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Yucatán-Style Pickled Red Onions in Sour-Orange Juice Recipe

J. Kenji López-Alt
Published: Last Updated:
Yucat\u00e1n-Style Pickled Red Onions in Sour-Orange Juice Recipe

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

These sweet, salty, and tangy pickled onions are the perfect accompaniment to braised, slow-roasted, or smoked meats. Use them in tacos, burritos, fajitas, or sandwiches.

Why It Works

  • Par-cooking the onions in water softens them while allowing you to keep the bright, fresh flavor of the citrus juice uncooked.
  • Using a combination of grapefruit, lime, and orange juice replicates some of the floral, bitter aroma of Seville oranges if they are unavailable.

Read more: 3 Simple Yucatán-Style Condiments to Spice Up Taco Night

  • Yield:Makes about 2 cups pickled red onions
  • Active time: 10 minutes
  • Total time:2 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 red onion, finely diced
  • 15 whole black peppercorns
  • 15 whole allspice berries
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 1/3 cup juice from 1 grapefruit (2 1/2 ounces; 80ml) (see note)
  • 1/3 cup juice from 1 to 2 oranges (2 1/2 ounces; 80ml) (see note)
  • 1/3 cup juice from 4 to 5 limes (2 1/2 ounces; 80ml) (see note), plus a little extra just in case
  • Salt

Directions

  1. 1.

    Place onion, peppercorns, allspice, and bay leaves in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, drain carefully, and transfer onions to a sealable container, such as a Mason jar.

  2. 2.

    Add grapefruit, orange, and lime juice. Onions should be submerged at this point; if they aren't, top off with extra lime juice. Stir to combine, season to taste with salt (they should be quite salty—use about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon of table salt), cover, and refrigerate until color deepens, about 2 hours. Onions can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Do not eat peppercorns, allspice berries, or bay leaves.

This Recipe Appears In
3 Simple Yucatán-Style Condiments to Spice Up Taco Night

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J. Kenji López-Alt Chief Culinary Advisor

J. Kenji López-Alt is a stay-at-home dad who moonlights as the Chief Culinary Consultant of Serious Eats and the Chef/Partner of Wursthall, a German-inspired California beer hall near his home in San Mateo. His first book, The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science (based on his Serious Eats column of the same name) is a New York Times best-seller, recipient of a James Beard Award, and was named Cookbook of the Year in 2015 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Kenji's next project is a children’s book called Every Night is Pizza Night, to be released in 2020, followed by another big cookbook in 2021.

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