Dill Pickled Wild Fiddleheads
Pickling fiddleheads is an amazing way to preserve this wild delicacy. They taste almost like pickled green beans or pickle asparagus. You can consume these after 2 weeks of pickling and they will last a year (or more) on the shelf if canned properly. Refrigerate after opening.
Equipment
- 3 mason jars 8 oz
- 1 funnel
- 1 pot large
- 1 mason jar lifter cleaned / sterilized
Ingredients
- 3 cups fiddleheads
- 3 cloves garlic cut in half
- 3 springs fresh dill
- 3 tsp peppercorn
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 3 tsp crushed red pepper optional - if you want spicy
- 3 cups vinegar
- 3 cups water
Instructions
- Wash the fiddleheads well to remove and dirt or debris.
- Bring a pot of salted water to rumbling boil. Add the clean fiddleheads, bring back to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.
- Drain out the hot water and immediately add the boiled fiddleheads to very cold ice water to stop the cooking process and to ensure they stay crisp.
- Add 1 clove of garlic, 1 spring of dill, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp of peppercorns and ½ tsp of kosher salt to each mason jar. If you want spicy fiddleheads, add 1 tsp of crushed red pepper to each jar.
- Pack each jar with fiddleheads up to the thread. This will be 1 cup of fiddleheads per jar.
- Bring 3 cups of water and 3 cups of vinegar to a boil.
- Using a funnel, fill each jar with the hot vinegar and water mixture so that it just covers the fiddleheads.
- Bring a pot of water large enough to hold the three jars to a boil. Carefully add the jars to the boiling water using your jar lifter and boil for 10 minutes.
- Using your jar lifter, carefully remove the jars from the water bath. You should hear them pop as they seal.
- Store the jars for at least 2 weeks before consuming the fiddleheads. Refrigerate after opening. These will keep for a year unopened on the shelf.