Hot Pickled Okra

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I also have a YouTube video for this recipe now. Click here to view the video! 😊

With all the canning going on in my home, I can't help but get excited about Christmas.  That is what many of my canned items will be used for.  For many of the guys in my family, I have canned the boiled peanuts.  My husband likes boiled peanuts, but it is nothing he gets really excited over.  For that reason, I am making pickled okra for him.  He LOVES pickled okra!

For this project, I pulled the children into the kitchen to help.  They were so excited to get to help mama can and make a gift for Daddy at the same time.  This was a very simple and quick project that turned out to be perfect for letting them help.  We will be doing it again!

I started by sterilizing 4 pint jars in the canner for 10 minutes.  While I got that going, my little girl washed the okra in cold water.  We prepared everything we needed while the jars heated and boiled.

For the liquid, my little girl measured out and combined 2 cups of water, 2 cups of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 3 tablespoons of canning salt.  This was put on the stove, brought to a boil, and turned down to low while the okra and spices were being prepared.

I still can't believe my baby is old enough to do this on her own now!  I love
that sweet little girl!

I peeled four large cloves of garlic and halved two jalapeno peppers.  We then measured out our spices:  2 tablespoons of mustard seeds, 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoons of fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon of celery seeds, and 1 teaspoon of black peppercorns.

I just thought this was so pretty.  :)

Sweet little girl helped trim the tops of the okra to about 1/4 inch.

By this time, the jars were sterile and simmering on the stove to stay hot, and the vinegar solution was ready. It was time for little man to get in on the action!  He couldn't wait.  He LOVES to help in the kitchen! We started by putting 1 clove of garlic (or two small ones) and 1 tablespoon of spice in the jar.  We worked on one jar at a time.

Then we packed the jars with the okra and 1/2 of a jalapeno pepper (Don't let your babies do the peppers!).  I had to help make sure the okra was packed in well.  You want them to be tight, but be careful not to crush them.  Placing one up and one down helps with packing them tightly.

He was taking his job so seriously,  I had to get him to smile!  :)

Little monkey!

Now the jar is all packed.  I thought it was so pretty, I just had to share this photo.  :)

The jars were filled with the vinegar solution, leaving a 1/2 inch head space.  I ran the magnet grabber tool between the jar and the okra to remove as many air bubbles as I could.

The rim was wiped clean and sealed with a lid and band.

The jars was returned to the canner to sit on the raised rack in the canner until all the other jars were complete.   When all the jars were done, the rack was lowered into the water that was still simmering.  The water was brought to a boil, and the jars were processed for 15 minutes.  The jars were removed and left to cool for 24 hours.

Eeek!  We cannot wait to try them!  Oh, I hope they turn out well!  This was SO quick and easy, I cannot wait to go get more okra to do!  Little man has already said he hopes Daddy shares with us!  Lol!  He is too cute!  Yes, the children actually love this too.  Maybe they will get some for Christmas also!  Just kidding!  I wouldn't do that to them, but they will be happy to see a lot of it canned for the family!  We hope you get to try making some for yourself!

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

*To ensure the safety of home canned food, make sure to follow the USDA's safety guidlines.