Home-Made Cocktail Onions

[The Hersch]

Having just bought a bunch of pearl onions the perfect size and shape for cocktail onions, I thought I'd try to transform them into suitable garnishes for Gibson cocktails. But I'm having trouble finding a recipe. Should I just blanch them, peel them, and soak them in a vinegar-water-salt brine for a few days? Should I cook them briefly in the pickling brine? Or perhaps should I steep them in salt for an hour or two, then rinse them and add them to a hot vinegar-water solution? I'm pretty sure I don't want any sugar in the pickle, since the commercial ones I like don't have any. Any advice?

[Gifted Gourmet]

Am I correct in assuming that you are aware of this recipe for the cocktail onions?

[The Hersch]

Am I correct in assuming that you are aware of this recipe for the cocktail onions?

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You would not be correct in assuming I was aware of that. But I think that puts me on the right track. I think the basic procedure is what I want, although I'd leave out some of the ingredients, like the sugar, allspice, rosemary, and vermouth. I like the idea of using juniper berries and mustard seeds. I'm iffy on the peppercorns. Maybe I'll experiment with this in the next couple of days and report back. Thanks!

[Gifted Gourmet]

The pleasure is all mine, to be sure, The Hersch! Say, when exactly is Happy Hour at your house?

[Domestic Goddess]

Pickled onions are a specialty in my province in the Philippines. Here's a simple recipe for it.

• 1 cup (250 mL) rice or cider vinegar

• 3/4 cup (175 mL) granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/4 cup (60 mL) fish sauce (or 1 tbsp/15 mL salt)

• 1 tsp (5 mL) crushed peppercorns

Peel onions, wash and dry them. Put them in sterilized jars.

In saucepan, bring rice vinegar, granulated sugar, water, fish sauce and pepper to boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour the misture over the onions and seal the jars. Onions will be ready in about 2 weeks or 1 month.

[KatieLoeb]

Please report back with photos! I'd be excited to see a better alternative to those nasty little picked mothballs in the dusty jar behind every bar.

[The Hersch]

Please report back with photos!  I'd be excited to see a better alternative to those nasty little picked mothballs in the dusty jar behind every bar.

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Some day I shall acquire a nice digital camera so that I can take pictures of onions and post them on eGullet, or perhaps on a blog devoted to cocktail garnishes, but that day is some way off, I'm afraid.

If you're interested in ready-made cocktail onions that are really very good, I suggest trying Mezzetta Cocktail Onions. They're the best I've ever found, and they even carry them at a local Safeway. Despite the "small, tender" language on the website, they're fairly large for cocktail onions, and what I love about them is that they're crisp without being tough. They're imported all the way from Canada. Some of the cooking suggestions on the website are...well, let's just say I'm not going to try them.

[The Hersch]

Okay, I've made the cocktail onions and I'm very happy . I used the first recipe on the page that Gifted Gourmet linked to, above, although I left out most of the ingredients. I used the general procedure, though. The recipe calls for putting the onions in a bowl and pouring boiling water over them; I boiled water in a large saucepan and dumped the onions in, then drained them in a colander. The recipe calls for cutting off the "root end"; I think the author really meant to say the stem end, which is what I cut off when peeling the onions. This is the only part of the whole process that's any work to speak of. Then I prepared the pickling brine. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup sherry vinegar or white vinegar plus 1/2 cup of cider vinegar. I think it would make more sense to call for 1/2 cup sherry or cider vinegar, plus a 1/2 cup of white. Regardless, I intended to use all distilled white vinegar, because of its straightforward, clean character (it's what I always use in bread-and-butter pickles). However, when I went to the cupboard it was nearly bare of distilled vinegar, and what little I had I needed to reserve for dog-related purposes. I decided to use all white-wine vinegar. The recipe calls for a total of 1 cup of vinegar and 1/2 cup of water. I used a bit less water. The recipe calls for a 1/2 cup of salt, which seemed like way too much; I used about 1/4 cup, and at first thought that was still too salty. It turned out to be perfect. I emphatically left out the sugar. In fact, I left out all the other ingredients except the juniper berries and the mustard seed (I used brown). I brought the pickling brine to a boil, added the onions, brought it back to the boil, and turned off the heat. When the whole thing had cooled off a bit, I poured it all into a jar and put it in the fridge.

A little while later, I tasted one, and I was really disappointed. It just seemed really tired and limp, not acid enough and a little too salty. That was last night. This evening I came home from the office and made myself a Gibson, skewering one of my home-made cocktail onions on one of these beautiful silver cocktail picks I bought the other week on the Web. After a few gulps of the cocktail, I popped the onion in my mouth. Nirvana! Its 20 hours or so in the fridge made all the difference. It was pleasantly crisp without being tough, nicely acidic, not too salty, just perfect! The only thing I'd do differently next time is boil the pickling brine for a few minutes before adding the onions, in order to bring out more of the flavor of the juniper and mustard, which is sort of missing in action here. But the onions are still terrific.

Sorry I can show no pictures.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Nirvana! Its 20 hours or so in the fridge made all the difference. It was pleasantly crisp without being tough, nicely acidic, not too salty, just perfect! ... But the onions are still terrific.

Sorry I can show no pictures.

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Your detailed description of this entire process, along with your insights and keen observation, have painted us the most stunning "word picture" we could ever wish for! Many thanks!

[The Hersch]

Pickled onions are a specialty in my province in the Philippines.  Here's a simple recipe for it.

• 1 cup (250 mL) rice or cider vinegar 

• 3/4 cup (175 mL) granulated sugar 

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/4 cup (60 mL) fish sauce (or 1 tbsp/15 mL salt) 

• 1 tsp (5 mL) crushed peppercorns

Peel onions, wash and dry them. Put them in sterilized jars.

In saucepan, bring rice vinegar, granulated sugar, water, fish sauce and pepper to boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour the misture over the onions and seal the jars.  Onions will be ready in about 2 weeks or 1 month.

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I meant to respond to this earlier. These pickled onions sound very good, but not what I would want in a cocktail. I think fish sauce would sort of obliterate the gin, although I love fish sauce in general. How are these used in the cuisine of your province? As a condiment or relish with a meal? As snacks? I'm assuming not in cocktails. You don't specify the type of onion--little pearl onions like the ones used for cocktail onions in the US, or larger?