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My Mama’s World Famous Spicy Pickled Asparagus

My mom and step-dad where recently down on the farm visiting for days and while doing so, my mom and I managed to get in the kitchen and make a bunch of jars.

My mom and step-dad where recently down on the farm visiting for a few days and while doing so, my mom and I managed to get in the kitchen and make a bunch of jars of her world famous spicy pickled asparagus. If you loved pickled anything then you need to try these!

I have fond memories of opening the refrigerator, grabbing a jar of the green goodness and biting into the spicy spear. Delicious!

Today, because I think everyone should have a jar of pickled asparagus in their refrigerator or pantry, I’m going to share her recipe with you!

Glass jars with pickled asparagus

Here is what you’ll need:

  • 12 one-quart glass jars with lids
  • Fresh (organic if possible) asparagus (it depends on how many jars you want to determine how many pounds you need)
  • Salt (we used table salt)
  • Distilled water
  • Spices (we used the following: mustard seed, chili flakes, pickling spice) You can really use whatever you like.
  • Fresh dill
  • 4 garlic bulbs
  • Dried red chiles

You will begin by making the brine. Using the ingredients below, in a big stew/soup pot, bring to a boil on the stove.

  • 2 Qts white vinegar
  • 2 Qts water
  • 10 Tbs salt or 1/2 a cup

You will also need to sanitize the jars and lids by boiling them.

Three pots with glass jars and water

While you are getting your brine heated on the stove you can begin getting your asparagus cut to the right size. It’s really quite simple. Measure the asparagus against the jar you will be stuffing it with and then cut to the appropriate size.

Asparagus bundles
Garlic, red peppers and dill on a bamboo cutting board
Asparagus and two glass jars

You may have to cut it a couple times but it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Cutting asparagus over a white plastic cutting board

Since we used two different sized jars, we had to cut two different size groups of asparagus.

Many glass jars without lids

Once the asparagus is cut you will need to blanch them. This will cook them slightly and retain the bright green color. Get all your spices together in separate bowls to make it a more efficient process.

Bowls with ingredients

Then, if you are using two sizes of jars, take whichever one you want to start with and get them lined up to fill with the spices, dill, garlic and chiles. Start to fill them each with about a 1/4 of a teaspoon of  each of the spices, 2-3 garlic cloves, 3 red chiles, and a couple sprigs of dill.

Glass jar with ingredients view from top

After you have done that, you will stuff the jars with the asparagus making sure they are pretty full. Once all the jars are full, take them over to the boiling brine and fill each to the top with the brine mixture.

Glass jar fill with asparagus along with many empty glass jars
Canning pot filled with brine

When all the jars are filled with the brine, you will need to get your canning pot filled with water and get that boiling.  You may want to do that before you fill the jars with brine because it can take awhile to bring water to a boil.

Place as many jars of the same size as you can in the canning pot. You want to make sure the lids on the jars aren’t all the way tight. They will seal when they are in the boiling water. Cover the pot with it’s lid and let boil for 10 minutes. Once done, using oven mitts, use the metal wire rack in the pot to lift the jars out and set them on a towel to cool.

Continue this until all jars are sealed and then let them sit out until they have cooled completely.

These guys will be ready to eat the next day but for more flavor and more of a kick, wait a while to open them!