Yucatán-Style Pickled Red Onions in Sour-Orange Juice
Quick-blanched red onions soak in citrus and warm spices for a bright, briny spoonful that wakes up tacos, bowls, or roasted meats.
Prep 10 min · Cook 5 min · Total 2 hr 15 min · Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 15 whole black peppercorns
- 15 whole allspice berries
- 4 bay leaves
- 1/3 cup juice from 1 grapefruit
- 1/3 cup juice from 1 to 2 oranges
- 1/3 cup juice from 4 to 5 limes, plus a little extra just in case
- Salt
Directions
Add the onion, peppercorns, allspice, and bay leaves to a small saucepan, then pour in enough water to cover. Set the pan over high heat and let the water boil. Take it off the heat, drain with care, and move the onion mixture into a container you can seal, like a Mason jar. Pour in the grapefruit, orange, and lime juices. The onions need to sit under the liquid now; if they are not covered, add a little more lime juice. Stir everything together, salt to taste (you want them very salty; for kosher salt, use about 1 teaspoon, or use 1/2 teaspoon table salt), cover, and refrigerate until the color grows deeper, about 2 hours. Keep the onions for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Leave the peppercorns, allspice berries, and bay leaves behind when you eat them.