House of Bob

Fresh Cucumber Pickles

When a friend asked for my pickle recipe recently, it forced me into writing it down.  I don’t really bother with recipes for pickles since I just keep a gallon jug of brine handy. It is very easy and you don’t need to dig up measuring spoons (which are always missing in my house)  Ruhlman has a good section on brine in Ratio, but I learned this technique at Picklefest 2008.  It has a lower salinity than Ruhlman suggests, but it works for me.   As for the cucumbers, as many as will fit in your clean jar. It really pays to get some fresh produce here, if you can’t grow them, try a local farmer’s market.  The smaller, the better;  large ones have too many seeds and won’t fit in the jar, but  I sometimes cut them up to fit.  You can use pickling spice or I tend to make up something at pickling time.  Use a reasonable amount.

Brine:

• 1 Gallon Water
• 8 Tbsp Kosher Salt

Pickling Spice:

• Whole Mustard Seeds
• Whole Black Peppercorns
• Red Chili Flakes ( I use the Korean kind with no seeds, but you can use whatever you can find)
• Coriander
• Cardamom pod (one or two)
• Allspice
• Cloves

Other Ingredients:

• Fresh Dill (lots – substitute dill seed if you can’t find fresh)
• Garlic Cloves (at least two per quart container)
• Fresh Grape Leaves (some claim they have enzymes to keep pickles crisper, but I’m skeptical -  I put them in because they look nice, and they are in season at the same time as cucumbers.)

The Technique:

Wash cucumbers well and slice off both ends since the blossom ends have a chemical that can cause softening.  Place in a clean mason-type or spring-top jar, add spice, garlic, dill  and brine to cover.  Set on counter at room temperature, out of the sun.  Twice daily or whenever you feel like it, “burp” the lid to release the gases.  After a few days, the mixture will turn cloudy; You should taste a cuke and see how it is going.  Depending on the temperature and various other factors like salinity, size and moisture content of cucumbers, etc, you should have a half-sour pickle by now, a little sour on the outside and still crisp and cucumbery in the middle.  I like them like this so I put them in the fridge to slow everything down.  They probably won’t last too long, they don’t at my house!

I ran across these onions at the Halal Market the other day in West L.A. and I thought I would try out the pickled onions I saw on A Hunger Artist.  They were the perfect size for a single quart jar.  I cleaned and trimmed the onions, added some coriander, cloves, korean red pepper flake, mustard seed and some allspice and covered it all will some pre-made brine.  It is easiest to pickle it directly in the quart jar, and ‘burp’ it periodically to realease the gases. A week later and I think they are almost ready.

I picked this up a few months back at the invite-only Cooking.com warehouse sale, a special treat once a year that I’m lucky enough to attend. The unit pictured is a specialized mandoline for shredding whole heads of cabbage – not a necessary gadget- but making a 10lb batch of kraut might justify it.  I haven’t used it yet but it seems sturdy enough.  I’m planning a full post on Sauerkraut, so I’ll put up a few pics of it in action then.

I’ve made several of these, the unsmoked Italian version of bacon, when the temperature is right, around 60-65°F.  The recipe is pretty straightforward, and I’ll direct you the the CHOW website I found it on if you want more information.  I’ve got one curing in the fridge now and I’ll hang it up in a week.  The rosemary, thyme and lavender flowers are from the garden and I collected the juniper berries on my friend’s land in the High Desert outside of L.A.  I think my neighbors/famlily/City of Alhambra might frown on raising pork in the backyard.

The temp is a little high to be hanging one right now, but I’ll take my chances.  This is also the first pancetta I put juniper berries in but I understand it is traditional.  I’ll update when I pull it down.  Here is my recipe for 2.5 lbs:

• 2.5lbs Pork Belly, skin removed
• 1 Tbs Black Peppercorns, cracked
• 1 Tbs Juniper Berries, cracked
• 1/6 Cup Kosher Salt (2.66 Tbs)
• 1.5 Tbs Brown Sugar (I substituted Evaporated Cane Sugar)
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated Nutmeg
• 1 1/2 Cloves Garlic
• 2 Bay Leaves, Crushed
• 1 Tbs Thyme (fresh)
• 1 Tbs Rosemary (fresh)
• 1 tsp Pink Salt (aka curing salt- this is optional if botulism isn’t more dangerous to you than cancer)

Crush the pepper, bay leaves and juniper berries, and add this to the salt, pink salt and nutmeg.  Chop the garlic and herbs and mix all this together.  This is your curing mixture.  Remove the skin of the pork belly with a sharp knife – it also helps if the pork is cold when you trim it- place it in the freezer for 10 minutes while you prep your cure mix.  Rub the mixture all over the pork on all sides and place in a zip-top bag.  After you remove as much air as you can, place it in a dish that is slightly larger than the belly.  Now you will need to weigh the meat/cure mixture down.  I use a loaf pan with two cans of tomatoes, since it fits nicely in the larger container.

Turn the zip-top bag every day (I’m watching) and after 7 days the meat should feel firm.   If it’s not, put it back in for a few days.  When it is ready, rinse it off under cool water.

Now is the time to hang out the pancetta to air-dry.  Some people just hang up the belly as is, but I like the traditional rolled appearance.  Liberally apply some freshly cracked black pepper all over.  Start rolling with the meat side in, very tightly.  Using some twine, tie up the pancetta with a double overhand knot. It will hold itself closed.    Now you can lace up the rest of the way, pulling tightly as you go.  Make a loop for hanging and hang in a cool, slightly humid location for 7 days or so.  I’ve always used the kitchen and haven’t had any problems, other than bumping my head into it when I do the dishes.

I use pancetta in sauces and stews, sometimes just broiled on top of a crusty slice of bread.

I love this recipe for a “lazy” loaf of bread.  I’m not sure of the origin since I got it from a friend at work. It is really simple and requires virtually no kneading.

3 cups flour
1.5 cups H2O
1/4 tsp yeast
A little salt

Combine to make a shaggy dough and cover with plastic film. Wait 24 hours. The dough will have doubled in volume and the surface will have a lot of tiny bubbles. While you preheat a 6qt Dutch Oven to 450F, form the dough into a ball shape and let the dough rise for an hour or so. Fold the dough over on itself without overworking it and set it on some parchment paper dusted with corn meal. Carefully place the dough, parchment and all, in the Dutch oven and cook covered for 1/2 an hour, and uncovered for another 1/2 hour. That’s it! The bread should have a cracked, crusty exterior and soft bubbly crumb inside.

beet photo

I pulled out the leggy arugula, snap peas and radishes in anticipation of heirloom tomatoes, okra and peppers.  This is the only beet that made it from the whole packet of seeds, but what a beet!  Ok, so maybe this beet cost 1.50 plus the expense of watering (or lack thereof since only one came up.)   I simply boiled it in a little salted water, and sauteed the tops with some chard.  The raised beds are holding up well and I hope to have a pretty good harvest this year since I added drip irrigation over the winter season.