Dill Pickles
Difficulty Level Easy
I made some dill pickles earlier in the season, and although I enjoyed them very much and they were popular with everyone, they were a little bit sweet for my taste. I love the sour dill pickles that are loaded with garlic.
For such a simple thing, it's surprising just how many recipes there are for dill pickles. I wanted a recipe without any sugar at all, and something that would last longer than a couple of weeks in the refrigerator. This recipe certainly was easy. I left the pickles for two weeks and then opened a jar when I had company for the weekend, just to give them a try. The texture was not quite crunchy, but not quite soft as sour pickles often are. I have the feeling that the texture was wrong because the water I put the jars into was already at the boiling point. I'm going to leave the other jars for awhile longer to see if the texture changes. Other than that, they had a great flavour. I definitely going to try these again.
This recipe is for 7 quart jars, but the cucumbers aren't measured. I got 3 quart jars out of one small basket of cucumbers, so adjust the recipe accordingly.
INGREDIENTS
| fresh dill weed, carefully washed pickling cucumbers, washed, scrubbed 1 garlic clove (or more) per jar | |
| For the Brine | |
| 8 1/2 cups | water |
| 2 1/4 cups | white vinegar |
| 1/2 cup | pickling salt |
PREPARATION:
- Wash 7 quart jars in hot, soapy water (or dishwasher), rinse and fill with hot water; set aside.
(I sterilized my jars and rings in boiling water for 10 minutes, rather than just washing them. The lids I soak in hot water)
- In a large saucepan, bring water, vinegar and salt to boil; turn off the heat; set aside.
- Place a layer of dill at the bottom of each jar, along with one garlic clove, then tightly load the cukes into the jar up to the neck of the jar (depending on size you may get two nice layers with a few small cukes in the top) squeeze cukes into the jar tightly--uniform size helps; add a few sprigs of dill at the top, too, and another garlic clove if desired.
- Once jars are loaded, pour in the brine leaving # half-inch head space in each jar. Add lid and ring to each jar, and tighten it to fingertip tightness.
- Place jars into canner with water just to the necks of the jars. Bring water almost to a boil
(about 15 minutes--depending on how fast it heats up).
- Remove jars, set on a dish towel on the kitchen counter, cover with another dish towel & let cool. Check for seal (indented lid), label jars or lids, store in cool dark cellar or cupboard.
From Recipezaar
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