Green tomatoes and pickles probably aren’t two things that are often thought of together. Green tomatoes = fried. Pretty much. I mean, what else do you do with them (of course, green tomatoes not to be confused with tomatillos which make for some excellent salsa verde, green tomatoes are literally unripe tomatoes). And pickles, well, you can honestly pickle just about anything, including green tomatoes.

So there you have it, pickled green tomatoes.

Finding ways to use green tomatoes definitely developed out of necessity. Once the weather starts to cool, you may still have a few green tomatoes left in your garden. My advice? Pick them before the first frost because otherwise they are totally useless. And then turn them into some fabulous pickles.

With bourbon, mind you. Why? Why not.

Granted, the pickles do lose some of their vibrant green color after a few days in the brine, but the benefit to refrigerator pickles is they retain all their crispness. No soggy pickles, here.

What I want to try next is fried pickled green tomatoes. Because pickled green tomatoes are awesome, and fried green tomatoes are awesome, so pickled AND fried must be mind blowing.

I had other plans for these pickles, however, along with Monday’s Peach Mustard. No peeking. You’ll just have to wait until Friday to see.

Yield: 3 pint jars

Pickled Green Tomatoes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 3 days

5

5 stars (from 1 reviews)

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Ingredients:

• 2 pounds green tomatoes (about 6 medium)
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 sprig fresh dill
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons bourbon

Directions:

1. Slice tomatoes, either into 1/4-inch thick slices, or halved and cut into 8-10 wedges. Divide tomatoes among 3 pint jars, packing the tomatoes tightly in each jar. Place a few slices of garlic and a few fronds of dill in each jar.
2. In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, water, salt, sugar, peppercorns, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and add bourbon.
3. Pour brine over pickles, filling jars to within 1/4 inch of the top. Make sure all of the tomatoes are fully submerged. If they start to ‘float’, wedge a few more tomato pieces in there to keep them firmly packed.
4. Screw on jar lids and refrigerate for at least 3 days to allow pickles to fully pickle, and after that pickles will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

All images and text ©Lindsay Landis / Love & Olive Oil

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