HOCA Hot Dogs

 

Song:  Mas Que Nada

Group:  Sergio Mendez & Brasil 66

Today...

I made one of my favorite homemade pickles...

HOCA (Habaneros, Onions, Carrots).

As it is simply composed of the top three ingredients...

in a 50/50 solution of white vinegar...

with added sugar...

it has a tart acidic temper...

with the edge taken off by the sugar.

It is so simple to make in large batches...

and properly stored in the fridge...

the batch will easily last a year.

I have dedicated rubber sealed and locking lid mason jars...

in various sizes...

but for these pickles...

I use the 1 gallon size jar.

Now...

HOCA is not only used on hot dogs.

Because of its slightly tart acidic taste...

these pickles go very well with all types of meat as a side pickle dish.

And...

HOCA pickles are very easy and inexpensive to make...

and last a very long time in the fridge.

It had been a long time since I had made these...

and I had forgotten how much of each ingredient I would need...

so...

I just overcompensated in my purchase.

It turns out that I just needed one bag of carrots...

and two large white onions.

Oh well...

I can use the excess in other meals.

For a one gallon mason jar...

I use half a gallon of white vinegar.

Although the amount of sugar is subjective...

you must plan on using anywhere from 1 - 4 cups...

depending on the amount of sweetness you want.

A good whisk makes this process easy.

After filling the jar halfway with the white vinegar...

Pour in half a cup or so of sugar at a time...

.... and whisk the solution until all of the sugar dissolves...

and then taste.

Keep repeating the process until the desired level of sweetness is achieved.

I use three levels of thickness whenever I make pickles...

Thick

Medium

Thin

The different levels of thickness will determine how long each level will take to fully pickle...

which when making large batches...

is important... as it will allow the thinner sections to be eaten and finished up first...

allowing earlier eating of the pickles than would have otherwise occurred...

and to prevent them from getting overly soft because you couldn't finish them all in time.

I use my dehydrated habaneros to make my pickles

(I had previously dehydrated a large batch of fresh habaneros).

I added one heaping handful of the dehydrated habaneros.

Now...

I normally wouldn't use the pickles for the first few weeks of pickling...

but...

sometimes I have the willpower of a little child.

I just had to have HOCA hot dogs today...

as I had a mad craving for them  :)

And...

although there was only the slightest hint of the pickling juice imbued within each pickle...

I still wanted them on my hot dogs...today  :)

I had a very tasty meal...

and with my craving finally satisfied...

I finished off my meal with some delicious cookies.

I love this brand of cookies.

------------

With a full belly...

and a sated craving...

I am just going to relax in bed now...

watch some movies...

and just let myself drift away into guiltless slumber.

I am feeling a little lazy right now...

and that is okay...

I have earned my time of pure relaxation.

I will soon have to rev up my schedule...

as many things will soon be happening in my life...

and so...

I must enjoy what lazy days I have left  :)