Makes about 1 quart
Crispy, brightly flavored pickled green beans are a great garnish for a Bloody Mary, and can be used to spear and hold up other garnishes, too. This version is a classic, and if you want to make it fiery just add the crushed red pepper flakes to the brine.
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon pickling salt or 2 tablespoons kosher salt
3 garlic cloves, cut into quarters
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 to 1½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
12 ounces fresh green beans
Combine 1 cup of water with the vinegar, pickling salt, garlic, dill, sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes, if using. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 minute. Allow the brine to cool to room temperature.
Rinse and trim the green beans. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and have a bowl of ice water handy. Add the beans to the boiling water and blanch them for 45 seconds. Drain the beans and plunge them into the ice water to stop the cooking. Once the beans have chilled, pack them into a clean 1-quart glass jar.
Transfer the garlic cloves to the jar with the beans using a slotted spoon and then pour the brine over the beans to fill the jar. Refrigerate the beans for at least 2 days before eating them.
Notes: The beans can be refrigerated for up to 3 months.
Pickling salt, sometimes called canning salt or preserving salt, is pure sodium chloride without any anticaking agents or iodine added. In that sense it’s the equivalent of kosher salt, but kosher salt has big fluffy flakes and pickling salt is ground even finer than table salt. You can certainly use kosher salt, but double the volume to make up for the difference in granulation.
Variation: Substitute very thin spears of fresh asparagus for the green beans.