On this second Make-Ahead Monday for Advent 2024, we’re turning up the heat and making a few spicy canned goods for gift giving. SSJ’s Spicy Pickled Green Beans are the perfect addition to a charcuterie board, pickle plate, or spicy Caesar cocktail. And our scalable Hot Honey recipe adds sweet heat to pizzas, dips, baked cheeses, and fancy toasts.
Best practice: You might want to wear a pair of gloves, especially when preparing the honey, and do refrain from touching your face while handling peppers of any kind!
Don’t forget to scroll or click down to the bottom of this post to check out our “ON THIS DAY” feature, which lists SSJ’s posts of Advent past!
Spicy Pickled Green Beans
Add these to your charcuterie board, pickle plates, and bloody Caesars!
Servings: 6 Pints Maximum
Equipment
- 6 pint jars, rings, and lids [You may only use 4 or 5]
- Large lidded canning pot with rack and a jar lifter or tongs [Recommendations in Notes, below]
Ingredients
- 900 grams [2 pounds] green beans
- 5 cups apple cider vinegar [white vinegar works in a pinch]
- 5 cups water
- 5 tbs pickling salt
- 6 cloves of peeled garlic
- 6 small sprigs of fresh dill
- 6 tsp dill seed
- 6 tsp red chili flakes
- 3 tsp mustard seeds
- 3 tsp red peppercorns
Instructions
- Clean and sterilize 6 pint jars and begin to heat the water in your boiling water bath.
- Wash the beans and the fresh dill and pat dry, setting the dill aside for later in the canning process.
- As you’ll want to trim your beans to fit into your pint jars with 1/2-inch of headspace, measure of a piece of washi or painter’s tape to size and place it on the edge of your cutting board for easy chopping. Then, trim the beans.
- In a medium to large saucepan, combine the cider vinegar, water, and pickling salt.
- Over medium-high heat, bring this mixture to a boil, stirring just to ensure the salt has dissolved.
- Among the 6 jars, divide the garlic, dill, and dried spices evenly.
- Pack the beans tightly into the jars, ensuring there is about 1/2-inch headspace. If you're really good at the packing, you might only fill 4 or 5 jars, in which case, you'll have a few leftover spices and a lot of leftover brine.
- Carefully pour the hot brine into the jars of beans, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.
- Use the handle of a wooden spoon or chopstick to massage any air bubbles out of the jars.
- Wipe the rims of the jars, press the lids on top, and add the rings, twisting the rings so that they are closed but not extremely tight.
- Place the jars in a boiling water bath, cover, and process for 10 minutes, only beginning your timer when the water in the pot has come back to a rolling boil.
- Remove the jars from the bath and set on a rack to cool.
- When cool, tighten the rings and check the seals of the lids. Allow to sit for at least 3-4 days, preferably 1-2 weeks, before sampling.Improperly sealed jars can be topped up with more brine and processed again with fresh lids or simply placed in the refrigerator and used within 4 weeks.
Notes
I tend to make a bit more brine than is necessary for pickling. Don’t be surprised if your two pounds of green beans only fill 4 or 5 of the 6 jars or if you have leftover brine.
It is not uncommon to find that a bit of pickle brine has siphoned out of the jars and into the canning water bath. If you’re canning more than one recipe on the day, you might want to can your pickles last.
Looking for a good canning pot? I now use the Victoria Stainless Steel 20 qt Multi-Use Canning Pot with Rack. I’m also a fan of the Ball Secure-Grip Jar LIfter.
Hot Honey
Drizzle this hot honey on all the things: pizza, dips, cheeses, toasted sandwiches, you name it!WARNING: WEAR GLOVES WHEN PREPARING! AND DO NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE DURING PREPARATION, POURING INTO JARS, OR CLEAN UP!
Servings: 5 to 6 quarter-pints
Equipment
- Food-handling gloves
- 1 medium stainless saucepan
- 2 large metal mixing spoons
- 1 pot holder
- 1 small spoon for taste testing
- 1 large fine mesh sieve
- 1 large glass bowl [I use an 8 cup glass measuring cup with a handle and pour spout]
- 1 funnel OPTIONAL [I used a wide mouth funnel for mason jars]
- 1 small fine mesh sieve OPTIONAL [mine fits over my funnel]
- 5 ¼-inch mason jars [or the equivalent capacity container of your choice]
- Goggles OPTIONAL
Ingredients
- 1 kg [about 3 cups] honey
- 9 tbs crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tbs cider vinegar
Instructions
- PUT ON YOUR GLOVES and place the honey and pepper flakes in a medium saucepan and stir to combine.
- Heat the honey and spices over medium heat until the mixture just begins to simmer, stirring occasionally at a good distance from the stove. Be aware that the steam may sting because of the spice. Wear goggles or glasses if desired.
- Remove the pot from the stove and allow it to infuse for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Very carefully, use a small spoon to gather a small bit of honey from the pot free of pepper flakes and taste to ensure adequate heat level. If you want it spicier, leave it to infuse for a few more minutes. You probably won't want to go beyond 14-16 minutes total infusion time.
- Place a large fine mesh strainer over a clean mixing bowl or large measuring glass and pour the honey into the container.
- Add the cider vinegar and stir with a large clean spoon to combine.
- Allow the honey mixture to sit and rest for 5-10 minutes while you CAREFULLY clean the strainer, spoons and saucepan, composting or discarding the pepperflakes so that they no longer make skin contact and are out well of reach of children and animals. Immediate cleanup is highly recommended!
- Decant the still-warm and liquid honey into the storage container or gifting vessel of your choice by pouring it through a clean mesh sieve, using a funnel if necessary, and seal the containers right away.
- Once again, clean your kitchen tools and work surface with care, removing all traces of the hot honey.
Notes
Once again, please use caution when handling the spices in this recipe. Wear gloves, use goggles if necessary, and DO clean up carefully, disposing of the pepperflakes in your compost or garbage in a manner which keeps them clear of skin contact, and far from children or your beloved pets.
Scale this recipe up or down by using the following ratio:
1/3 kg [or 1 cup] honey : 3 tbs pepper flakes : 2 tsp cider vinegar ON THIS DAY
2023: Tree Trimming Party for Two
2022: Black & White Street Photography
2021: Family Book Exchange
2020: Family Book Exchange, “The Classics”
2019: Make Block-Printed Tea Towels
2018: Christmas Concert at Roy Thomson Hall
2017: Tour St. Lawrence Market and Plan Christmas Dinner
2016: Make Deep Dish Pizza and Watch a Festive Movie
2015: Make Lichtenstein Inspired Holiday Cards
2014: Tonic Tuesday: Give a Family an Endless Harvest via Plan Canada
2013: Give Fruit Trees! Contribute to Plan Canada!
2012: Read & Illustrate The Winter’s Tale, Acts II-III
2011: Movie, Lego, Mindfulness
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