Yucatecan pickled red onion
Cebolla encurtida is the pickle of Mexico's Yucatán peninsula, rarely missing from the table beside cochinita pibil and tacos. Thinly sliced red onion, scalded and covered with bitter orange juice, sometimes with a little vinegar, with habanero, oregano and allspice. After two hours it turns vivid pink, crisp and sour, its gentle heat balancing rich meat. Bitter oranges are hard to find in many places, but ordinary orange and lime with vinegar give a very similar result. The vinegar and lime are not just for flavour — they supply the acidity that sweet orange alone cannot.
Your own work in that: 5 min.
- Slicing 10 min
- Scalding 5 min
- Pickling 120 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneSlice the onions
Peel the onions (2 medium), halve them and slice into very thin half-moons, 2–3 mm.
Ingredients: 400 g red onions · 1000 ml boiling water for scalding · 120 ml orange juice · 60 ml lime juice · 80 ml cider vinegar · 1 pcs habanero chilli (or another hot chilli) · 1 tsp dried oregano · 4 pcs allspice berries · 1 tsp sugar · 1 tsp salt
Very thin slices — they soak up fast.Scald the onions
Put the onions in a colander and pour over boiling water, then immediately cold water. Scalding softens the bite and helps the colour change faster.
Ingredients: 400 g red onions · 1000 ml boiling water for scalding · 120 ml orange juice · 60 ml lime juice · 80 ml cider vinegar · 1 pcs habanero chilli (or another hot chilli) · 1 tsp dried oregano · 4 pcs allspice berries · 1 tsp sugar · 1 tsp salt
Boiling water, then cold.Prepare the habanero
Pierce the habanero with a knife in a few places — left whole it gives gentle heat. For real heat, slice it thinly. Wash your hands after cutting, or better, wear gloves.
Ingredients: 400 g red onions · 1000 ml boiling water for scalding · 120 ml orange juice · 60 ml lime juice · 80 ml cider vinegar · 1 pcs habanero chilli (or another hot chilli) · 1 tsp dried oregano · 4 pcs allspice berries · 1 tsp sugar · 1 tsp salt
Make the brine
Mix the orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, sugar and salt until dissolved.
Ingredients: 400 g red onions · 1000 ml boiling water for scalding · 120 ml orange juice · 60 ml lime juice · 80 ml cider vinegar · 1 pcs habanero chilli (or another hot chilli) · 1 tsp dried oregano · 4 pcs allspice berries · 1 tsp sugar · 1 tsp salt
Pack the jar
Layer the onion into a clean, scalded jar of about 700 ml with the habanero, oregano and allspice.
Ingredients: 400 g red onions · 1000 ml boiling water for scalding · 120 ml orange juice · 60 ml lime juice · 80 ml cider vinegar · 1 pcs habanero chilli (or another hot chilli) · 1 tsp dried oregano · 4 pcs allspice berries · 1 tsp sugar · 1 tsp salt
Cover
Pour over the brine, press the onions down with a spoon so they are fully covered, and close the jar. Onion sticking out above the brine spoils faster.
Ingredients: 400 g red onions · 1000 ml boiling water for scalding · 120 ml orange juice · 60 ml lime juice · 80 ml cider vinegar · 1 pcs habanero chilli (or another hot chilli) · 1 tsp dried oregano · 4 pcs allspice berries · 1 tsp sugar · 1 tsp salt
Onion under the brine — pink within the hour.Leave
Leave 2 hours at room temperature, shaking the jar now and then. The onion turns bright pink.
Ingredients: 400 g red onions · 1000 ml boiling water for scalding · 120 ml orange juice · 60 ml lime juice · 80 ml cider vinegar · 1 pcs habanero chilli (or another hot chilli) · 1 tsp dried oregano · 4 pcs allspice berries · 1 tsp sugar · 1 tsp salt
Serve
Serve with tacos, cochinita pibil, grilled meat, beans and avocado. Put the rest in the fridge straight away.
Ingredients: 400 g red onions · 1000 ml boiling water for scalding · 120 ml orange juice · 60 ml lime juice · 80 ml cider vinegar · 1 pcs habanero chilli (or another hot chilli) · 1 tsp dried oregano · 4 pcs allspice berries · 1 tsp sugar · 1 tsp salt
Before you start
Bitter orange
Yucatán uses naranja agria, the bitter orange (the same species as the Seville orange). If you find it, use 180 ml of its juice instead of the orange and lime, and keep the vinegar.
Habanero
Habanero is very hot. Whole and pierced it gives a pleasant fruity heat; sliced, a serious one. Scotch bonnet or 2 ordinary chillies stand in.
Storage
The brine is not pasteurised and its acidity comes mainly from the vinegar and lime — do not reduce them or replace them with sweet orange juice alone. Keep the onion in the fridge in a closed jar, fully under the brine, for up to 2 weeks, and use a clean fork. It is best in the first 5 days, then softens. Throw it away if the brine turns cloudy, starts to foam or grows mould.