Zesty Citrus Pickled Red Onions

Why This Zesty Citrus Pickled Red Onions Works

As the vinegar, citrus juices, sugar, and salt warm up on the stove, they blend into one strong, hot liquid. The sugar and salt fully dissolve, so there are no gritty bits, and the hot liquid is able to move easily into the onion slices. While it simmers, the peppercorns, coriander seeds, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes sit in the hot liquid and slowly spread their taste through it.

Once the hot brine is poured over the raw red onions, the heat starts to soften them right away. The onions lose that sharp bite and their bright purple color deepens and spreads into the liquid. Over time in the fridge, the salty-sweet, sour liquid keeps soaking into the onion slices. The onions stay a little crisp, but they bend instead of snapping. After an hour or so, the harsh raw taste has calmed down, and the onions taste tangy and a little sweet all the way through, not just on the outside.

Mistakes To Avoid

Pouring the brine on onions that are sliced too thick leaves the centers firm and sharp while only the outer rings soften and pickle. The jar ends up with some pieces that bend easily and others that stay crunchy and harsh, so every bite is uneven.

Letting the brine boil hard for a long time drives off some of the liquid and concentrates the salt and sugar too much. The onions then soak up a very strong, harsh brine and can turn limp and overly sharp instead of bright and crisp.

Using cold or barely warm brine over the onions means the slices don’t soften or absorb the liquid very well at first. The onions can sit in the fridge with a raw bite and dull color, even after an hour of resting.

Not fully submerging the onions leaves the top layer exposed to air, so those pieces don’t pickle evenly. The upper slices can dry out a bit, stay pale, and keep a stronger raw onion bite compared to the ones under the liquid.