Have You Ever Tried to Pickle Potatoes?

It was said in passing, almost as if it was something we must have had before, not something we weren’t aware of at all: And, yes, you can pickle potatoes! 

Wait, what? Well, we were told just that when the U.S. Potato Board recently visited our offices and left us with A) all the potatoes that we could want (seven varieties, countless colors) and B) the quick and easy tip that yes, indeed, you can pickle potatoes.

After inquiring about the process quickly, as if we were trying to lock it away in our brains for later experimentation—because, well, we were—we asked what we thought were all the pertinent questions: 

• What kind of potatoes would it work for? Any potatoes; bigger should be sliced, and smaller can stay whole.
• What would you pickle it in? Any pickling brine that you would generally use!
• How long would it take? A week or two of brining.

Our minds whizzed—we had to try it. After some research and findings (never pickle raw potatoes), we boiled a sack of small ones for a about ten minutes (a short period, you don't want them to be mushy), mixed up a very simple pickling brine of cider vinegar, garlic, and salt, and combined them in a jar to await judgement.

After a week of brining, they tasted strongly of their brine: cider-vinegary, garlicky, and salty (and deliciously so). They'd go well with some cured salmon, and would be delicious sliced thinly and added to a sandwich. It's an understatement to say that potatoes are blank canvases for pickling brines; we imagine they'd sidle up to just about any flavor profile and amplify it. Have you ever pickled potatoes? If so, what are your tips and what have you pickled them with? 

Pickled potato photo by Alpha Smoot; raw potato photo by James Ransom