I love a good pickle! A sour dill pickle is my favorite. I stated making picked six years ago when our first garden provided and abundance of cucumbers. I've worked on my recipe each year. I really like what we have been making this year and thought I'd share the recipe.
First, I grow Boston Pickling cucumbers for pickles. I also grow Straight Eight, and incorporate these sometimes, but usually as chips or relish not spears, halves or whole pickles. The Boston Pickling really are better. I also try to pick them early when they are the perfect size for slicing into pickles, which is aroubd 6 inches in length. Sometimes I pick them really early for baby dill pickles even.
Once I pick the cucumbers, I slice them into halves or spears or dice into relish. Skip slicing if you want whole pickles. Then I pack the cucumbers into gallon zip bags. Non-metal bowls or even food-grade buckets would work too. For each gallon of cucumbers I add 1/3 cup of picking salt. Seal the bags (or cover bowels or buckets) and place in the fridge for 12-24 hours. The salt draws water out of the cucumbers. This aids in developing a crisp texture and removed water that will otherwise dilute the pickling brine later.
Once ready to start pickling the cucumbers, be sure to sterilize jars and lids that you'll store them in. I use quart size mason jars for sliced and whole pickles (except the one 2 quart jar I have that I fill with whole pickles each) and pint of half pint jars for relish. I bring a waterbath (pot of water) to boil and place canning jars and lids in the billing water for at least 5 minutes. Then remove and place empty jars facing up on a clean towel.
Next prepare pickle spice. This it's the part I am poor at measuring... and that makes every batch unique. I typically use the following though: dill seed, mustard seed, celery seed, peppercorns, red pepper flake, dry oregano, and dry parsley. I occasionally add turmeric, which I like by powders can cloud the pickle brine. Mix the seasonings together and put a hefty pinch into the bottom of each jar. Then to each jar add a bay leaf, a few garlic cloves and several slices of onion (I spice onion into half circles but whatever suits your fancy).
Next take the salted cucumbers out of the fridge. Strain liquid from them and rinse thoroughly but gently with cold water to remove as much salt as possible. Once rinse, pack the cucumbers into the jars. Don't cram them too tight, fit as many as you can up to within 3/4 inch of the top of each jar. This part is important to ensure the pickles are submerged in the brine later.
Now you need to make the brine. I use 1 part pickling salt, 4 parts apple cider vinegar, 4 parts white vinegar and 8 parts water. For filling several hats in one batch, grab a 6 quart pot and measure parts as cups - 1 cup pickling salt, 4 cups apple cider vinegar, 4 cups white vinegar and 8 cups water. Bring the brine to a boil and stir a but to be sure the salt fully dissolves. Let boil for a 2-3 minutes and then turn of the burner. Ladle the hot brine into your packed jars. Grab sterile lids from the bliling watetbath with a magnetic wand and place them on each jar followed by a ring. Now you can let the jars cook and store in the fridge for several weeks (I haven't tested how long because I always process them in the canner for long term storage) or do like I do and process the jars in the waterbath to seal then and make them shelf stable for over a year.
For safety and accountability purposes the following canning procedures are just recommendations and you should always follow instructions provided with a canner and research canning methods and processing times, including the need for added processing time to account for high elevation in some areas.
I process the jars in the boiling waterbath for 15 minutes. Ensure there's at leady an inch of water over the jars when the are in the waterbath. Once done, I remove the jars and place them on a clean towel on the counter and let them cool overnight. I then remove the rings and place the jars in the pantry. Be sure to check for seal by pressing on the center of the lids - it shouldn't bounce. Grab an unopen jar of perishable goods from the grocery store for comparison. When all sealed and unopened it shouldn't flex up and down when pressed, but once opened the lid flexes and that's what you don't want to see in your canned jars of pickles you intend to store. If a jar isn't properly sealed, reprocess in a boiling waterbath for 15 minutes or place the jar in the fridge.
Pickles take time to absorb flavors. Allow your canned jars of pickles to rest for at least two weeks before opening them. If you make whole pickles, give them a month as the skins and overall thickness can slow down the process a bit.
Enjoy your homemade pickles! I sure enjoy making and eating them!
First, I grow Boston Pickling cucumbers for pickles. I also grow Straight Eight, and incorporate these sometimes, but usually as chips or relish not spears, halves or whole pickles. The Boston Pickling really are better. I also try to pick them early when they are the perfect size for slicing into pickles, which is aroubd 6 inches in length. Sometimes I pick them really early for baby dill pickles even.
Once I pick the cucumbers, I slice them into halves or spears or dice into relish. Skip slicing if you want whole pickles. Then I pack the cucumbers into gallon zip bags. Non-metal bowls or even food-grade buckets would work too. For each gallon of cucumbers I add 1/3 cup of picking salt. Seal the bags (or cover bowels or buckets) and place in the fridge for 12-24 hours. The salt draws water out of the cucumbers. This aids in developing a crisp texture and removed water that will otherwise dilute the pickling brine later.
Once ready to start pickling the cucumbers, be sure to sterilize jars and lids that you'll store them in. I use quart size mason jars for sliced and whole pickles (except the one 2 quart jar I have that I fill with whole pickles each) and pint of half pint jars for relish. I bring a waterbath (pot of water) to boil and place canning jars and lids in the billing water for at least 5 minutes. Then remove and place empty jars facing up on a clean towel.
Next prepare pickle spice. This it's the part I am poor at measuring... and that makes every batch unique. I typically use the following though: dill seed, mustard seed, celery seed, peppercorns, red pepper flake, dry oregano, and dry parsley. I occasionally add turmeric, which I like by powders can cloud the pickle brine. Mix the seasonings together and put a hefty pinch into the bottom of each jar. Then to each jar add a bay leaf, a few garlic cloves and several slices of onion (I spice onion into half circles but whatever suits your fancy).
Next take the salted cucumbers out of the fridge. Strain liquid from them and rinse thoroughly but gently with cold water to remove as much salt as possible. Once rinse, pack the cucumbers into the jars. Don't cram them too tight, fit as many as you can up to within 3/4 inch of the top of each jar. This part is important to ensure the pickles are submerged in the brine later.
Now you need to make the brine. I use 1 part pickling salt, 4 parts apple cider vinegar, 4 parts white vinegar and 8 parts water. For filling several hats in one batch, grab a 6 quart pot and measure parts as cups - 1 cup pickling salt, 4 cups apple cider vinegar, 4 cups white vinegar and 8 cups water. Bring the brine to a boil and stir a but to be sure the salt fully dissolves. Let boil for a 2-3 minutes and then turn of the burner. Ladle the hot brine into your packed jars. Grab sterile lids from the bliling watetbath with a magnetic wand and place them on each jar followed by a ring. Now you can let the jars cook and store in the fridge for several weeks (I haven't tested how long because I always process them in the canner for long term storage) or do like I do and process the jars in the waterbath to seal then and make them shelf stable for over a year.
For safety and accountability purposes the following canning procedures are just recommendations and you should always follow instructions provided with a canner and research canning methods and processing times, including the need for added processing time to account for high elevation in some areas.
I process the jars in the boiling waterbath for 15 minutes. Ensure there's at leady an inch of water over the jars when the are in the waterbath. Once done, I remove the jars and place them on a clean towel on the counter and let them cool overnight. I then remove the rings and place the jars in the pantry. Be sure to check for seal by pressing on the center of the lids - it shouldn't bounce. Grab an unopen jar of perishable goods from the grocery store for comparison. When all sealed and unopened it shouldn't flex up and down when pressed, but once opened the lid flexes and that's what you don't want to see in your canned jars of pickles you intend to store. If a jar isn't properly sealed, reprocess in a boiling waterbath for 15 minutes or place the jar in the fridge.
Pickles take time to absorb flavors. Allow your canned jars of pickles to rest for at least two weeks before opening them. If you make whole pickles, give them a month as the skins and overall thickness can slow down the process a bit.
Enjoy your homemade pickles! I sure enjoy making and eating them!
