Recipe by Mike Grosh
Ingredients
2 Small Red Onions
2 cups Vinegar ** See Notes
1/3 cup Cane Sugar
2 tablespoons Pacific Blue Sea Salt
2 teaspoons Peppercorn Melange (optional)
Garlic cloves (optional)
Procedure
Peel and thinly slice red onions (can use a mandoline for this) and place into a container. Add 2 tsp of peppercorns and a whole garlic clove to the onions.
Heat the first four ingredients over medium heat until the salt and sugar dissolve. Let brine cool slightly, then pour over the onion/peppercorn/garlic (onions need to be submerged). Allow to cool to room temp, then transfer to the refrigerator. The thickness of the onion slices determines the minimum pickling time; the thicker the cut, the longer it’ll take.
Notes:
Pickled red onions will be good for 14 days in the fridge. We recommend making a double batch due to the variety of uses and extended shelf life.
**For the 2026 Apron Gala, we used the following vinegars and blending ratio:
4 White Vinegar: 2 Apple Cider Vinegar: 1 Rice Vinegar: 1 Aged Rice Vinegar
Applicable North Market Spices: Peppercorn Melange, Pacific Blue Mini-Flake Sea Salt