Pimento Style Canned Red Bell Peppers Recipes

FIRE ROASTED RED BELL PEPPERS (PIMENTO) RECIPE

Steps:

• Prep. There are two ways to prep the pepper: 1) Slice the peppers in half or quarters lengthwise, strip out the seeds, ribs, and stems, and rinse them. There is less waste with this method, but the pepper has a natural curve and won't lay flat. 2) Lop off the stem end and a bit off the other end, cut through on one side top to bottom, and then run your knife along the inside wall to remove the seeds and ribs. With this method you get a long strip of pepper that can lay flat.
• Char. Place the pepper, skin side down, on a hot grill or over a gas stovetop burner, a little less than Warp 10, or place them skin side up on a pan under a broiler. Keep the heat on until the skin blisters and blackens, about 10 minutes, depending on your grill. For thick walled peppers you can flip them over for a few minutes until they are cooked through and limp, but don't burn the meaty side.
• Steam. After charring, a lot of recipes say to seal them in a paper bag so steam can loosen the skin, but those bags are often dirty and who knows what is in the glue, so I just place them in a bowl and cover it with a plate.
• After about 15 minutes, when they cool enough to handle, strip off as much of the skin as possible with your fingers, or lay them skin up and gently scrape off the skin with a knife. Discard the skin. Don't worry if a few bits of skin remain.
• Use or freeze. You can use them immediately or freeze them for months. Just put them in a zipper bag, drizzle in a little olive oil, squeeze out as much of the air as possible, zip it tight, squish them around so they are more or less coated in oil, write the date on the bag, and in the freezer they go.
• Optional. Smoke 'em. Instead of grilling the peppers, put them in your smoker until they are soft and pliable and you can strip off the skins. If they don't come off easily, toss them on the hot grill until they are charred.

PICKLED PEPPER RECIPE FOR HOME CANNING

Steps:

• Begin by preheating your water bath canner.
• Divide chopped peppers between 5 half pint jars and top each jar with a garlic clove.
• Bring Vinegar, Water, Salt and Sugar to a boil in a saucepan.
• Pour the brine over the peppers in each jar, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
• Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. (15 minutes for 1000-6000 ft elevation.)

PICKLED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Combine water, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Add red bell peppers to the boiling water mixture, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until peppers are softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Transfer red bell peppers and liquid to jars, cover with lids, and refrigerate, 8 hours to overnight.

CANNED ROASTED PEPPERS OR PIMENTO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 F.
• Place whole peppers on an ungreased baking sheet and place in moderately hot oven for 8 to 10 min.
• or until skin blisters and browns.
• Remove from oven and place clean tea towel over peppers until completely cooled.
• Halve peppers and remove skins, stem and seeds.I use the tea towel to "scrub" off the skins.
• Flatten peppers and pack in hot clean pint jars.
• Add scant 1/2 tsp.
• canning salt to each jar.
• No additional liquid is neeed.
• Adjust lids and process according to your pressure cooker directions for 10 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.

PIMENTOS (PICKLED PEPPERS)

Steps:

• Clean the peppers (including the jalepenos) of all the seeds and white stuff.
• Cut the bell peppers into strips about 1" wide and 2" long.
• Slice the jalepenos in 1/2" slices across.
• Boil the bell peppers in water for about 5 minutes.
• Mix the oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, and water in a saucepan.
• Bring to a boil, and boil about 5 minutes.
• In the meantime, put drained sweet peppers, chopped garlic, and jalepenos in a sterilized glass jar (or two, depending on size!) Pour the vinegar/sugar mix over.
• Seal.
• Let sit in refrigerator at least two weeks before serving.
• This keeps well 4-6 weeks in fridge.
• Can be frozen though there is some deterioration of texture.

PRESERVED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Roast your peppers. Ideally this is over a smoky wood fire, on a grill. Second choice is a gas grill, third an open burner on a stove. Alternatively, arrange your peppers on a broiling pan and broil them. No matter what your heating method, you will need to turn your peppers from time to time as the skins char and blacken. When the peppers are mostly blackened, remove them to a paper grocery bag and roll up the bag to seal in the steam. You want to steam the peppers in their own juices. Let the bag sit for 20 to 40 minutes.
• After the peppers have cooled enough to handle, take them out one at a time and remove the skins, stems and seeds. Do not run the peppers under water, as this robs them of flavor. Once each pepper is cleaned - get as many seeds out as you can - drop it in a bowl. Do all the peppers before proceeding.
• Once all the peppers are cleaned and in the bowl, get a shallow bowl or small casserole pan and pour in some vinegar. I use red wine, cider or sherry vinegar for red peppers (sherry when I want them to be Spanish, cider for Portuguese, red wine for Italian or Greek) and white wine for green peppers. Dredge each pepper through the vinegar a few times to get it good and coated. Place it in another bowl. Do this for all the peppers.
• Sprinkle the bowl of peppers with kosher salt. Gently mix the peppers together like a salad. Sprinkle a little more salt and repeat. Sprinkle a little salt into the bowl with the pepper juice - the original bowl.
• Gather canning jars and pour a little vinegar into each one; enough to cover the bottom of the jar. Pack in the peppers, leaving 1 to 2 inches of space at the top. Use a butter knife or chopstick to run down the sides of the jars, releasing air bubbles. You will notice the level of liquid drop. Fill it with the salted pepper juice - but still leave room at the top of the jar.
• Once the air is out to the best of your ability and the vinegar-pepper juice it right at the top of the level of the peppers, pour in olive oil on top of everything to a depth of 1/4 inch. Screw the lids on the jars and you're done. No sealing needed. These peppers will last a year in the refrigerator, although they will soften over time.