Smokra, ya'll

Smokra = Pickled, smoky okra. It is also a trademarked brand name so here's hoping I don't get sued for using the name!  I saw a jar of it in the grocery store and a light bulb went off over my head: I have okra, I like to pickle things, and I don't like paying $8 for a jar of vegetables and vinegar. Therefore I should make my own smokra, so I did.

Spoiler alert - this is as pretty as they are going to get.

I took note of the ingredients on the jar in the store, then turned to the trusty internet for some recipes. Then I tweaked them to come up with own interpretation.  Here's what I did, in case you'd like to try it, too. Plus writing it down means I might actually be able to make it again sometime (I'm notorious for one-off dishes because I can't remember what I've done previously and didn't write down).

First the okra:  I grew my own and had plenty of it so that was no problem.  Actually, the problem was I had a surplus, which led to the pickling idea in the first place.  I had about a gallon ziploc bag full, in various sizes.  I started out by wiping each one down with a paper towel and trimming the stem (leave the caps on), then sorting them into small, medium and large groups.  I say large but I really just mean in relation to the others - large okra are usually inedible because they get woody and tough. If you ever cut into fresh okra and it is tough, do yourself a favor and throw it out!

Okra is tasty and pretty - what's not to love?
Except for the itchy, prickly little spines all over the plant!

Once I had the okra sorted, I put each pile in a jar.  You want to pack the jars as full as possible otherwise the jars will seem half full once you pour the liquid in.  The small are just layered in, the bigger ones are standing on end.  For the medium I put in two layers - the first stem down, and the top stems up, so they fit in tightly.

That's when it occurred to me I'd probably want to blog about this and would need pictures!  As you can see I am growing 2 varieties of okra this year, one green and one red.  They taste the same, but the red tends to be a slimmer pod and they do look very pretty mixed in the jar like that.  I was congratulating myself on how well that worked out right up until the end (you'll see why).

Okra in the jars - check.  Next I added 2 cloves of garlic to each jar, plus about 1/2 teaspoon each of mustard seeds and peppercorns.  All the recipes I saw called for white peppercorns, which I don't have.  Therefore I used peppercorn melange which sounds fancier and is therefore obviously superior. I also substituted ground jalapeno for the differing peppers (cayenne, chili, chipotle) that various recipes called for.  I had all of those, but I'm a rebel.  I paid the price for it though - the plastic shaker inside was ridiculously difficult to remove, resulting in jalapeno powder all over my hands.  I immediately washed my hands VERY thoroughly, all the while chanting "don't touch your eyes, don't touch your eyes!"  I managed to avoid self-inflicted chemical warfare but I did have an epic sneezing fit.

I'd like to thank Emily for her (involuntary, unknowing) donation of the smoked paprika.

I mixed up apple cider vinegar and the rest of the spices, plus sugar and pickling salt, in a pot and brought it to a boil.  As soon as it boiled I turned the heat off and stirred it well to dissolve everything, then let it cool off for a few minutes.

Once it cooled a bit, I poured the mixture into a measuring cup for ease of pouring into the jars.  As you can see, it looks like I'm making bloody mary okra but at least it smelled really good.

Hmmm...bloody mary okra...

I divided the vinegar mix between the 3 jars, which filled them about 3/4 of the way.  Then I topped them off with water.  Put the lids on and shake well to make sure it is all distributed well.  Now the hard part - pop them in the fridge and wait for a week before eating!

Pretty red okra really doesn't work so well in red sauce.  Neither does green, really.
At least it tastes good!

Neta's Interpretation of Smokra

Approximately 1 gallon bag full of okra (enough to fill 3 quart jars)
2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp kosher salt
2 tbsp smoked paprika
6 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tsp mustard seed
1 1/ tsp peppercorns
1/2 tsp ground jalapeno
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp curry powder

I was taught you never wash okra or else it gets slimier, so I just wipe the okra off with a paper towel to clean it.  Pack 3 jars full, wedging the pods in, and add to each jar: 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp each mustard seed and peppercorns.  Mix the vinegar, salt, sugar and the rest of the spices in a non-reactive pot and bring to a boil.  Turn off the heat and stir until everything is dissolved.  Let cool slightly then pour the vinegar over the okra in the jars, dividing it up evenly.  Top the jars off with water.  Put the lids on and shake gently.  Refrigerate and wait one week to eat.