Smokra. Better picture TK.

Sorry for the lack of updates. Meatloafing is technically a “seasonal lifestyle website.” Basically, that means we don’t write much—at least not when laziness or SAD kicks in.

But we’ve been out and about lately, spending quality time with good friends and spreading the good word of pickling. Our latest project was inspired by Rick’s Pick’s Smokra, a product we’ve never tried but have read good things about. In this economy (ok, in any economy. we’re thrifty.), though, $12.99 for a 15 oz. jar seems rather steep. Meatloafing’s version of Smokra cost a mere $4 and yielded at least twice the amount of the lightly fuzzy* pentagonal fruit. The recipe is a variation of our basic dilly bean recipe; main differences include the lack of dill and the generous heap of pimentón de la vera (smoked paprika). We also only used white vinegar (ACV just didn’t seem right in this case) and added some cumin seeds to complement the smokiness. Read on for the complete list of ingredients:

• 2 one-quart glass jars w/ lids. Make sure these are really clean and free of soap residue.
• Enough okra to fill jars
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 2 1/2 cups white vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 4-6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper (use 2 if you like a lot of heat, but be careful!)
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoons (or more?) pimentón de la vera
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds

Directions

Follow the directions for Dilly Beans, but leave the okra in the fridge for at least 2 weeks instead of 1. This ensures that all the okra slime will dissolve. *Magically, pickling also renders the okra fuzz practically unnoticeable, or at least irrelevant when compared to the newly transformed interior.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 at 9:27 pm and is filed under food, recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.