Pickled Beets – Right In Your Fridge

These  quick pickled  beets are a nice  addition to salads  and sandwiches.  Pickle  them  when  ever  you have extra  beets.    These  are easy to make  and  can be  stored  in  the  fridge  for  a  few  weeks   to use as  needed.

I love  beets, but  family not  so much.   I  usually make a   stir  fry   with a   dash of   salt  and  crushed  pepper.   The natural  sweetness of the  beets  complements  the  heat  of  the  chilies and  to  me t it  tastes   lovely.  Unfortunately  the  family does  not  share  the   same  enthusiasm.   To be  fair  they will eat  stir  fried  beet  greens  without  any complaint, but  the  roots are an  entirely different  matter.

Pickled  beets   get a  better  reception  at  the  dinner  table  though.   May be   because  it  has less of  the  earthy  flavors.

I am   not a  fan of  the  store  bought  ones  – especially  if  comes in a  can.   The  bottled  ones  are  ridiculously priced . No I am not  talking  about  the   ones   containing  HFCS  and  cooked  to  death.  If   those are  your  favorites,  don’t  bother  making  these – just  go   ahead and  get a  bottle.

These are  all  the  ingredients  you need  to pickle  the  beets.   Salt, pepper, sugar , vinegar and  water.  Optionally you can  add  other  spices – mustard, all spice  berries,  cinnamon , bay leaf , cloves   and  tarragon all seem  to  good  flavors  to  complement  the   beets .  I prefer  to  keep it  plain  and  usually do not  add  any extra  spices.

Typically  the  store  bought  versions  have  too much  sugar  for  my taste.  Often the sweetness seems  over shadows  the  beet   flavors.   I do add a  little sugar.  You can  omit  it  all  together,  but a  touch of  sugar   goes  well with  the tartness  of the  vinegar.

These  pickled  beets  are  quick and easy to make – and  stays  fresh   in the  fridge  for  a  few  weeks.  For  longer  storage  though you  have  to  follow the  canning  procedures.

I   have sliced  these  into thick  rounds , as  these  were  meant   to  go on top  of  a  burger  patty.   Cut them into   strips  or  into  any of  the  shapes  you like, just  make  sure  that  the  pieces  fit  into the containers.

Cooking  the  beets

You can   roast  or boil these  beets .   I boil  them  whole in the pressure  cooker.   Just  wash  them   really well and  trim the  tops  and  leave  them   whole.  If  you have  an  IP   use  the   rack  the    with about  1  C  water  and  pressure  cook on  manual  for  about 15  minutes.   For  medium to large  beets or   10 minutes  for  smaller  variety .

If  you are  roasting  them ,  trim the ends   and  lightly coat  the  beets  with oil .  Wrap them in  foil   and   roast  for  about  1  hour  at  400F, until the  beets are  fork tender.

Once  the  beets have  cooled   the  skin will easily rub off.  Sli ce  the  skinned   beets  into  shapes   you like.   Place thin  in the  jars  and pour  the  pickling  juices  over !  refrigerate  and  use  as  needed.

Preserving  for longer  time

Have  sterilized  canning jars  waiting ready and  waiting  for  the  beets.  Make sure  that  the  cutting  surfaces , knife  and   everything  around  is  very  clean. Place the  sliced  beets  into the  jars  filling  to  about  ¼ to ½  inch from the  top. Pour  the pickling  juices,  just  enough  to  cover  the  beets. Place the canning lids on the jars and process for 30 minutes in a water bath. Store in a dark cool place.  These  taste  better as  they age  and will keep  good up to a year.

If  you are  looking  into  canning  in bulk  find  are  more  instructions here.

Here is  how  to  make  quick pickled  beets .

Pickled Beets

By Syama

Pickled beets are a good addition to the pantry. These are easy to make and pickled in a lightly sweet and sour vinaigrette. The flavors of these pickled beets perfectly complements many dishes - like salads , sandwiches and  can even be served  as a side of roasts.

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course other, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 2 lbs Beets trimmed and washed
• 1/2 C Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 C Water
• 2 Tbsp  Raw Sugar
• Salt To Taste
• 1 Tbsp Black Pepper Fresh  ground

Instructions

 

Cook the  beets.

• Wash and   dry the beets. Trim  the  tops.Lightly coat the beets with oil  Place them  in an oven safe pan and cover with foil. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 60 minutes or until fork tender.
  

  Or 

  Place a steamer rack or elevated stand in the pressure cooker / instant pot . Add 1 C water in the cooker and place the cleaned beets on the steamer rack. Pressure cook at high for 15 minutes for large beets and 10 for small beets. Let the pressure release naturally.
  

Make pickling juice

• Bring  the   water  to a  rolling  boil  and  turn off  the  heat.  Add  the  sugar and  stir to dissolve.    Let  cool, mix  in the  vinegar   and  adjust  salt  and  pepper  to taste.

Put it all together

• Once the beets are cooled, gently rub the skin off.

  Slice the beets into desired shapes.

  Transfer  the beets  to the   containers.   Pour  the  pickling   liquid  over the beets, just  enough to submerge it . Cover  and  refrigerate.

  Let it sit overnight before using.
  
• Use  within 3  weeks.

Notes

• If needed  add more  boiled  water  to  submerge the  beets.
• Adjust  the  sugar  to  your  taste.   These  are  lightly sweet.
• Whole  cloves and  bay leaves are   good  spices  to add to these  beets .  Introduce a  couple  of  cloves  or one  bay leaf  per 8oz  jar.

Important: Nutrition Values are estimates. Actuals vary based on ingredients and serving size.

Tried this recipe?Mention @Oventales or tag #Oventales on Instagram

Left over pickle juice?

The  extra  pickling  juices  are  perfect  for  pickling  onions.   Check out  my pickled  red  onions  recipe  here .  If   you have only white onions  add a  slice of  beet to  the pickle  and  the  onions  will turn a  lovely shade of  red.   The pickle  juices  left  over in the  bottles  can  be  used  to  pickle  onions  as  well.  Just  do not  reuse them  more  than once.  

The  left over  juices  from the  beet  pickles  are  good  for  making  pickled  beets  and  eggs  as  well.   Warm  the  juices  and  add  the  shelled  boiled  eggs  to   it .