Food

Pickled Pig's Feet (Southern Jarred, Refrigerator)

Meat · Offal · Pickled · Pork · Southern

Pickled Pig's Feet (Southern Jarred, Refrigerator)
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 2 hours, plus 3 days
Serves 6
Level Easy

Pig’s feet boiled until tender, partly boned, and packed with a red chile in undiluted salted vinegar, then refrigerated at least three days.

Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is part of the collection’s pickled batch and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.

Ingredients

  • 6 pig’s feet
  • 2 fresh red chile peppers
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 cups white vinegar (5%), plus more at the same ratio to cover

Directions

  1. Put the pig’s feet in a large stainless steel pot with water to cover and boil 2 hours, or until tender. Drain and rinse in hot water to remove excess fat. Remove as many bones as possible.
  2. Put 1 chile and 3 pig’s feet in each of two sterilized 1-quart jars.
  3. Mix the salt into the vinegar and pour it over the feet to cover, making more at the same ratio if needed.
  4. Seal and refrigerate at least 3 days, up to a week, before eating.

Notes

Source Adapted from “Pickled Pig’s Feet II,” Allrecipes (user-submitted). The brine is straight vinegar and salt, undiluted — the strongest acid of any meat pickle in this batch. The source does not say to sterilize the jars; sterilize them.

Food safety: pickled meats There is no tested home-canning process for any pickled meat, sausage or hot dog; the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s pickling index has none. The closest authority is its guidance on pickled eggs, the case the CDC has actually documented: “There are no home canning directions for pickled eggs. All of the following pickled egg recipes are for storage in the refrigerator,” and “Home pickled eggs stored at room temperature have caused botulism.” The CDC adds that botulinum spores need no oxygen, low acidity (pH above 4.6), warmth above 39 °F (4 °C) and moisture, and that refrigeration during pickling is advisable for foods the acid reaches slowly. So: start with fully cooked meat, sterilize the jar, refrigerate it the moment it is filled, never keep it on a counter or bar, and do not prick the meat. No authority gives a keeping time.

The photo The photograph shows a jar of pickled pig’s feet.