Pickled Peppers

I grew up in Philadelphia, so I was weaned on cheesesteaks and hoagies. When you eat cheesesteaks and hoagies, you add peppers; pickled peppers. Sometimes sweet, usually hot. Not crushed red pepper flakes like you put on pizza, although they once adorned a hero I ordered on Long Island when I asked for hot peppers. Usually pickled cherry peppers or banana peppers.

Some steak and hoagie shops have only one type of pepper. Lee’s Hoagie House, for example uses a chopped hot pepper spread; chunkier than a paste, but finer than sliced.  My friends and I used to drive to the original Lee’s on Cheltenham Avenue from time to time for lunch or after school for a late day snack. Growing up, it was my go to hoagie shop, if I could get there. We once took my friend Jay there – an out of towner, from Brooklyn – and when he ordered he asked for mustard on his hoagie. The guys behind the counter literally laughed at him and simply said “no.” A little dejected at first, he got pickled peppers and was as happy as could be. While there is more than one way to eat a hoagie, mustard just doesn’t belong.

Other steak and hoagie shops serve many types of peppers. One of the joys of going to Dalessandro’s Steaks and Hoagies in the Roxborough neighborhood, for example, is the wide variety of peppers sitting on the counter. Almost a different pepper for each bite of your cheesesteak. There are whole and sliced cherries, chopped hot pepper spread, sweet peppers, banana, and these long, green, roasted, hot peppers in oil that are slightly bitter and just out of this world. Great cheesesteaks, although the pickled peppers steal the show. (That and a Frank’s Black Cherry Wishniak soda.)

A couple of years ago I had way too many Hungarian hot wax peppers in my garden. Kibbeh stuffed peppers and feta stuffed peppers use only a handful, leaving a lot left over. I remembered the cheesesteak and hoagie days of my youth and figured I might as well try pickling them. I’ve refined my recipe over the last few years and make a batch towards the end of every summer. They are great on an Italian-influenced salad or as part of an antipasto platter; on pizza or topping a chicken cutlet sandwich with garlic kale, and provolone; and of course they are right at home on a cheesesteak or hoagie.

Pickled Peppers

I use moderately spicy Hungarian hot wax peppers for this recipe, which are very similar to and often confused with banana peppers. But sweeter banana peppers would work just as well, as would cherry peppers, jalapeños, or almost any other variety.

These peppers are not properly preserved to be shelf stable. Rather they are refrigerator pickles that must stay chilled in order to maintain freshness. Of course they are brined in salt and vinegar and will last under proper conditions for at least a month. If you preserve fruits, vegetables, and pickles, I am sure you could easily adapt this recipe using proper canning procedures to make them last in the pantry the whole year.

makes 7-8 oz. jars, about a half hour

7-8 oz. mason jars, with lids

1½ – 2 lbs. fresh Hungarian hot wax peppers (about 25 peppers), sliced into rings

7 cloves garlic, peeled and slivered

1 tsp. dried oregano

3 cups white vinegar

3 cups water

3 Tbsp. kosher salt

½ Tbsp. sugar

1. Wash the pickling jars and lids well. I boil them for 5 minutes. Since these are not properly preserved shelf-stable pickles, dishwasher clean is probably good enough, and I reuse lids.
2. Wash the peppers in cold water and slice them into diagonal rings, roughly ¼ to ½-inch wide. For less spicy pickled peppers remove the seeds and internal membranes, which contain most of the heat.
3. Peel and slice the garlic into slivers, maybe three to five per clove, depending on size.
4. Divide the sliced peppers and garlic between the jars and sprinkle the oregano evenly in each jar.
5. Add the vinegar, water, salt and sugar to a 3-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Shut off and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
6. After 5 minutes. Pour the brine into the jars using a funnel, completely submerging the peppers and garlic.
7. Allow to cool to room temperature, then seal with the lids, wipe or wash jars clean and dry, and place in the refrigerator.
8. Pickled peppers can be eaten at any time, but are best after at least a week. They last refrigerated for at least a month.

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