Yucatán-Style Pickled Red Onions

Put it on yo sandwich, put it on yo burger, put it on yo steak. 🔪

under 120mins
side
Updated on 10 June 2024

Ingredients for servings

  • 1 red onion(s), finely diced

  • 15 whole black peppercorns

  • 15 whole allspice berries

  • 4 bay leaves

  • 80 ml juice from 1 grapefruit see note

  • 80 ml juice from 1 to 2 oranges see note

  • 80 ml juice from 4 to 5 limes plus a little extra just in case see note

  • salt

Directions

  • Place onion, peppercorns, allspice, and bay leaves in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, drain carefully, and transfer onions to a sealable container, such as a Mason jar.

  • Add grapefruit, orange, and lime juice. Onions should be submerged at this point; if they aren’t, top off with extra lime juice. Stir to combine, season to taste with salt (they should be quite salty—use about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon of table salt), cover, and refrigerate until color deepens, about 2 hours. Onions can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Do not eat peppercorns, allspice berries, or bay leaves.

Notes

Par-cooking the onions in water softens them while allowing you to keep the bright, fresh flavor of the citrus juice uncooked.

Using a combination of grapefruit, lime, and orange juice replicates some of the floral, bitter aroma of Seville oranges if they are unavailable.

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