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Ingredients
- 2 overflowing quarts of pickling cucumbers, sliced into fat coins*
- 4 cups apple cider vinegar
- 4 cups water
- 5 tablespoons pickling salt
- 16 garlic cloves, peeled (2 per jar)**
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper per jar*** (2 teaspoons total)
- 1 teaspoon dill seed per jar (8 teaspoons total)
- 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns per jar (4 teaspoons total)
Preparation
Step 1
We also believe that no good sandwich is complete without a pickle. My parents take sandwich construction very seriously, and often buy jars of pickles that have been pre-sliced lengthwise just for this purpose (prior to being stacked between the lettuce and the cheese, these pickles are blotted on papertowels, so that the sandwiches aren’t made soggy by too much additional liquid).
In a large saucepot, combine vinegar, water and salt. Bring to a simmer.
Pour the brine into the jar, leaving ½ inch headspace.
Wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Pickles can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to a year.
If you want to skip the boiling water process, these pickles are also wonderful as refrigerator pickles. Just pop the jars into the fridge once they’re cool.
*I use slices because I find that they are easiest to pack into jars. However, you could also choose to make spears, halves or pickle the cucumbers whole.
Should the brine be cooled before it’s poured over the pickles? Does processing them in the boiling water bath for 10 minutes cause them to become mushy?
Any time you make water bath canned pickles, they lose some of their crunch. If you want a truly crunchy pickle, you should try a batch of refrigerator pickles.
The recipe in the book is the best one to follow. However, know that if you go with the 5 minute processing time, you need to make sure you sterilize your jars before processing.
So I made these pickles almost two weeks ago and they are SO GOOD. I know I was supposed to wait a couple of weeks but we were taking a picnic to our local Shakespeare Festival and needed pickles…I think we ate the whole jar! I want to make more and put them up in those wonderful 1.5 pint jars…but I am not sure about the processing time. I am going between what your book says in the dill pickle recipe and this one. I did the pints last time, I used 10 minutes because of my elevation, and they were just lovely and crunchy. I know you process larger jars longer but…I am new to canning and it is all very confusing. Do you have any advice?
We are enjoying the pickles I made at the workshop in Fayetteville. Ready to make some more… Thanks so much!
Do you have to use salt, and could you add some sugar, if so how much? Thanks
You definitely need the salt, because it helps draw out the water from the cucumbers in order to make room for the vinegar to enter the vegetables. For a slightly sweet pickle, try the proportions in this recipe:
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