Food Recipes Sauces, Condiments and Preserves Pickled Vegetables Thomas Keller's Quick Pickled Pearl Onions 5.0 (4,053) Add your rating & review Thomas Keller created these these pickled pearl onions to add contrast to rich roast meats. By Thomas Keller Thomas Keller Thomas Keller is the chef of three-Michelin-starred restaurants The French Laundry and Per Se. He's won James Beard Awards for Outstanding Restaurateur, Outstanding Chef, Outstanding Restaurant, Best New Restaurant, Outstanding Service, and Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America, among others including the Maîtres Cuisiniers de France Medal of Honor. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 3, 2023 Rate PRINT Share Photo: Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne Active Time: 15 mins Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Yield: 1 cup These pickled pearl onions add a sweet, tart bite to any dinner plate. Thomas Keller likes to serve these as an accompaniment to his juicy grilled chicken. Frequently asked questions How do you pickle onions? Be sure to trim the pearl onions before cooking them. Scoring the onions with an "X" before cooking them makes it easy to slip the papery skins off the onions after they cook. Then, pour the brine over the onions and let them sit for at least an hour so they pickle. 10 Essential Tools for Quick Pickling Vegetables How do you eat pickled onions? We like to serve these pickled onions alongside a rich meaty roast or stew. They also make a nice accompaniment to a cocktail like a Gibson. Make ahead The drained pickled onions can be refrigerated for up to two weeks. It's Time to Start Pickling at Home Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen The vinegary mixture is great for pickling other vegetables, like baby carrots and Kirby cucumbers. Once you've made pickled onions a few times, you'll see how easy they are, and how you can customize the flavors with just a few ingredient swaps. Feel free to play around with the spices used in the brine: You can swap in equal amounts of nigella seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, or different types of peppercorns in your brine. And you can vary the vinegar used for the brine as well. Pick any kind of vinegar to make these pickled onions — red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, or rice vinegar. Ingredients 16 white pearl onions (about 1 cup), root ends trimmed and scored with an X 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns Directions In a medium saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the pearl onions until just tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain again. Transfer the onions to a glass bowl. Meanwhile, in another medium saucepan, bring the water and vinegar to a boil with the sugar, mustard seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns. Boil until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Pour the liquid over the onions and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days. Drain before serving. Originally appeared: August 2005 Rate It Print