Although growing up beets looked and smelled like something I should run the other way from, when I went to work for a restaurant with a buffet I finally got the nerve to try one. All the pickling and canning of the beets is done by cooks like me and as such I simply tried one between batches. Surprisingly I wanted another one. I took the skills I learned to can and pickle beets home with me and grew some of my very own. Here are the steps to making buffet style beets at home.
From the Garden
After your beets are approximately two to four inches in diameter you can harvest them. Some beets form naturally smaller than others so it is unrealistic to assume all will become the voluptuous four inches. Upon collecting the beets be sure to wash them off well.
Oven or Steamer
The next step is to put the beats into a pot and add water until they are completely covered. If you are using a steamer you will want it set to approximately 200 degrees and have the lid of your pot on tightly so no excess water gets into it. Keep the beets into the steamer for thirty minutes. If you are using a traditional oven you can put the pot of beets on the burner and set it to a high setting but not the highest. You want to boil the beets for twenty minutes. Do not start the 20-minute timer until the beets are already boiling.
Remove the beets after the above step from the pot. Remove any and all skin and roots from the beets and skim any out that may have fallen off within the beet juice. After this is done slice the beets into small chunks or slides depending on what you’d like to use them for in the future. Add two tablespoons of sugar, two table spoons of salt, two cups of vinegar, and six bay leaves for every quart of beets. Place the beets back into the juice, leaves, and other ingredients and let simmer on the oven for fifteen minutes or in the steamer for ten minutes.
Canning
Remove the bay leaves from the mixture, these are not to be eaten they are simply for flavor. Pour the beet juice equally into the jars you plan you use. After the juice is poured also add evenly the beets into the jars. The juice should cover the beets entirely. If not you may add hot water but for best results stick to the beet juice if they’re covered.
Put the lid tightly on the can and put into your food processor. This usually takes about thirty minutes but many food processors are different. Find the instructions on your specific processor and follow them. Once processing is complete you will have yourself canned delicious beets.
