Quick-Pickled Red Onions

Burger season is in full swing and pickled onions are an excellent addition to your fixin’s bar. A buttered and toasted brioche bun, tender lettuce, ripe heirloom tomatoes, and crisp pickled onions transform a ho-hum burger into something spectacular.

The Washington Post wrote an article about a tiny butcher shop called The Farmer’s Daughter Market & Butcher (Capon Bridge, WV) which makes “world-class burgers” featuring theses pickled onions. I visited the quaint shop and it’s as charming as you might imagine. In addition to being a full-service butcher, they offer fresh produce, house-made sausage, cold cuts, subs, pantry staples, and so much more - I love this place! The owner has been kind enough to share his simple recipe for quick-pickled onions so you too can enjoy a world-class burger experience in the comfort of your own home.

This is a “quick” pickle so be sure to slice the onions very thin (like 1/8-inch), which will allow the pickle solution to fully penetrate the onions. Use a razor-sharp knife (this is my favorite) or a mandolin slicer.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• awesome Japanese knife https://amzn.to/37SOWxn

• walnut cutting board https://amzn.to/3Jpaovc

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Quick-Pickled Red Onions

makes 2 cups

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 medium red onion (about 5 ounces, by weight), halved and thinly sliced (1/8-inch slices)

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

• 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1 teaspoon freshly minced garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds (see notes below)

Directions

1. Place onions in a glass jar that has a tight-fitting lid.

2. In a non-reactive container (glass, plastic, stainless, ceramic), make the pickle solution by combining together the water, vinegar, salt, sugar, minced garlic, and mustard seed; stirring until salt and sugar are completely dissolved.

3. Pour pickle solution over the onions; rest for a few hours or overnight before using.

4. Cover jar with lid and chill leftovers; they will last in the fridge for up to a month.

Notes

• For the best flavor, Pete prefers to use brown mustard seeds - If you can’t find them, yellow mustard seeds may be substituted.

• Avoid mixing the pickle solution in “reactive'“ containers such as unlined cast iron, unlined copper, or aluminum. Examples of non-reactive containers are enameled cast iron, tin-lined copper, stainless steel, glass, ceramic, or plastic.

• Pickled onions are great on more than just burgers - use them on pull pork, potato salad, tacos, beans, tossed salads, etc.

adapted from Pete Pacelli of The Farmer’s Daughter Market & Butcher

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You might also like to try my delectable 3-Napkin Skillet Smash Burger!

Instant Pot Black Beans

Remember the days when you had to plan way ahead if you wanted to cook dried black beans? You’d have to soak the beans in a huge pot of water over night, find room in the fridge for the pot, drain the beans the next day, refill the pot with more water, and finally, bring the pot of beans to a boil, then lower it to a simmer for about an hour. You could add some seasonings like garlic and bay leaves while the beans simmered away, but NOT salt because that could actually cause the beans to take much longer to become tender.

Well, I’m here to tell you there’s a much easier, much faster way to cook dried beans using an instant pot. It’s easier because you literally toss everything into the instant pot (including salt), and it’s faster because the whole process takes less than an hour from start to finish. And honestly, I think the beans cooked in the instant pot end up having a better texture and flavor. I will never go back to making them the old way.

Instant Pot Black Beans

makes about 5 cups of cooked beans

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried black beans, picked over and rinsed

• 8 cups water (or low-sodium chicken stock)

• 1 tablespoon oil (to keep the cooking liquid from bubbling too much)

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1 bay leaf

• (optional) 4-inch sprig of fresh rosemary (see note below)

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in the inner pot of a 6 or 8-quart pressure cooker, lock the lid in the closed position and and make sure the vent is set to “sealing” (not “venting”).

2. Cook on “manual” or “pressure cook” for 20 minutes (disable the “keep warm” function), then allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 30 minutes.

3. Discard bay leaf and store beans in their liquid for up to a week in the fridge, or freeze for longer storage.

Note

• I only add the sprig of rosemary when cooking beans that will be used in Italian dishes.