Half-Sour Dill Pickles
I’m not a big fan of dill pickles – I prefer bread & butter – but the bride loves them so I thought I try making some at home.
7 firm pickling cucumbers, about four to six inches long and six-ounces each
6 quarts cold water, divided
1 1/2 cups canning or kosher salt, divided
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 bunch fresh dill (or 1/3 cup dill weed)
1 1/2 tablespoons pickling spice
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves, crumbled
Combine two quarts of cold water and one cup coarse kosher salt in a large container. Stir until the salt dissolves. Wash the cucumbers and add them to the container. Weigh down the cucumbers with a plate to keep the cucumbers submerged. Allow the cucumbers to soak, refrigerated, for four to six hours (this helps keep the cucumbers crisp).
Remove the cucumbers from the salted water and rinse. Discard the water.
Combine the remaining gallon of water with the remaining 1/2 cup of salt in the container. Stir to dissolve the salt. Add the vinegar, garlic, dill, pickling spice, peppercorns, pepper flakes and bay leaves. Cut the blossom end off of the cucumber (or just scrap out any remaining blossom) and add the cucumbers to the container. (Depending on the size of the container, you may have to make more brine. The formula is two tablespoons salt to one quart of water.) Weigh the cucumbers down with a plate or resealable bag filled with water to keep the cucumbers submerged.
Allow the cucumbers to pickle in a cool place for two to six days… the longer the pickles ferment the more sour they will become.
Strain the pickling liquid into a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Place the pickles (cut into spears if desired) into sterilized one-pint canning jars and seal. Process the pickles in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. (Alternately the pickles can simply be refrigerated after pickling but they should be consumed within two weeks.)
A perfect cucumber ready to become a pickle
Lots of dill added to the brine
Into the brining solution
Ready to eat (or refrigerate for up to two weeks)
