Dill Pickle Recipe

[Patty S]

                            Ann's Garlic Dills

Wash 17- 20# pickling cukes & brine overnight
        (Brine: 3/4 Cup non-iodized salt per gallon of water)

Empty brine water & rinse cukes.

Pack in clean jars, along with:
Dill heads
Dill seed
Garlic Cloves
Mustard Seed
Pickling spices
(I don't use pickling spices myself, & I put 2 - 4 garlic cloves in each jar, & ¼ tsp each, of the dill & mustard seeds.)
       
Heat to boiling:                     
6 Cup white vinegar          
½ Cup non-iodized salt
¼ Cup Sugar
9 Cups Water

Prepare lids by simmering in enough water to cover them, until needed.

As quickly as possible:
Pour boiling mixture into packed jar, covering cukes & leaving ¼ -½" head space.
Wipe off jar rim to remove any liquid or spices
Place lid on & tighten jar ring
Invert jar for a few minutes (I don't know why... I just do it.)

DO NOT re-tighten ring during cooling.

Plan on approximately 1# cukes per jar

---------------------------------------------------------

Occasionally, there's a jar that doesn't seal.  I refrigerate them for a couple weeks before eating them, so the spices can set in.  (The kids don't care... they'll eat them anyway, but they aren't as "dilly".)

    Note: After not putting up pickles for a few years, I didn't understand why I wound up with a couple really salty batches... Turns out that I had filled the brine bucket with cukes first, then (because it was a 5 gallon bucket) I dumped 3 & 3/4 Cups of salt in, & filled the bucket to the top with water!

Soooo..... Either figure out how much water will be in the bucket after the cukes are in it, or mix the brine by the gallon, to fill the bucket! 

[MassMama]

This sounds like a good recipe Patty...I don't care for the pickling spice either.. Leaves a funky flavor
But beings that I have a Million blooms on my cucs I am going to make some pickles!! I will give this recipe a try...

[Patty S]

I think it's the allspice that's included in the pickling spices that give it the funky taste... besides, that stuff is waaaayy overpriced!
                 

Good luck with your pickles this year, Rita.  I have yet to have a batch from this recipe that weren't firm & crisp!
(Even the salty ones had a good texture!)

[MassMama]

  Ohhh It sounds just perfect!! One Question... were they too salty cause you didn't dissolve the salt before adding it?? I just want my first experiance to be Perfect!! 

[Patty S]

While salt will dissolve in water until it reaches its saturation point, it dissolves faster in warm water. (I use warm water...not hot.)

The problem with my batches of pickles being too salty wasn't a matter of the salt not dissolving, but that the 5 gallon bucket would hold
   EITHER 5 gallons of cukes,
    OR 5 gallons of water,
     OR 5 gallons of cukes and some water! 

If I would have started with 5 gallons of water with the required amount of salt, a lot of the water would have spilled out of the bucket as I added the cukes... but the ratio of salt to water would have remained constant.
 
(But I didn't do that!)

By putting the cukes in first, the 3 & 3/4 Cups of salt that I added was waaayy too much for the amount of water that the bucket would actually hold, since the cukes were already in it!

That's why the brine should be mixed separately, to fill the bucket with! (Depending on the size of the pickles, which would determine how much water is displaced, a 5-gallon bucket full of cukes will hold from 2-3 gallons of water.)

Oh... Maybe I should mention that since the cukes will try to float, I put a dinner plate on top of them & use a couple canning jars full of water to weigh the plate down. (And, I have gotten sidetracked & my cukes sat in the brine for 2 nights before, but it didn't really hurt anything that I noticed. If you wait too long though, the pickles wont be as crisp.)

I've used this recipe for 30-some years, & the only batches I ever "ruined" were because of that salt thing... so, you should do fine with your first "pickle experience".  Give me a holler if you have any more questions
...and don't forget the only dumb ones will be the ones you don't ask!

[Dianna]

Well, Patty, it is about time you found that recipe! Thank you so much for posting it for us. I am sure my son will love them. Every time I turned around last week-end he had a pickle in his mouth! 

[MassMama]

Ohhh I get what your saying now!!  I think i have a salt per gallon somewhere in my canning books...

Some pickles brine for up to 5 weeks.. that would be the recipe I would be affraid of!!

[Patty S]

Can you just imagine how much food has been wasted over time, by the people who develop these recipies?

I have a recipe (somewhere) for Sweet Gherkins, & they marinate in different spices for a whole week! You rinse, and/or add something to them each day. They're pretty spendy to make & you need to use the itty-bitty cukes for those, but they're absolutely unbeatable when it comes to a good sweet pickle! 

[MassMama]

Ummm Dumb sounding question here Patty... Do you water bath your pickles? All my canning books say too but ... Wouldn't want to if you don't have to???

[MassMama]

Patty did you miss my question...

[Patty S]

Sorry, Rita... I did see your question, but was busier than a zoo monkey on banana day last week, so I put off replying!

In the past, I have water bathed the few jars that didn't seal, but it cooked the pickles & they came out soft. (Yuck!)

The water bath canning method is recommended for processing high-acid foods... which cucumbers aren't.  The only thing that makes pickles high-acid, is all that vinegar (in the finished product).

[Dianna]

I was curious, too, and am glad to see an answer. Thanks for explaining it, Patty!

[MassMama]

  Thanks Patty.. I was curious if it was not recomended or if it may of been forgotten.. I will fallow it to the T and actually can't wait !!
Ohhh I bet it will be Perfect for Japalenos too!! 
Thanks Again!! 

[Keith]

OK I am starting to get some pretty good cuc's right now ... got my bucket and all Get enough for a few jars LoL

Please forgive my stupid Questions...
Last one I promise!!!
Will they still be crunchy if you cut them into spears? And if you did this would you also brine them sliced or whole?
OK I am running to hide now!!

[MassMama]

OOOPPPPSSSS I didn't know Keith was logged in sorry!!! 

[Patty S]

Please forgive my stupid Questions...
Last one I promise!!!

It better not be! They're only stupid when you don't ask them, silly goose!  How are any of us gunna learn anything if we all stand around pretending that we don't need to know anything? (I can just see it now... a whole mess of us standing there in a nice neat row, looking stupid... cuz we are!)

Actually, that's a very good question! I never even thought about spearing or slicing before taking them out of the jars!   You'd certainly save on jars, cuz you'd be able to get more in each one, that's for sure! 

Since you'll probably be putting up a few jars at a time, out of the garden, instead of buying boxes of pickling cukes & spending the whole day doing a couple dozen jars at once, why don't you give it a try?   I definitely would NOT cut them before putting them in the brine, though.  While I don't think it would necessarily make them less crunchy, the fleshy inside would soak up way too much salt & I don't think anyone would like them!

As I mentioned earlier, wait for a couple weeks before you open the first jar, cuz it'll take a while for the spices to soak in... but be sure to let us know how they turn out.

Good luck!

[MassMama]

  Good point!!

  I almost have enough for a few jars and I am going to try it all different ways!!  I'll let you all know how it goes!! Who would of ever thought pickles could be soooo exciting