Pickled Sunn

Contrary to our belief, the Jerusalem Artichoke has absolutely nothing to do with the contested city home to various peoples of the book. It’s actually an American o.g. : a tuber that finds its roots from Nova Scotia all the way to Georgia. First eaten by a European in 1605, the artichoke tasting relative of the sunflower was sent back to the old country where it enjoyed relative popularity until it got upstaged by the potato. The Italian word for sunflower, Girasole, eventually morphed into Jerusalem and we’ve all been confused ever since.
Whenever we start seeing these guys (also known as sunchokes) at the market we go nuts, which often results in gross overbuying. This recipe is a great way to immediately deal with your self-control problems, and also a great introduction to pickling and preserving vegetables.
Why the hell did we decide to brine Sunchokes anyway? Unlike potatoes, Sunchokes are pretty great in all forms: baked, mashed, roasted, fried, etc. They’re also really good when raw, but they have a tendency to make you…er…fart. Alot.
Theoretically, after they’ve been cured a week, the savory and earthy taste of the sunchoke will be all punched up and awesome from sitting in the vinegar bath listed below. Hopefully they won’t be as explosive and we won’t get kicked out of bed…(stay tuned).
Pickled Sunchokes Part One: Brine
1 lbs. sunchokes (pick the firmest ones you can)
1/3 cup of kosher salt
4 cups of water
3 lemons juiced
1. In a large vessel, preferably a large glass jar, combine the water, salt and lemon juice and stir until the salt has dissolved.
2. Wash the sunchokes in cold water, and snip off any particularly dirty end bits.
3. Slice the sunchokes about 1/2″ thick. Keep the skin on.
4. Immediately place all sliced sunchokes in the brine (if you let them sit they will oxidize and discolor). Cover the vessel with plastic wrap and let sit on somewhere cool for 24 hours.
Pickled Sunchokes Part 2: Marinade

4 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup champagne vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. coriander seed
1 tsp. dill seed
1 tsp. fennel seed
1 tsp. mustard seed
1 tsp. whole black peppercorns
1 tsp. Aleppo pepper
1 small piece of fresh turmeric
OR
1 tsp. turmeric powder
5. Heat a large pot on high heat for three to five minutes. Add all the spices (not the sugar) and toast for 3-5 minutes, until the mustard seeds start to pop and the spices become fragrant. Peel your turmeric root (you can find em at Korean markets, they look like tiny orange ginger or weird stunted carrots).
6. Add all the liquids and the sugar, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and remove from heat.
7. Drain and rinse your brined sunchokes in cold water. Jam them into a clean jar and carefully pour the hot vinegar over the chokes, making sure that you totally submerge the tubers in vinegar. Seal the jar and stick in the fridge.
8. Wait a week, and see what time, brine, and acid can do. If you have leftover marinade, which you probably will, strain out the spices and use for vinaigrettes.
Beverage: De Proef’s Flemish Primitive
Soundtrack: Desmond Decker’s “Mother Pepper”