Asier (Danish Pickles)

I  made a taste of my childhood last week.     A Danish delicacy called Asier.   Of course for some reason we called them Lizards, why I have no idea.

Now these aren't your run of the mill pickles, and unless you find a specialty deli that carries them, or know a nice Dane who makes these, you've probably never even tasted them.

I have to add a caveat here.   Usually you use larger cucumbers than these for Asier,  but I was given these ones and since I've been craving 'Lizards'  for awhile, I decided to make some Asier pickles. And I'm not about to turn down free cukes, especially freshly grown, yummy cukes.  And they were good, I ate a couple before they made it into a salad or into the jars.    If you happen to have a cucumber plant or three and some of the cucumbers got away from you and grew and grew and grew, you can always make Asier.   I've made them from cukes that got as long as my forearm, yup, that big.

 And all you do is peel them, and scoop out the insides before slicing them.

However,these they were not as big as they could have been, but I figured I'd eat them anyway, however they turned out.

OK, so I opened a jar and tasted them.   I did wait a week for the flavours to meld and mature, a little.  They do taste better if they have a chance to age for a few weeks, but...

If memory serves me correctly, I got the spices down right.    Now to go hunt down nice nice Leverpostej and some rye bread and LUNCH!!!

And I did get some more Cukes from Frances this week and made some more Asier, which is a good thing cause I've made inroads on the ones I made a couple of weeks ago.    OK, so I ate a couple of jars already.   But they were little jars.  Really...

The full recipe is at the end of this post.

 This is after being salted and left to sit overnight. 

 Take each cucumber half and rinse in cool water and then wipe them dry.    Set aside while you prepare the vinegar and sugar.
Bring the vinegar, sugar, waterand pickling spices to a boil, then simmer for a few minutes while you prepare the cucumbers.   Oh and make sure your jars are clean and hot.   I wash mine in the dishwasher and use the heat dry.  Not only do I have clean sterilized jars, they're hot when I pour the pickling liquid and cukes in them.  Less breakage that way.

As the pickling liquid is simmering, and after wiping your cukes down, take each one and cut them into diagonal strips.    I have no idea why they have to be in diagonal pieces but that's how my Mom did it, so that is the way I do it.  And now you have to as well.
If you want to that is.







Add the sliced cucumber to the simmering liquid and cook for about 6 or so minutes.  You don't want to cook them too long or they will get soft.

And no one wants a limp pickle.

  

I very stupidly gave away my canning pot a few years ago and had to use a regular pot for these.  But I did make sure that there was a good inch of water over the top.    I'm now on the lookout for another canning set up.   I'd forgotten how much I enjoy making pickles.

 Next up is Corn Relish.  But that's a post for another day.

And there they are, ready to go into the pantry and stay out of the light for about 1 month or so.   They taste better when they've aged a few weeks.   Trust me on this.

yield: 6 small jars (1/2 Pint or small Jelly jars)Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cookingprint recipe

Asier (Danish Pickles)

prep time: 1 hourcook time: 30 MINStotal time: 1 hours and 30 mins

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 cucumbers, 12 inches long or longer
• 1 1/2 cups vinegar
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons pickling spice (or make your own, recipe below)
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric (for color)
• 1/4 cup Salt (for sprinkling on cucumbers, use more if needed)
• Dill (1/2 tsp per jar)

Pickling Spices Mix

• 3 bay leaves, broken up a little
• 2 tablespoons peppercorns (bruised a little)
• 1 tsp. mustard seed
• 3 cloves
• 4-6 thai chile peppers (you can also use Horseradish roots here for the 'heat' and flavour)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Peel the cucumbers and then cut them in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds, leaving the outer shell intact. Sprinkle inside and outside with salt and place on a large rimmed cookie sheet over night. This draws the liquid out of the cucumbers and helps to preserve them as well. Take each cucumber half and rinse in cool water and then wipe them dry. Set aside while you prepare the vinegar and sugar.
2. Bring the vinegar, sugar, water and pickling spices to a boil, then simmer for a few minutes while you prepare the cucumbers. (Oh and make sure your jars are clean and hot. I wash mine in the dishwasher and use the heat dry. Not only do I have clean sterilized jars, they're hot when I pour the pickling liquid and cukes in them. Less breakage that way)
3. . As the pickling liquid is simmering, and after wiping your cukes down, take each one and cut them into diagonal strips. I have no idea why they have to be in diagonal pieces but that's how my Mom did it, so that is the way I do it. And now you have to as well. If you want to,that is. Add the sliced cucumber to the simmering liquid and cook for about 6 or so minutes. You don't want to cook them too long or they will get soft. 
4. After simmering them, pack them into the jars. I managed to fill six small jelly size jars, with this latest batch of cucumbers. Strain out the pickling spices at this point if you like. I take most of them out. Then pour the pickling liquid into the jars, leaving some head space. Sprinkle a little dill into the top of the jar, and make sure you have one of the chile peppers* in each jar. Use a funnel for this, and make sure you wipe off the lips of the jars with a clean wet cloth. Any sugar or pickling liquid left on the lip will prevent you from getting a good seal. Seal with the lids and process them in a hot water bath for an additional 15 minutes. Make sure you have at least an inch of water above the jars for processing.
5. * You can also use some Horseradish root in place of the Thai Chile Peppers 

All recipes and their respective images are either original or adapted and credited, and are all the sole property of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking © 2011-2019, with all rights reserved thereof.

This recipe and many more Danish Recipes are in my cookbook Hygge- Danish Food and Recipes Dansk Mad og Opskrifter til et Hyggeligt Hjemme, available on Amazon. 

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