Dilled Green Tomatoes
The first frost of the year for our area occurred late Saturday night and early Sunday morning of November 6 and 7th the past weekend. In preparation for the impeding end of the summer crop I spent about an hour picking all the tomatoes from our eight plants and yielded about eight to ten pounds of ripe, semi-ripe, and green tomatoes. At least half of the tomatoes were still green so I found a great way to pickle them in this modified recipe for pickling green tomatoes, the original recipe was found on page 56 of the Ball Blue Book guide to preserving, the 100th Anniversary Edition 2009. I’ve added some heat with the red chili flakes, and look forward to tasting these delectable delights in the next few weeks. I am thinking of opening the first jar for Thanksgiving Day dinner, it’s just over two weeks away, so a couple days before the suggested six week pickling period. I like to experiment anyway, so this will be a treat in any case.
For the seven pints yield you will need five pounds of small, firm green tomatoes, in these I am using my green Roma Tomatoes, which are quartered in most cases, but a few were cut into sixths. There were several of the tomatoes that were on the verge of turning slightly red, but for the most part they were still at least 75% green, so I threw them in also.
The basics of canning tomatoes are fairly simple, but the details of canning need to be followed closely as to prevent your batch of delectable garden preservation going to waste or rotting. Following these simple steps will guide you to a perfect batch of preserved tomatoes every time. Kitchen Gardeners, a global community cultivating change has great online step-by-step guidelines for canning tomatoes. If this is your first canning project, or for a refresher, I suggest that you read this before attempting any canning project. These guidelines follow closing along with those prescribed in the Ball Blue Book guide to preserving, the 100th Anniversary Edition 2009.
My mom tells me that pickled green tomatoes are really good along with a mess of fried catfish, and I cannot wait to try them out with my next batch of southern greatness.
| Ingredients | ||
| 5 | Pounds | Green tomatoes, small and firm |
| ¼ | Cup | Canning salt or kosher salt |
| 3 | Cups | Vinegar |
| 3 | Cups | Water |
| 7 | Cloves | Garlic |
| 7 | Each | Bay leaves |
| 7 | Sprigs | Fresh dill weed, or 1 Tbsp dill seeds, or 1 Tbsp dill weed dried |
| 1 | Tbsp | Dried chili pepper flakes |
| Procedure Steps: | |
| 1. | Wash the tomatoes then drain and allow to them to air dry. Core the tomatoes then cut them into halves or quarters. |
| 2. | In a large sauce pot combine the salt, vinegar and water and bring to a boil. This is the brining solution. |
| 3. | Pack the tomatoes into hot prepared jars, leaving a ¼” headspace. Add 1 clove garlic, 1 sprig of dill (or ½ teaspoon dill seeds or ½ teaspoon dill weed) and 1 bay leaf into each jar. Ladle the hot brining solution into each jar leaving a ¼” headspace. |
| 4. | Remove any air bubbles, then seal with the lid and screw band, adjusting to just tight. |
| 5. | Once all jars are sealed and in the hot water bath, process in the boiling water canner for 15 minutes. The 15 minutes starts once the water is boiling. |
| 6. | Once the time is up, turn off the heat, remove the lid from the canner and allow the jars to sit another 5 minutes. Then remove the jars and allow them to cool on a cloth towel for 12 to 24 hours. Test the seal then tighten the lids and label then store in a cool dark location. Any jars that are not sealed properly will need to be processed in the 15 minute boiling water process again. |
To Serve: Allow canned tomatoes to sit for six weeks before serving, this gives them time to develop flavor and pickle.
Yield: 7 pints
More dilled green mater snaps….
Dilled Green Tomatoes on rail
Dilled Green Tomatoes on rail
Dilled Green Tomatoes on rail close up
Bon appetite!
CCR
=:~)
©2010 CCR
19 responses so far ↓
1 Torviewtoronto // Nov 10, 2010 at 2:50 pm
mouthwatering pickle
2 Kristen // Nov 10, 2010 at 4:33 pm
What a great way to save the last of summer’s bounty.
3 Island Vittles // Nov 10, 2010 at 4:39 pm
I’m adding this to my list of Green Tomato recipes…I love to grow them, but the lack of sun on our porch means most are left unripened…Theresa
4 pegasuslegend // Nov 10, 2010 at 6:42 pm
you never cease to amaze me with your talents!
5 redkathy // Nov 10, 2010 at 6:56 pm
Nice tomato save. Wish I had the time to garden and pickle, I so enjoy both *sigh* maybe someday.
6 Drick // Nov 10, 2010 at 6:56 pm
great pickling Ryan, like that you added the heat, let me know when these will be ready and I’ll stop by for a jar….
7 Gera@SweetsFoodsBlog // Nov 11, 2010 at 12:08 am
Building up an appetite for those tomatoes.. the summer canned 🙂
Cheers,
Gera
8 penny aka jeroxie // Nov 11, 2010 at 3:13 am
sit for 6 weeks! no wonder so much flavour.
9 Faith // Nov 11, 2010 at 10:26 am
Thanks for the tips. I sure will use this to save my favorite tomatos and turn them into pickles.
10 Emily @Cleanliness // Nov 11, 2010 at 11:04 am
Ooo. Very nice! I must learn to can! I’m way behind!
11 Organic Dill Weed // Nov 11, 2010 at 12:32 pm
[…] Dilled Green Tomatoes ~ Cajun Chef Ryan Add 1 clove garlic, 1 sprig of dill (or ½ teaspoon dill seeds or ½ teaspoon dill weed) and 1 bay leave into each jar. Ladle the hot brining solution into each jar leaving a ¼” headspace. 4. Remove any air bubbles, then seal with the lid . […]
12 Barbara @ Modern Comfort Food // Nov 11, 2010 at 8:39 pm
Your vegetable gardening season is different from my own here in mid-FL — my prime time is fall, winter, and spring, and my tomatoes are just starting to ripen now — but we clearly love the same things. This recipe looks sensational, and I’ll definitely keep it in mind in case we get a cold Jan and Feb. like we did last year.
13 Conor @ Hold the Beef // Nov 14, 2010 at 12:07 am
What a treat to have hidden away in the pantry 🙂
14 Savory Tv // Nov 15, 2010 at 7:28 am
Canning has always been so intimidating to me, I know that once I try it, if I have any success at all I will be hooked! The tomatoes look gorgeous!
15 Marly // Nov 15, 2010 at 6:10 pm
Wow – what a great recipe. I just tried canning applesauce this summer and I thought that was an accomplishment. Your maters take the cake!
16 DianasaurDishes // Nov 15, 2010 at 6:54 pm
Great idea! I had so many green tomatoes this year from lousy growing weather. Will have to try this next time.
17 Lori Lynn // Nov 15, 2010 at 7:01 pm
We always had a jar of these in the fridge when I was growing up…I look forward to making this!
LL
18 Anna Johnston // Nov 17, 2010 at 2:04 am
Chef, I love pickles so I’m pretty keen to try out your awesome recipe.
19 Kian // Dec 3, 2010 at 1:02 am
I am jealous of your garden tomatoes. Living in an apartment in NYC does not permit us to even consider planting tomatoes. Thank god for green markets near us. As least we can enjoy delicious tomatoes in the summer.