, let water get very close to boil, and use the tongs to place the jars on the towel, then use standard tongs to place towel spacers between. Bring water to rolling boil.

Boil jars for 8-15 minutes. I do 9 minutes because I like crunchy okra. More boil time means softer canned goods, IMHO. As little as 5-6 minutes may be plenty to seal the jars.

When the timer goes off, turn off heat, let the boil calm, and retrieve jars with your handy-dandy jar tongs. Place on level surface. I like to put a towel on the counter.

Leave the jars overnight. You will hear the lids "pop" as the jars cool and the vacuum formed in the jars pulls the lids down and makes the seal.

In the morning, check your lids. If they're down (sucked in) then you're good. If they're still up (domed up a little) and you can push them down, then it didn't seal. Put any that didn't seal in the fridge, they'll stay good for 4 months or so.

Put a date on the lid with a marker, and stash away for 4 weeks. Then open and enjoy. Put them in the fridge after they're open. The longer they sit, the better the flavor. They also get hotter.

When the jar is empty, toss the lid, save the band.

Here are a few pictures of equipment and such:

Canning rack


Pint size water bath canning pot:


Fourth of July canning run at the coast:
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Cody
Fightin Texas Aggie c/o 04
HTownAg98
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Page 6-19. http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE%206%20Home%20Can.pdf
agcrock2005
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AG
Thanks. Where's the best place to get the big pot and instruments used for grabbing, etc.?
dahouse
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AG
Amazon has a canning section

http://www.amazon.com/Canning-Kitchen-Dining/b?ie=UTF8&node=1265175011

Cody
Fightin Texas Aggie c/o 04
AustinAgChef
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quote:
Thanks. Where's the best place to get the big pot and instruments used for grabbing, etc.?


Got mine at good 'ole Wally World.
HTownAg98
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Kerr makes a kit that comes with a jar lifter, a magnetic lid grabber, and a headspace gauge. I found one at HEB for $10.
Martin Cash
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AG
Headspace gauge? Are you firing an M2?
HTownAg98
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quote:
Headspace gauge? Are you firing an M2?

No, but it helps to get the headspace right so the jars seal properly, and it's kind of important.
Martin Cash
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AG
Ah, ok! I always called that a 'ruler.'
hbc07
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AG
Looking to pickle okra for the first time so I'm bringing this thread back from the dead. I've got okra of a larger variety (Perkin's Long Pod). Every recipe I've found calls for them to be whole and there's no way in hell these'll fit in a jar whole unless I manage to harvest it right after the pod starts growing. Is there any disadvantage to pickling them cut into larger segments?

Okra with iphone 7 for scale
HTownAg98
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I wouldn't pickle those, they look over-mature, and will be tough and fibrous. I looked it up, and you're supposed to pick those when they're 6" long. Smaller okra make better pickles.
hbc07
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AG
Like I said... I'm new to growing Okra. All I know is that if I give it about 48 more hours, I'll have just as many new pods in the 4-6" range. These ones just kind of got away from me.
amanda04
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AG
I understand the struggle. Okra can definitely grow inches overnight. I have pickled okra in quart jars (don't know if you've looked into that size). For okra that gets large like that, while I've never tried to cut and pickle it, I have cut it and froze it in slices. Then it can be easily roasted or breaded and fried later.

Some varieties are able to grow large without getting fibrous. You'll know for sure when you start slicing if they will be edible or not. If it's too tough to cut, it'll be too tough to eat. There's no amount of stewing that will soften it.
schwabbin
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AG
I'm about to reap my first harvest and may try pickling for the first time. Any other cooking suggestions you all have?
HTownAg98
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Split them in half, toss them in some olive oil and salt, and roast them in a 425 degree oven. Cook them until they are very, very done. The longer you roast them, the less slimy they are.
amanda04
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AG
My absolute favorite is roasted or grilled okra. If roasting, slice into rounds, throw on a baking sheet with oil and sliced fresh jalapeno peppers, and roast at 425 for about 20 minutes. If the grill is already on, slice vertically almost through cap, toss in oil, and place on grill until slightly charred.
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