Every year when I start my garden, I always set a goal of which plants I want to grow and what I plan on doing with them when it comes time to harvest. From squash, tomatoes and peppers there are the standards, but I always love growing a tomatillo plant or two as well. The dense tomato like fruit is great for making salsa verde, using in tamales and other recipes. They look like little lanterns while growing and each year I find more recipes to use them in.
But this year I made a mistake. The plants I had started had all but failed, so I ordered 1 Tomatillo plant from the greenhouse. Then a few of my starters seemed to take off, but their labels were long gone. I planted them anyway. And in between a handful of mystery tomatoes were several tomatillo plants – and one that somehow got into the landscaping.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not complaining! The more the merrier when it comes to canning season, but the 1-2 plants I normally grow make enough of the salsa verde to get us through to the next season. So just what was I going to do with all of these extra tomatillos this year?
Much like several other veggies that are over producing, I’ve decided to pickle the extra tomatillos this year. That way they are preserved for when I need them and can be pulled out to replenish our salsa stash if needed later. And the best part is – pickling is so darn easy it took no time at all!
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 lbs of Tomatillos
- 6 cups of White Vinegar 5% acidity
- 2 cups of Water
- 1/2 cup Pickling Salt
- Garlic and Spices- Optional
Directions:
- Remove the husks from your tomatillos and rinse to remove any of the sticky residue left over. Slice each one into quarters. Hand pack your sliced tomatillos into your clean and warm jars. Add in your garlic and spices if you want any.
- In a medium sauce pan (non aluminum) add in your salt, vinegar and water. Bring to a boil and stir until your sugar and salt are dissolved.
- Ladle your hot vinegar mixture over your tomatillos, leaving 1/2 inch head space. It’s ok if your tomatillos stick up above this.
- Place your lid and bands on and process with the instructions below!
Canning Instructions:
- Place 8 clean pint jars on a rack in your stock pot. Fill the jars and stock pot with cool water until it completely covers the top of the jars. Cover and put on medium heat. Simmer but do not boil.
- Prepare 8 lid sets, put the bands aside and put the flat lids in a small sauce pan and put on medium heat. Do not boil, but keep warm through the whole process.
- Prepare your ingredients according to the directions above.
- Now, remove the jars from the warm bath. Tip them as you pull them out and pour the water back into the pan. Place them on a towel on the counter with the opening up. Do not dry them! Just put them down and put the funnel in. Put your ingredients in your jars. into each jar until there is about 1/2 inch of space in the top. Once all jars are full, take a plastic or wooden utensil and move it around to get extra air bubbles out.
- Take the small magnet tool and remove flat lids from their hot bath. Place over top of each jar. By hand screw on the collars, but not too tight! Remember some air still needs to get out of each jar.
- Place the jars back into the hot stock pot and replace the lid. Turn your temperature up to high. When it starts to do a rolling boil, start a timer for 10 minutes.
- After the jars have processed for 10 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the lid to the pan. Let cool for 5 minutes. Remove all the jars without tipping them and place them back on the towel. Remember – don’t towel them off!
I was having trouble finding a recipe to can tomatillos that wasn’t a salsa or green sauce. This fit the bill! But the amount of sugar was missing, so I just used an equal amount of sugar as salt. I followed another online recipe for adding garlic, etc – cumin seed, habanero peppers, and some Mexican oregano were also added to the jars while packing them. Salty, tart, spicy results, softer than a cucumber pickle, of course. Throw a few in when making a salsa, add to a tartar-type sauce instead of pickle relish, or use as a garnish on taco night. Yummy!!!
PS – the tomatillos shrank a LOT during processing.
What is the shelf life after you have completed?
If properly processed 2-3 years according to canning guidelines. But they will last much longer if the seal is good 🙂
When are they ready to eat?
Pretty much immediately! I tend to let them sit a week or two, but they’ve been heated and processed so they can be enjoyed immediately. But the flavor gets better over time!