I received a bunch of cucumbers from our CSA–too many to eat in salads–so I made refrigerator garlic dill pickles. I found the recipe on the farm’s website. They turned out very tasty and the longer they stay in the refrigerator the more garlicky the flavor!
Refrigerator Garlic Dill Pickles
recipe from Spiral Path Farm
Ingredients
- 6-8 large, firm cucumbers, cut into spears
- 2 quarts water
- 1 cup vinegar
- 2 tablespoons dried dill seed
- 1/2 cup coarse salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 6-8 whole garlic heads, peeled and papery skin removed
- 6-8 fresh grape leaves (optional – for crispness. I didn’t use.)
- 6-8 clean glass jars, I reused spaghetti sauce jars.
Directions
1. Soak cucumber spears in an ice bath for 10 minutes. This will help improve crispness.
2. Prepare the brine: In a large sauce pot, bring the water, vinegar, dill seed, salt, and sugar to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature.
3. While the brine is simmering, place the following in each empty jar: 1 minced clove of garlic, whole cloves of 1 head of garlic, 1 fresh grape leaf. Next, stuff the cucumber spears into each jar.
4. After brine has cooled, pour brine over the cucumbers, covering by 1/2 inch. Place cap on jar and let sit at room temperature for 2 days. Move to the refrigerator for up to a year.
Note – If your cucumbers are not crisp before you pickle them, they will not be crisp afterwards. Some of my pickles are mushy, but the center of some of the cucumbers wasn’t firm. Taste wise the pickles are still good, just a little mushy. Be sure to use FIRM cucumbers!
Do you make your own pickles? What’s your method? Let us know in the comments.
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This post is linked to Real Food Wednesday @ Kelly the Kitchen Kop and Your Green Resource at The Greenbacks Gal.
