IN THE YEARS BEFORE I DISCOVERED THE FLAVOR miracle that is pickled asparagus, I would spend each asparagus season in an eating frenzy, motivated by the hope that I’d be able to satisfy a year’s worth of vegetal desire in just three weeks. While I still eat more than my share while it’s in the farmers’ markets, I’ve channeled some of my maniacal asparagus energy into putting some up for the rest of the year. They make particularly good stirrers for a homemade Bloody Mary.
4 pounds/1.8 kg asparagus
3 cups/720 ml cider vinegar
3 tablespoons pickling salt
3 lemon slices
3 tablespoons Mixed Pickling Spice (page 118), divided
1½ teaspoons red pepper flakes, divided
3 garlic cloves, peeled
Prepare a boiling water bath and 4 regular-mouth 1-pint/500 ml jars according to the process on page 10. Place the lids in a small saucepan, cover them with water, and simmer over very low heat.
Wash the asparagus and trim the ends so that the spears will fit in your jars with ½ inch/12 mm of headspace. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and, working in batches, blanch the trimmed asparagus for 10 seconds. As it comes out of the boiling water, put the asparagus into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. The asparagus should be a bright, verdant green at this point.
Combine the vinegar, pickling salt, and 3 cups/720 ml water in a pot and bring the brine to a boil.
Meanwhile, remove the jars from the hot water. Put a lemon slice in the bottom of each jar. Add 1 tablespoon pickling spice and ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes to each jar. Pack in the trimmed and blanched asparagus (it’s up to you to determine whether you want to go tips up or down). Tuck 1 garlic clove down into each jar.
Slowly pour the hot brine over the asparagus spears in each jar, leaving ½ inch/12 mm headspace. Gently tap the jars on a towel-lined countertop to help loosen any bubbles before using a wooden chopstick to dislodge any remaining bubbles. Check the headspace again and add more brine if necessary.
Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (see page 11).
Wait at least 24 hours before eating, to give the asparagus spears a chance to get absorb the brine. They will continue to get increasingly delicious over time.
Note: The only tricky thing about pickling asparagus is finding the best jars for the job. I like the taller, 12-ounce/360 ml jelly jars that Ball makes, as they allow you to include a bit more stalk length. Last year, I also invested in a six-pack of the tall cylindrical jars that Weck designed particularly for this task. They are fabulous and I highly recommend them.
