Our first experience with these lovely, surprisingly spicy treats was at The Franklin Bar (formerly The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Company) in Center City Philadelphia. It’s one of the wonderfully plentiful speakeasy-style taverns in the city. It has the added, Prohibition-era charm of literally being underground, plus some of the most interesting, cleverly named cocktails around. How could we resist? We stopped in one night during Restaurant Week a couple of summers ago for a little pre-gaming before dinner, and after a few rounds (or six, we lost count—as one does) from their spectacular drinks menu, we started to get a little peckish. Still having a while before our dinner reservation, we took a look at their small snack list and the spicy pickled green beans jumped out at us. After they arrived (standing on end in a little shot glass like a small bouquet, by the way—adorbs), we instantly wished we had ordered more. Of course, they immediately went on the list of things to recreate at home, because that’s what we do. Have we mentioned that were food nerds?
Fortunately, they are blissfully easy to make, and are highly adaptable to accommodate your tolerance for spicy heat. As our tolerance is pretty high, we’ve dialed back the hotter elements of the recipe a smidgen to accommodate a wider audience. (If you’re “hotheads” like us, scroll down to the next section for some suggestions for turning the heat back up in the recipe.) The brine comes together in just a few minutes, during which you can give the fresh beans a quick trim to remove the ends and cut them to a uniform length to fit your jars. If you prefer softer pickles, you can use that time to blanch the green beans as well. They’re great either way.
The only truly difficult part of this process is waiting for them to cool to room temperature (been there) so they can be jarred, sealed and refrigerated. Or you can just start eating them (been there, too), because they’ll basically be ready by the time they’ve cooled. If you’re tolerance for spice is a little lower, feel free to cut the jalapeño count to just one. You’ll still get a little note of heat, but you won’t be breathing fire any time soon. If your tastes veer more toward the “Mother of Dragons” end of the spectrum, ditch the jalapeños altogether and upgrade to serrano chiles. You can also add a pinch of cayenne and a teaspoon of whole peppercorns to the mix.
Just be warned: These will get hotter the longer they sit in the brine (if they even last for more than a few days), so the serrano/cayenne version is not for the faint of heart, but if you like spicy, they’ll burn your face off in the best way and have you sweating like you’re in a Finnish sauna. You’re welcome, and use a fork, because you don’t want this brine on your fingers or near your eyes. And yes, it’s that deliciously hot. Once you’ve nailed the technique, this is also a great method for pickling carrot sticks, asparagus tips, traditional kirby cucumber spears, or any combination thereof.
Whether you choose to enjoy them as highly addictive snacks, or as garnishes, you’ll want them around all the time. You can have them as is, or fancy them up a bit by wrapping bundles of two or three beans in thin slice of lunch meat, prosciutto, or smoked salmon. Also, they make fantastic hors d’oeuvres and are bound to go over big at your next gathering. You might want to keep a fire extinguisher handy, though. Just in case. *whistles innocently*
P.S. These are also fantastic in Bloody Marys. Just a little FYI.
- 1 cup vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 pound green beans, trimmed
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 jalapeno peppers, sliced
- In a saucepan, combine vinegar, water and sea salt. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer.
- Combine the beans, garlic and jalapenos in a large bowl. Pour hot vinegar mixture over and let cool to room temperature.
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