Hey guys! If you had read my first post, I have been learning how to can goods. One of the things I had wanted to do was make a good pickle to go with my BBQ. My first attempt at canning pickles, resulted in a not so flavorful and mushy pickle. So it was back to the drawing board! Got me a book on canning and watched some Youtube videos. So the plan here is to go old school and ferment the pickles. This process takes about 3 weeks. Yeah I know, long time to wait for some pickles. Plus I got my hands on some pickling spice, which in my first attempt I didn't have, it was just garlic, dill and a LOT of vinegar!
So for this recipe here are some of the things this recipe calles for.
A large crock, glass jar, or any non reactive container that has a 2-3 gallon capacity.
1 gallon filtered water
1/2 cup pickling spice
1 bunch fresh dill
7 lbs. pickling cucumbers
4 cloves garlic (whole, peeled)
1 cup cider vinegar (5% acidity)
3/4 cup kosher salt
I chose to use this Costco size pickle jar because its inexpensive and I have had it lying around to make sun tea. So I didn't have to go and spend money on a crock.
The next step I did, was wash the dill and cucumbers. Be sure when picking cucumbers that they have no blemishes, bruises, and are very firm. After washing them cut off the flower end of the cucumber. If you can't tell which end it is, be safe and cut both off. After that I gave them an ice bath while I prepped the brine.
In a bowl mix I mixed the kosher salt, cider vinegar, and water. Mix until salt has completely dissolved.
Prepping the container I cleaned it with soap and hot water. This is important when you plan to ferment anything. All your equipment or anything contacting the object you are fermenting needs to be CLEAN!!!! After washing the pickle jar, in the bottom I places 1/4 cup pickling spice and 1/2 bunch of the fresh dill.
If you cannot find pickling spice at your supermarket, I got mine at Penzeys Spices. They got AWESOME spices there, but they are also EXPENSIVE!!!
After inserting half of the spices, I started packing the cucumbers. Pack them as tight as possible! After packing, on top I placed 1/4 cup pickling spice, 4 cloves garlic and the rest of the dill.
After all that I poor in the brine till it covers everything. move jar around to free up any bubbles on the bottom. If you have any cucumbers that are floating, which they will. Take a small zip lock bag, fill it with water or left over brine and stuff it in the top of the jar. This will act as a weight to keep everything submerged under the brine!
The book I am reading says to keep the lid loos enough to allow gas to escape. Now all i can do is store in a cool dark place and check every 2 days and skim foam off the top. Ill keep posting What happens as the weeks go by. Wish me luck!
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