Foodie Friday: Refrigerator Pickles

 

I’ve always loved dill pickles – and only dill pickles. I’ve tried loving sweet pickles and just can’t. A few years ago, I discovered dill pickles in the refrigerated section of the store and was immediately ruined for life. No more weird-green dill pickles from the shelf for me. If it’s not refrigerated, it’s not going on my plate. I try not to be a food snob about most things, but it turns out I am a dill pickle snob all the way.

            Last year I planted cucumbers, and they failed miserably. This year, they did just the opposite. What in the world could I do with a million (slight exaggeration) cucumbers? Well, I decided to try my hand at making refrigerator pickles. I’ve never attempted anything like this before and was quite nervous about it.

            We had to buy canning jars, though to be clear, this is not a canning recipe. We just didn’t own those kinds of jars to hold them. I hoped this would succeed because I didn’t want that to be a wasted investment.

            And it was not wasted. A couple of Saturdays ago, while Ryan worked on a project, I set up camp in the kitchen with cucumbers and dill and garlic…and hoped for the best!

            I used this recipe, though much of it was a guessing game on my part. I was using smaller jars than the recipe talked about, and I wasn’t sure how much of the ingredients to put in  - with the dill and garlic. I’ll tell you what I did, and I will tell you that it tasted so good.

Refrigerator Pickles

Note: I used 12 pint jars, but if you have a different number or size of jars, it can impact the ingredients you’ll need.

Note #2: I have no idea how many cucumbers I used. Most of mine were fairly long (because they hid on my plants!) so one of my cucumbers might be two normal cucumbers. I chose to cut mine in slices rather than spears, so I just cut enough to fill (but not pack) my jars.

Note #3: The original recipe post has a ton of helpful hints and tips, so if you want to know more than I can tell you from my limited experiment, check out what she has to say!

Note #4: I ended up making 3 batches of the brine, and that filled my 12 jars (with cucumbers also inside) if that helps you guess what you might need. The numbers below are for one batch.

10-12 pickling cucumbers (or whatever you have in whatever quantity you have)

4 cups water

2 cups white vinegar

2 Tablespoons salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 bunch fresh dill

Garlic cloves (see below)

Peppercorn kernels (see below)

Thoroughly wash cucumbers and cut into slices or spears. Set them aside. To prepare the brine, combine water, vinegar, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and make sure sugar and salt dissolve. Remove pan from heat and cool to room temperature.

Layer the cucumbers in the jars. Add sprig of fresh dill (remove thick stems), 1 clove of smashed garlic, and about 10 peppercorn kernels. Don’t overfill the jar. Pour enough brine into the jar to cover cucumbers. Seal with lid and store in refrigerator. Wait at least one week for maximum flavor, and they should last for at least six weeks.

Note #4: I wasn’t sure how much garlic or dill was too much or not enough. I tried to put in about a teaspoon’s worth of dill and 1 smashed garlic clove, and that seemed to be good for our tastes in a pint jar.

Note #5: Peppercorn kernels are really pretty! I chose a jar that had multiple colors and it made my jars so pretty!

I’m so happy I know how to do this now, so I know how to make them from here on!