Mexican Pickled Red Onions
These quick Mexican pickled red onions are tart, slightly sweet, and infused with whole spices and dried New Mexico chile. They're a colorful, flavorful topping for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, beans, and burgers.
Servings 2 Cups
Calories 224kcal
Ingredients
- ¾ Cup white vinegar or apple cider or red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 allspice berries
- 5 whole cloves
- 1 small dried New Mexico Chile pepper Guajillo works good here
- 1 large red onion peeled, and thinly sliced into rings
Instructions
- Slice the red onions. Peel one large red onion and slice it into thin rings, approximately ⅛ inch thick. You can leave the slices as full rings or cut them into half-moons for smaller pieces that are easier to pile onto tacos and sandwiches. A sharp knife works well, but a mandoline makes it easy to achieve uniformly thin slices.
- Prepare The Dried Chile: The dried chile will flavor the pickling liquid along with the whole spices. Break off the top of the chile pepper pod and empty out the seeds.
- Heat the Pickling Liquid: In a small, non-reactive saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, bay leaf, allspice berries, whole cloves, and dried chile pepper. Heat the mixture until it comes to a boil. Heating the liquid helps dissolve the sugar and allows the dried chile and aromatic spices to begin infusing the vinegar.
- Add the Red Onions: Add the sliced red onions to the saucepan and reduce the heat. Simmer for 30 seconds, stirring to make sure the onions are coated with the seasoned pickling liquid. This is a very brief simmer, not a long cooking process.
- Cool and Let the Flavors Develop Remove the saucepan from the heat. Allow the onions to sit in the pickling liquid and cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. During this time, the onions begin absorbing the sweet, tangy, aromatic flavors of the brine.
- Serve or Refrigerate: Transfer the onions and pickling liquid to a clean, covered container. Serve after the resting period, or refrigerate for later. Keep the onions submerged in their pickling liquid and store them in the refrigerator.
Notes
Whole spices: If you don't want whole spices floating around in your pickled onions, use cheesecloth tied with kitchen twine to secure the cloves, allspice berries, and bay leaf. Don't remove this spice packet during storage. It will continue to add flavor to the onions.
Vinegar substitutions: White vinegar is my preferred choice for this recipe. Apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar can also be used, although each will contribute a slightly different flavor.
Choosing a dried chile: The type of dried chile pepper you choose will influence how spicy the pickled onions are. Guajillo is a relatively mild option. Ancho and pasilla chiles offer different flavor profiles and varying heat levels. A few red pepper flakes can also add extra warmth if desired.
Nutrition
Calories: 224kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 161mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 132IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg
