One of my favorite slow cooker dishes is Salisbury Steak. The onion soup mix I use just adds the perfect flavor to the ground beef patties and creates a delicious gravy. I have seen multiple “DIY Onion Soup Mix” recipes online, but I wanted to do something just a bit different.
Over the summer, I have been loving red onions on just about everything. After looking through my Ball canning cookbook I decided to can up some pickled ones. Unfortunately, I was completely out of red wine vinegar and didn’t really feel like making a grocery run at 9:30 pm.
I did, however, have a whole bottle of balsamic vinegar just sitting around doing nothing.
Thinking about those savory recipes with onion soup mix, I knew this would work out just fine. I hoped, anyway!
I followed the Ball Onions in Vinegar recipe (page 316) closely, switching out the vinegar,
and added water and a few seasonings to my brine.
My friends, this exceeded all my expectations! It is a delicious, savory condiment that is the perfect topping on hamburgers or with beef tips in the slow cooker!
Home canning is a science, and recipes should be approved by a reputable source like The U.S. Department of Agriculture found here, or Ball found here.
Because I didn't follow the approved recipe exactly, I intend to use these onions within a matter of weeks in various slow cooker recipes.
Yield: About seven 8oz jars or four-pint jars
Ingredients
10 pounds red onions, thinly sliced
4 cups balsamic vinegar
4 cups water
4 cloves garlic, whole
10 black peppercorns
1 tablespoon salt (I used Pink Himalayan)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon ground Allspice
2 Bay Leaves
Ball Pickle Crisp seasoning, if desired
Directions
Prepare canner, jars, and lids.
In a large stainless-steel pot, combine all ingredients and bring to a rolling boil for approximately 8-10 minutes. Stir consistently.
Reduce heat and add in the onion rings. Cover and boil gently for approximately 10 minutes.
Discard garlic and Bay Leaves. Pack hot onion rings into hot jars to within a generous ½ on top of jar. Ladle hot pickling liquid into jar to cover onions, leaving ½ inch headspace. Add 1/16 teaspoon Pickle Crisp to each half-pint jar.
Remove air bubbles and adjust the headspace, if necessary, by adding additional hot pickling liquid. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to finger-tip tight.
Place jars in your canner, ensuring they're completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and
process for 10 minutes. Remove the canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool, and store.
You can purchase the Ball cookbook I have here.
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