Quick Pickled Refrigerator Okra Recipe / Video

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This quick pickled refrigerator okra recipe pickles whole okra with mild red peppers, garlic, dill, mustard seed and vinegar in a quart size jar. Pickled okra jars are than placed in the refrigerator. No canning required.

Mason quart jar filled with whole okra, garlic cloves, and brine. — *The warm/hot brine turns the okra a brownish color as it pickles it. The hotter the brine, the darker the okra and the faster the pickling works.*

Refrigerator Pickled Okra

This is a quick pickled okra recipe. The jars of okra have to be refrigerated once they are filled. The pickled okra is not shelf stable or properly canned.

Leaving okra whole while cooking or pickling keeps it fresher and not slimy, which turns so many folks off texturally.

Wait a couple days to try okra after pickling. Okra needs time to marinate in the brine.

Eat within ~3-4 weeks after refrigerating and wait around 1 week before eating it. Go ahead and try it a couple days in. It will still be good, but it may not have had time to pickle and soak up the flavors.

Eat pickled okra as a snack or throw in your favorite Bloody Mary.

How to Pick Okra For Quick Pickling

Pick small okra (~ 3") that are plump and aren't shriveled. Look for smooth, bright green okra (although there are varieties of okra that range from purple to red) that are firm yet tender, and don't have a lot of blemishes.

Older okra or okra with dryer stem ends can be fibrous and stringy. Choose younger smaller okra for pickling to avoid toughness.

Older okra are good sliced for stews and recipes that cook for a longer time like gumbo.

How To Store Okra In The Refrigerator

Okra is uber perishable. It doesn't keep long.

Store okra in a refrigerator with some loose paper towels around it in a perforated bag or an open shallow container.

Try to use immediately, it gets slimy fast in storage.

Ingredients on a wood cutting board: whole okra in brown bowl, dried red chile, garlic clove, olive oil container, salt, and small blue spice container with mustard seeds, dill seeds, and dried dill.

How To Quick Pickle Okra For The Refrigerator

Add seasoning and herbs to to a clean quart size jar.
Trim okra stems to ¼". Add cleaned whole okra to clean quart size jar vertically, alternating stem ends up and down.
Bring a small pot with vinegar, water, and salt to a rolling boil and stir. Remove from heat and let cool ~ 5 minutes.
Pour mixture into jar(s) (careful it’s hot!), leaving ~ ¼″ air at top. Add more vinegar if there is space for more liquid in the jar before closing.
Let sit at room temperature ~ 1 hour to cool down, put on the lid, and then place in refrigerator.

Vinegar for Quick Pickled Okra

Any vinegar works for refrigerator pickled okra.

Some of the more common vinegars for pickling okra are apple cider, white distilled vinegar (also known as pickling vinegar), malt vinegar, red wine vinegar, etc...

White vinegar is used the most because it's clear and colorless.

The most important thing is that the vinegar has 5% acidity and that is usually what vinegars contain anyway.

Vinegar acidity level is listed in the ingredient section on the bottle.

Mason quart jar filled with whole okra, garlic cloves, and spices. — *Stack the okra in jar tight trying to maximize all the spice. Usually alternating the stem end up and down helps with packing in as much okra as possible.*

Ratio of Vinegar to Water For Quick Pickling Okra

Half and half is standard for safety and taste so 1 part water to 1 part vinegar with at least 5% acidity. Acidity percentage is under the ingredient list on the bottle.

For example 1 cup water to 1 cup vinegar. Having said that, if you like acidic vinegary quick pickled okra then go a little higher.

The ratio can be lowered to use less vinegar based on what tastes good to you, especially if quick pickling and refrigerating right away.

Please note, that if you lower the vinegar then the quick pickled okra may not stay good in the refrigerator for the full 3-4 weeks.

Quick Pickled Okra FAQS

Why do you boil the brine for pickled okra?

Boiling pickling brine helps the flavors meld together as well as dissolving the salt.

Why do you cool the brine before pouring over the pickling vegetables for quick refrigerator pickling?

If the brine is hot it will cook the okra / vegetables a little bit and make them less crispy and less vibrant in color. Conversely, it will also pickle faster and you will be able to eat the pickled veggies faster.

It's basically a texture and color preference. You can throw the brine over the okra hot, let it cool a bit to medium, or let it cool all the way.

There is still room in my jar for more liquid after adding the brine mixture. What do I do?

If there is still room in the jar and it needs more liquid, make up the ratio with vinegar (preferably) or water or add some more okra if you have more.

How long do you boil the okra quick pickling brine?

Boil the brine for just a couple minutes. Vinegar boils or cooks off faster than water, so don't cook the brine for more than 5 minutes.

Having said that, also don't worry about this too much for a quick refrigerator pickle. This is not true canning so we don't need to worry as much.

Why is my okra floating?

If the okra is floating then it wasn't packed tight enough before adding the liquid. Also, okra is filled with a lot of air and absorbs the pickling liquid and the okra shrinks a little.

If you have a couple more okra throw them in after the liquid and try to pack it down more. The brine should cover the okra, but it's also not a huge deal in the quick pickling refrigerator method.

Do I eat the okra stems?

You can. It depends on the tenderness. Try it out and see if you like it. I'll sometimes eat the smaller ones and sometimes not.

Why does the okra turn brown once pickled?

It's the hot brine hitting the okra and cooking it basically. It's normal. Don't sweat it.

Mason quart jar filled with whole okra and sliced red peppers. — *Letting the brine cool more keeps the okra a more vibrant color. However, colder brine takes longer for the pickling to happen.*

Refrigerator Quick Pickled Okra

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EatSimpleFood.com

Author: beckie
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 1 Quart Jar
Category: Condiment
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American
Diet: Dairy-Free, Gluten Free, Keto, Low Fat, Low-Carb, Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian, Whole30

Ingredients

¾ lb okra
2 fresno red chili peppers, sliced - use red peppers if you can't find them or skip
2 small garlic cloves, peeled
4 dill sprigs or 1 ½ teaspoon dried dill
1 ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (for heat)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
2 tablespoon salt
1 quart size jar - equipment

Instructions

Add garlic, dill, mustard seeds, and crushed red pepper to to a clean quart size jar.
Trim okra stems to ¼". Add cleaned whole okra to jar vertically, alternating stem ends up and down.
Bring a small pot with vinegar, water, and salt to a rolling boil and stir. Remove from heat and let cool ~ 5 minutes.
Pour mixture into jar(s) (careful it’s hot!), leaving ~ ¼″ air at top.
Let sit at room temperature ~ 1 hour to cool down, put on the lid, and then place in refrigerator.
Wait at least a couple days before eating, but probably will need about a week to soak up all the pickling liquid. Good for 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator. Happy eating! Beckie

Notes

Don't have a quart size jar? Cool, substitute 2 pint jars.
If there is still room in the jar and it needs more liquid, make up the ratio with vinegar (preferably) or water).
Don't have fresno red chilis? No worries. Use a couple slices of red pepper or a dry chile (guajillo is in the video in this post) or skip it altogher.

Things In My Kitchen:

9 piece canning kit – This is for pint size jars only – makes quick use of sterilizing for canning if you want to make your pickling shelf stable and not have to refrigerate.

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