Brad Makes Pickled Onions at Home

Hey look, I made this Italian sub.

[Child] I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

You want peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

[old school intro music]

[Hunsey] Action!

Whose dog's barking?

I got Hunsey's dog barking,

[drum snare sound effect]

Well, that's just the world is now.

Right, Hunsey?

Hey guys, today on It's Alive,

we're here in my lovely kitchen, okay, and uh,

you know, the show goes on.

The fermentation, the life, the projects,

the cooking goes on.

And today we're gonna be making pickled onions

two different ways,

subject to change in the moment, okay?

That's the joys of cooking at home.

I can do whatever I want.

Hunsey might yell at me through the computer, but --

[punch sound effect]

We'll just close that real quick,

and I'll just keep talking to the microphone here,

keep talking to my camera, you know?

Oh, my phone doesn't look that level.

Is that a huge issue?

Maybe it's an optical delusion.

[Hunsey] A what?

[Brad] An optical delusion, Hunsey.

[cheery music]

So we're gonna do two different types.

One being, I got these smoked chilies,

these dried smoked chilies.

I believe they're called marita, marito, marita... mor --

Something like that!

I'm not the best when it comes to that stuff.

You guys probably know this.

[Hunsey] Morita.

Morita!

Ah I like this little fact-checking situation we can do.

This is actually a really cool element.

Happy accident right there, Hunsey. I like this.

If I had to call someone on that silly show

Who Wants to be a Millionaire with, uh --

Is Regis, is he still alive?

Regis Philbin?

[Peggy] Yes.

Confirmed.

Confirmed, he's still kicking.

Good, good; I'm glad!

What was that show..

Oh, Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

I would call you, Hunsey, for one of them.

I feel like you would be very helpful.

[Hunsey] Thanks, Brad. Regis is 88.

Regis is 88.

Well, hang in there, buddy.

Wash your hands, 20 seconds.

We're gonna be making

a little smoked peppery one like that, okay?

I'm gonna do that with --

I'm gonna do that with the yellow onions.

And maybe a couple pink peppercorns.

I'll throw it right into the jar, watch this.

Boom.

I'd say 27 to 30 pink peppercorns, write that down.

One bay leaf, right into the jar.

One dried morita pepper.

Ooh, maybe we'll crack it, hold on.

[elevator music]

Maybe we'll crack it, you know.

I don't know.

It's gonna hydrate in the vinegar, maybe not...

[cracks pepper]

So away she goes.

Oh, I had one more thing, but it seemed to, oh yeah...

Fermented dried chile flakes.

Hooh!

Ooh, that's nice.

Ooh, that tickled the nostrils a little.

And then we're gonna do a little garlic, okay?

I got two here,

I'm just gonna crush them...

All right, let them hang out.

Now, get that allicin going, baby.

All right, we need her more than ever,

right, right?

Here we go.

Ooh!

Forgot to take the peel off.

[elevator music]

Got a little excited.

This one I'm gonna slice,

into, like, you know, chunky little, chunky little slices.

[video game sound effect]

Let me go get the sugar.

[Male Voice] Hello, and welcome to-

So I'm back, look at this.

I got this new sugar --

It ain't new; it's just, like, unrefined.

You still got the molasses in it, you know,

so it's a little brown.

It's delicious; I'm gonna use that.

We're gonna use one, one Brad Leone tablespoon.

All right,

that looks good.

[smacking apron]

We'll do one teaspoon of salt.

Ah! Half a teaspoon.

One Brad Leone half a teaspoon.

That seems right.

Next, we'll add the onions, okay?

Oh no, let's think.

At the end of the day, we're gonna put everything

into the jar,

I'm gonna seal it up,

and I'm gonna shake it until everything --

Why don't we do that...

[xylophone notes]

[punch sounds]

Let's add the onions.

I'm going for it; I don't care.

These are just nice, yellow onions, all right?

You can use whatever onion you want.

I'm just gonna cut them into rings,

between an eighth and a quarter, okay?

Let's say an eighth...

Let's say a quarter.

Oh, lost one.

Okay, we'll do 2 onions.

Two, I'd say, medium sized yellow onions.

Quiet, son!

We're making a movie.

[Male Television Host Voice] Spring onions are typical

spring vegetables...

Oh, God.

I'm gonna add a little bit of water, okay?

Stay right there.

[whirring]

Okay, just got a little water, okay?

I'm just gonna add- I'm gonna add, I'm gonna add,

haha,

uh, half a cup.

Get that party going with the --

[party horn]

with the spices I put in there.

And then we're gonna just top it off with some vinegar.

I'm gonna use the yuzu rice vinegar.

Oh, yeah, that's not gonna be bad.

And I just wanna make sure all the --

the sugar and the salt is all nice...

[sleigh bells]

and dissolved,

which it does appear to be.

Oh, God, no it's not.

Beautiful!

We got one more jar.

We're gonna do a little red onions, okay?

Look at these cute little guys, little pearl onions, okay?

Keep those whole, just clean them up nice.

And then the red, I'm gonna do one red,

so all those pearls and one red,

and then the red I'll slice up the same way

as the other one.

That much sugar this time.

Okay?

You figure it out.

Green peppercorns, okay?

Nice!

I'd say about 30 of them.

[Callen] Daddy!

Whoa, Callen!

There's our guy!

Little gremlin.

[kiss sounds]

All right, scram.

Hey, Griff, come here.

You can check out what we're doing too.

We're making pickled onions, buddy, for sandwiches.

You like sandwiches?

Mhmm.

Peanut butter and jelly.

Peanut butter and jelly what?

Sandwiches.

Yeah,

Ciao for now, son.

Arrivederci.

Bye-bye!

Where were we?

We're gonna add, like, half a teaspoon as well, of salt.

Maybe a little more.

Let's hit the pantry!

Let's go rogue, man, all right?

Who's gonna stop me now?

I love bay leaves, I don't care.

I'm putting them in everything.

I got 3 bay leaves,

okay?

Nice.

Little bruise them up a little bit.

Boom, right in there.

Three bay leaves,

here we go.

Hey, beat it, boy!

And I got, just a little pinch of, um,

fennel seed.

A little fennel seed, what else?

What else we wanna put in there?

I don't know.

[dramatic music]

All right, we'll do green peppercorn --

[Gentle Male Voice] Crush the garlic; release the allicin.

What was that?

We're gonna do green peppercorn, fennel seed,

do a little more green peppercorn, fennel seed --

[Griff laughing]

That's not funny.

What's so funny?

[laugh track]

That's not funny at all, son.

[Griff laughing]

There's--

Oh, you put that in there!

Beat it!

[laughs]

You're sabotaging me, boy.

Beat it!

[bass riff]

Oh, God, they're gonna fire me.

I'm gonna add a little more fennel seed,

just a little, no --

I use this stuff all the time.

It's za'atar.

The z in za'atar.

It's so good.

It's got thyme in it, sesame seeds.

That's what we needed, oh!

And then we're gonna do garlic.

I'll crush that.

Look at that, nice!

I don't know if it's antiviral,

but can't hurt you.

You know, I think it's all

about overall general wellness.

Oh yeah, remember the hot water.

Half a cup.

Let that go, nice!

That's cool.

It smells like a magic potion.

Like some witch would be like, Argh, here! I'm a witch.

Men can be witches, right?

Ugh, I hate doing this.

We gotta peel all these pearl onions.

I'll see ya in, freaking, an hour.

Takes forever.

But, you know, if it was easy,

everybody would do it, right?

It's pretty easy, so you should all do it.

[elevator music]

But in a couple years, man,

I could really start using these kids

to do work for me, you know?

Well, I'll give you one of these little paring knives...

Maybe not.

[elevator music]

Last one, I was just getting good at it.

She's a beaut, Clark!

Look at that, huh?

Va-voom!

[Child's Voice] No!

One regular old red onion.

If you've got some beets or something,

people like to slice up a little beet.

You can put the beet in there.

You know, you could a little Fresno pepper,

a little hot pepper in there...

Uh-oh, uh-oh, child crossing!

[Child] Dada!

Yes, son.

[Child] Hey, what's the party going --

What, what --

Oh, God!

I thought that Andy was annoying.

Oh my God, those kids.

Slice that up, same thing.

Little eighth inch or so, little rings.

We'll pop them right in the old jar.

Anything aromatic, any type of spice that you're into

and you wanna use --

The heck was that?

That vinegar had a little sweetness to it.

This is a different one.

I was thinking I got this citrus champagne vinegar,

but then I was like --

I looked over here;

I got all kinds of stuff in these cabinets.

All the vinegars are over here.

I got some cool vinegars in there.

This is a good one; we're not gonna use that.

This one's really good too, but --

Let's do a little vinegar tasting real quick.

[coughs]

Whoo!

Ooh, I like that!

Let's use the cheap-o, it's fine.

Red wine vin, perfect!

I'm gonna use that up.

Let me get this freaking thing off it.

I mean I get it, I get it,

but don't gimme no regulation.

Full throttle, baby,

Wham; bow!

That's got some heavy.

And then, this one's got a freaking European regulator.

[chuckles]

You can't get the European regulators off.

Oh, you gotta be kidding me!

[elevator music]

We'll top it with just a little bit of this.

Ooh!

Ooh, this is special!

Ooh, I'm excited about this one.

[sleigh bells]

Mmm!

Oh, that flavor!

That vinegar, with these onions, on, like, an Italian sub...

[claps]

Hunsey, when these are done,

I'll make an --

Maybe I'll make an Italian sub.

So there you have it, folks.

I'm gonna let these hang out

for a little while, look at that!

Oh, we're gonna get close up.

[fire sound effect]

Let me pull up my stool.

This would be the stool of conversation, and um,

and reflection.

Fermentation reflection.

So this is the red one.

Look, we got our pearl onions packed in there

in the bottom, nice!

We got the stacks of the other ones, the vinegar.

Every so often, you know, like a little snow globe.

You get bored...

It's a good activity for the whole family,

as you're social distancing and quarantine.

Hey, Charlie, can you flip the onions for me real quick,

give them a little watch.

Give them a little --

Look at that.

The kids love it.

Give it a little, a little whoop whoop

every now and then, make sure things

are flowing around nice.

And we'll let these hang out at room temp.

You know what?

I'm on the fence.

Room temp or in the fridge?

I feel like the fridge --

kinda like fermentation

with certain, like,

doughs and stuff like slow --

It'll give a better flavor;

it might not get as mushy...

[claps]

In the fridge!

I'm gonna put them in the fridge,

and I'll check them tomorrow,

and if not, I'll check them the next day, um

and if not then, I'll check-

[elevator music]

So, Hunsey, we left off --

I got the onions in the fridge.

I'm gonna get them bad boys out.

I'm gonna make a little sandwich,

a little late lunch sandwich, okay?

Pickled onions --

I'm gonna go with like a riff

on, like, an Italian sub kind of deal, okay?

[electric guitar riff]

That was with the morita chile, okay?

And look, these are the red ones.

Oh my god, it smells just like, like what you would get --

Like an Italian, red vinegar, with oregano --

that you would get, like, on a sub.

This was the yellow onion

that we packed with the pink peppercorns.

[eats onion]

Oh yeah!

I like that they're cold, ooh!

[train blowing sound effect]

Little bit of heat.

Yes, it's a little much.

I might add --

Looking back in my notes,

I might add a little bit more water,

just a scosch.

But overall, that's awesome.

Usually you're not taking forkfuls of pickled onions.

I mean you can if you want to, but...

I'm gonna use the red,

I'm gonna use the red on the sandwich.

Oh, buddy boy.

[Child] Dad!

Quiet, boys!

Quiet, boys!

We're pickling onions, haha!

I got a little baguette.

I wanna throw it in the oven, get it a little toasty.

Just gonna kiss it in the oven.

I'm thinking we'll do something like that.

[slicing sound]

Here we go.

[slicing sound]

That's how I cut always, bro.

Right in there.

So we got some salami, some ham,

and then I got a little provolone cheese, okay?

Nice.

Oh, that's kinda perfect.

That's kinda perfect, let's stop.

Little mayonnaise, nothing crazy.

Little collab mayo.

The chile, oh my god, let me show the world.

Look at that, come on.

Who doesn't want that?

Who doesn't want that on their freaking sandwich?

So, first off, the bottom,

we'll do a little bit of the spread, all right?

A little bit of that collab mayo.

I'm gonna go ham right on there.

Not folded.

You gotta do little, little scrunchy nests, okay?

I hate when you go in there, and someone's like,

Boom, there ya go!

[laughs]

Respect the sandwich.

The salami we'll lay,

the salami we'll lay.

And then I got a little provolone.

I'm gonna tear it.

You know what, people judge me, I don't care.

I'm gonna tear it, I like that.

Little bit of vinegar, right on the bread here.

We're gonna go a little za'atar, or a little dried oregano,

if you had it, that'd be delightful too.

But this just, oh, that just seems so right.

It is right.

Oh, with the vinegar, Jesus!

Gotta have a little shredded lettuce on there,

that's nice.

Little shred.

[electric guitar riff]

I got these cute little tomatoes, they're nice.

Right on there.

And a little bit of salt, always a little bit of salt

on those tomatoes, okay?

Little bit of black pepper.

Little vinegar, drizzle right over top.

Little bit of the onion right on there.

I wish I could come and zoom in on this thing,

because it's a --

All right, and we're going mobile, and we're moving.

We got the shredded lettuce, we got the onions,

we got the torn provolone cheese stacked, baby,

the good ham, look at that thing.

Look at this pizza I made.

Look at this, I got all kinds of stuff stacked up.

Freaking sumos,

pizza doughs...

Little smooch, little cut...

Oh, my God.

All right, gotta go, gotta go for the bite.

[crunch]

Griff, you into pickled onions?

[Griff] The pickled onions?

Have a bite.

This is one of the best sandwiches I've had in a while.

I mean, to toast it up a little --

Son, I'm trying to shoot an outro here.

[Child] Action.

Action --

He said action!

Oh, before we go, oh, before we go...

Let me pull into one of them pearl onions!

Mmm!

[laughs]

Pretty sweet!

Almost tasted like a radish.

I would pay for that.

Right now, if that jar was full of those with that vinegar,

I would pay, I would pay $13.99.

I would!

Pickled onions, fool around with the flavor profiles,

there's no rules, do whatever you want.

Just take notes, share them with me,

leave them in the comments, okay?

And then, what do you want me to do in my house?

Let me know what we should be fermenting

or fooling around with,

some fun projects we could do at home, okay?

Sounds like a lot of fun.

Hey, thanks for watching, guys!

Bon appetit from my kitchen.

Let's go, I'm gonna eat this sandwich!

No, it's not, son.

He said, It ain't my bread.

It's his bread.

Let me tell you something, son.

[dramatic music]

Ain't nothing yours in this world.

I'll make more of those, maybe next, okay?

Maybe we can ferment some peanuts

and then make peanut butter.

[Child] Peanuts...

Can you hear me?

Peanuts are nuts.

Peanuts.

[Child] Peanuts have nut in them.

Peanuts have nut in them, yes they do, son.

Just like your old man, can't get nothing passed us, kid.

I'll tell you what.

[laughs]

[cheery music]