Chef Vivian Howard is a James Beard Foundation Award Semi Finalist, She also runs her own AAA Four Diamond Restaurant, she is a host on her Award Wining PBS “A Chef’s Life” TV Show and Cook Book Author. If Someone like Chef Vivian Howard says these are the “Best Pickled Beets She Ever Ate then they must be Forking Great!

Ingredients for about 12 servings

3 lbs beets

3 cups cider vinegar

2 cups water

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

3 cloves

3 bay leaves

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon chili flakes

3 star anise

Directions

Put the washed skin on beets in a pot and cover with 2 inches of water.

Boil covered for about 20 minutes or knife tender.

Drain and cool. – Peel when cool.

Slice in 1/2 inch half round and quarter if they are real big.

Combine the rest of the ingredients and bring to boil.

Pour over beets.

Refrigerate and they will be good for three months or can if you want to hold them longer.

These pickled beets are more firm than how I usually do pickled beets. They also are spicier and are infused with more flavors and are not sweet. For me they needed a week for the flavors to develop.

On the TV PBS TV Show A Chef’s Life they had a Beet Farmer on the show doing his version of pickled beets and his trick was to boil the beets leaving the greens on. He said the beets bleed out when you cut the leaves off. I tried it doing a basic pickled beets recipe with just plain white vinegar, sugar and water like the farmer did and the beets do have a much earthier flavor leaving the greens on.

With the extra beet brine from all the beets I’ve been pickling I used some for mini cucumbers for salads.

I also pickled some eggs and made tiny open faced sandwiches.

Enjoy!