Cactus Pickles

It’s spring, so I’m foraging the yard for edibles as usual.  For me, I love having as many delicious nutrient pack edibles as possible, in close proximity to the house.  Although I’ve shared a lot of the recipes I use for cactus (nopales, nopalitos), my new favorite is cactus pickles.  Because good kosher and dill pickles are favorites of mine, I’m thrilled that these are such a great contender.  If you don’t like to process pickles, you’re in luck.  I only make refrigerator pickles.  And I even used saved pickle juice to make this even easier.

Even though the variety of cactus I grow has very few thorny parts, there are still some small hairy stickers around some of the eyes.  I use tongs to handle the pads.  So I grab them with tongs, then hold them down with closed tongs while I scrape off the eyes.  Choose the new pads coming on this time of year, because they are really tender.  I wait until they are almost the size of my hand.  Break them off of the main plant, then with tongs, hold the pad on a flat surface and scrape with a knife until the little white eyes pop off.  Then I just cut off the edges and slice them.  You’ll have some mucilage forming like okra does.  But when you grill them, all that moisture is pretty much gone.  For more information on cleaning the pads, click here.

Whenever I make a cactus recipe, I’ll be grilling the pads.  I’ve decided that it’s the best way to prep them.  Sometimes when I grill them, they make some interesting noises as they release their juices.  Checkout some of the other cactus recipes: Nopalitos Frittata, Grilled Cactus Salad, Nopales and Potato Frittata.  To make tacos, cut pieces of frittata, and place in tortilla.