English Pub-Style Pickled Onions - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup pickling salt
2 quarts water
1 1/2 1 1/2 lbs pearl onions or 1 1/2 lbs shallots
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cups malt vinegar
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon whole allspice
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1 bay leaf, crumbled

Preparation

In a bowl, dissolve 1/4 cup salt in 1 quart water; add the onions and weight them gently with a plate that fits inside the bowl.
Let them stand 8 to 12 hours.
Drain the onions, and peel them; return them to the bowl.
Make a brine with the remaining salt and water, pour it over the onions, and weight them gently again.
Let them stand 2 days.
In a nonreactive saucepan, bring the sugar and vinegar to a boil; let the liquid cool.
Drain and rinse the onions, and drain them well again.
In a 1-quart jar, layer the onions, peppercorns, allspice, pepper flakes, and bay leaf.
Cover them with the cooled, sweetened vinegar.
Cover the jar with a nonreactive cap, preferably all plastic.
Refrigerate the jar for at least 1 month before eating the onions.
They will keep for at least 6 months.