Getting pickled with Nevada Brining Co.

by Johnathan L. Wright, jwright@rgj.com – Reno Gazette-Journal

Pity the poor cucumbers that come before Matt Soter.

The founder and owner of local Nevada Brining Co., an artisan maker of pickled foods, rigorously inspects all pickle hopefuls. Are they dark green? Free from wrinkles? Are they firm, without spongy spots that will never become crunchy? Put simply: Do the cucumbers look and smell fresh?

Cukes that don’t meet these standards are ruthlessly dismissed, without appeal. The other week, Soter rejected an entire 100-pound delivery. Production ceased. Appointments were canceled.

“Quality is the most important thing,” Soter said. “Sometimes, it can be challenging to get a weekly supply. We’re creating artisanal complements. We are not your Mom’s pickles.”

Daily shots

Which isn’t to say that family hasn’t had a role in turning Soter, a Virginia native, into the Pickle Guy, as he styles himself.

“My grandparents garden, they would always preserve the summer bounty: pickles, blanching tomatoes, making preserves and sauces,” Soter said.

“I’ve always had a love of food preservation.”

This love — along with the daily shots of pickle juice that Soter said helped him get over “a medical bump in the road” in the 1980s — prompted the entrepreneur to settle on pickled foods as the business he would open. “Plus, Northern Nevada had no artisanal pickles.”

Nevada Brining got its start in 2014 selling pickled foods and rubs from a barbecue restaurant in Las Vegas. Reno’s flourishing culinary scene, with its craft beverages and food start-ups, convinced Soter that “Nevada Brining would have a better fit up north.”

In January 2015, canning began at One World Kitchen, a certified commercial kitchen in Sparks.

Seasoning mixes

The other afternoon at One World, the cucumbers had made the cut.

Travis Purdy and Lou Laverty, two members of the pickle posse, sliced the vegetables (fruit, technically) into thick half-inch coins, added the slices to jars already supplied with seasoning, and tended to kettles of simmering brine that would soon be poured into the jars, submerging the contents.

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NEVADA BRINING COMPANY

Address (canning kitchen): 615 Spice Island Drive, suite 4, Sparks

Email: Matt@NevadaBrining.com

On the Web:www.NevadaBrining.com

Where to buy products: Fine Vines Cheese & Wine, the Flag Store Sign & Banner, Great Basin Community Food Co-op, Napa-Sonoma Grocery Co., Napa-Sonoma South, Reno Provisions, Wedge Cheese Shop

Kickstarter campaign: Visit www.kickstarter.com, then search for: Next Step for Nevada Brining. Goal: $4,000.

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The 100-pound load of cucumbers would yield approximately 100 jars, about a pound of product per jar. The session would last about four hours.

Nevada Brining uses different seasoning combinations in all its products, but essential herbs and spices include peppercorns, fennel, coriander and yellow mustard seed. The basic brine unites water, white vinegar and salt.

“We try to balance this, balance that, take this in, take something out, until we have the right flavor,” Soter said. “A quarter-teaspoon of one ingredient added or taken away can completely change the profile.”

Like a Big Mac

Nevada Brining’s flagship product is its Deli Style Pickle jabbed with dill and garlic. Those thick slices — they’re called barrel cuts — don’t just look impressive, flexing their biceps in the jar.

“The thickness helps preserve the crunch,” Soter explained. “There’s not an entire soft spine, like with a spear. This cut is great for charcuterie, and it’s a good starting place for other cuts. It’s easy to reach in and grab and chop.”

The deli pickles have a mild brininess, a flavor completely unlike the pugnacious saltiness of many big-brand pickles.

The company’s Boozy Pickle series, by contrast, delivers definite whiskey flavor up front. The first jars incorporated whiskey from Las Vegas Distillery.

A current iteration features hooch from Seven Troughs Distilling of Sparks, the whiskey prominent at first bites, the heat from serrano chiles growing on the finish.

The intention is to use whiskey from all the local distillers, including the new Branded Hearts Distillery of Reno.

The whiskey must be in raw form so the pickles don’t run afoul of federal labeling laws and other laws governing products containing alcohol. The whiskey and the chiles in each boozy style are paired for compatibility.

“The idea for Boozy Pickles came from a pickle back shot,” Soter said. “It’s Jameson whiskey and pickle juice. It sort of tastes like the secret sauce on a Big Mac.”

Strain and roast

There’s more in the brine than pickles.

Nevada Brining also produces Stagecoach carrots, the name a tip of the jar to the Nevada town. Cloves and ginger gently spike the carrots; the brine is mild and sweet. “You could just drink the jar,” Soter said.

Pickled Cauliflower brine is saltier, so curry and peppercorns provide balance. Soter likes to strain the florets, roast them at 375 F and finish with a flurry of freshly grated Parmesan.

Ruby Red (a nod to the mountains) Pickled Onions offer a sweet and sour tangle that’s great on hot dogs or pulled pork sandwiches. (I added some to mustard chicken thighs with tasty results.)

New products

Through the end of 2015, Soter estimated that Nevada Brining would move about 10,000 jars of pickled products. The company also sells crinkly bags of barbecue rub.

Ahead for Nevada Brining: flavored ketchups, savory simple syrups for bars, bourbon-braised cherries, cayenne-infused pickled grapes, a new taco rub, more white-label products for customers — and a Kickstarter campaign whose goal is to raise $4,000.

“I have a lot of ideas,” Soter said. “Sometimes, too many ideas.”

As far as ideas like bourbon cherries and pickled grapes go, the fruit will learn soon enough what the cucumbers already know: Before anything, you’ve got to pass muster.