I grew up in a household that appreciated a good garlic dill. As a kid, one of my very favorite after school snacks was a chunky pickle. I would fish one out of the jar with a fork, stabbing until I could get get traction and then drop it into a plastic cereal bowl. I’d slowly nibble away at the pickle over my book of the moment, until all I had left was the stem end of the cucumber and wrinkly, vinegar-scented fingers.
We also believe that no good sandwich is complete without a pickle. My parents take sandwich construction very seriously, and often buy jars of pickles that have been pre-sliced lengthwise just for this purpose (prior to being stacked between the lettuce and the cheese, these pickles are blotted on papertowels, so that the sandwiches aren’t made soggy by too much additional liquid).
However, up until recently, the idea that a homemade pickle was actually the best kind of pickle didn’t occur to any of us (even taking into account the fact that my father has spent the last 30 years hunting for a pickle to replicate his beloved Polski Wyrob that he hasn’t been able to find since they left Chicago in 1978). I began my pickle enlightenment sometime back in the early spring, when I first started combining asparagus with a vinegar-based brine. I’ve been spreading the pickle gospel out west to my parents in Oregon for sometime now, and it appears that the indoctrination is complete.
My mother and I just spent the last hour on the phone and more than half our conversation revolved around homemade pickles (she now keeps a jar of brine in the fridge, and consistently replenishes the cucumber supply). I can’t tell you how proud I was tonight when she said, “I don’t think I’ll ever buy another jar of pickles again, when making them at home is so easy and so much better.” She’s also got her sights set on making these zucchini pickles (I admit, I sent her the link with a note suggesting they’d be a good way to use up the stampede of garden squash that is coming her way).
And, while I don’t think that my dad will ever find a pickle to compare to the Polski Wyrobs of yore, these garlic dills may just give his taste memory something to get excited about.
Garlic Dill Pickles
Makes approximately 8 pints (total yield varies depending on size of cucumbers)
2 overflowing quarts of pickling cucumbers, sliced into fat coins*
4 cups apple cider vinegar
4 cups water
6 tablespoons pickling salt
16 garlic cloves, peeled (2 per jar)**
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper per jar (2 teaspoons total)
1 teaspoon dill seed per jar (8 teaspoons total)
½ teaspoon black peppercorns per jar (4 teaspoons total)
Wash and slice the cucumbers.
In a large saucepot, combine vinegar, water and salt. Bring to a simmer.
Arrange jars on counter and dole out the spices to each. Pack the cucumber slices firmly into the jars. You don’t want to damage the cukes, but you do want them packed tight.
Pour the brine into the jar, leaving ½ inch headspace.
Wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
When 10 minutes are up, promptly remove the jars from the pot and allow them to cool on the countertop. When the jars are cool, check the seals (by pushing/tapping on the lid).
Pickles can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to a year.
If you want to skip the boiling water process, these pickles are also wonderful as refrigerator pickles. Just pop the jars into the fridge once they’re cool.
*I use slices because I find that they are easiest to pack into jars. However, you could also choose to make spears, halves or pickle the cucumbers whole.
**I like to peel the garlic by leaning on it ever so slightly with the side of a chef’s knife. This bruises the garlic a bit and gets its pungent flavor into the brine/cucumbers more effectively.
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Comments ( 36 )
[...] Garlic Dill Pickles I love pickled foods. When I was a kid, there was always a jar or a bowl in the back of the fridge, filled with a garlicky vinegar, and swimming with bits of red onion, cucumber, and whatever else was in season. It was part of the weekly routine to add to the brine so we always had something to be served with or as part of a sandwich or snack. But I’ve never made real pickles like these. I really want to try. [...]
monday morning links | Kara Cooks added this comment on Aug 17 09 at 8:44 am[...] Garlic Pickles Adapted from Garlic Dill Pickles at Food in [...]
pickles [and the giveaway winners!] « Whitney in Chicago added this comment on Sep 04 09 at 2:22 pm[...] they make wonderful, if slightly less crisp pickles. I made a batch of seven pints recently, using the exact same brine that I use for my garlic dills and they are wonderful. They are particularly good in sandwiches, because they are a bit more [...]
Food in Jars » Pear Butter Winner + Zucchini Pickles added this comment on Sep 21 09 at 3:53 pm[...] RECIPE Adapted from Food in Jars -Makes 8 [...]
Homemade pickles are the least of it. | umami girl added this comment on Oct 21 09 at 10:06 pm[...] pepper flakes and 1 tablespoon mustard seeds. Two teaspoons of this blend can be substituted for the spices in this recipe (everything else stays the [...]
Food in Jars » Gift in a Jar: Handmade Spice Blends added this comment on Dec 16 09 at 11:43 pm[...] opened up The Glass Pantry and Martha’s Original Classics. I hit up Tigress In A Pickle and Food In Jars. Then, looked to Lebovitz and Symon’s Chilis & Ruhlman’s wisdom for help. And I [...]
tiny batches | pickles « Rufus & Clementine added this comment on Jan 05 10 at 4:32 am[...] of anticipation, she had finally opened a jar of garlic dill pickles she made last summer, using the recipe I posted in August. Only they were far, far too spicy for her. She was afraid that she was going to have to [...]
Food in Jars » Season to Taste added this comment on Mar 01 10 at 12:46 am[...] to try the Pick-a-Vegetable Dill Pickle recipe from the Complete Book of Home Preserving and these Garlic Dills from Food in Jars. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)In a PickleThis Sabra Tzatziki Dip [...]
Growing the Perfect Pickle « From Dirt to Dinner added this comment on Mar 20 10 at 12:27 am1. Cathy/ShowFoodChef added this comment on Aug 12 09 at 12:51 amJust found your site, and I love it! I’ll be trying the pickles and my family always loved those Polski Wyrobs too, and I don’t remember the last time I read that word. Thanx for your post.
2. Ke Zhang added this comment on Aug 12 09 at 4:13 amI’m so making these! I had a ton of garlic from the Gilroy Garlic Festival and this would be the perfect way to use some of them. Thanks for the recipe it looks delish.
3. Amelia added this comment on Aug 12 09 at 8:43 amI just told my husband that I don’t know if I want to can any more pickles this summer. I think I’m going to have to try this recipe. This site is so alluring to the canner in all of us. Everyone have a great canning week.
4. Fran added this comment on Aug 12 09 at 8:55 amYou wrote teaspoons instead of tablespoons for the pickling salt, like you did for the recipe you handed out in class on Saturday. I am enjoying the pickles we made in class, by the way, eating them with my lunches as a side! Thank you again for the class!
5. Marisa added this comment on Aug 12 09 at 9:24 amFran, thanks for catching that error again! It should be corrected now.
6. Meryl added this comment on Aug 12 09 at 10:07 amHave you had problems with these being soggy? I always seem to have the soggy problem with homemade pickles.
7. codfish added this comment on Aug 12 09 at 10:56 amWe also believe that no good sandwich is complete without a pickle. My parents take sandwich construction very seriously
I’m with you guys on the pickles. I’ve yet to make one that I loved, but will give this a try.
If you guys ever get out to Long Island, there’s a couple guys called the Pickle Guys who sell FABULOUS pickles at farmer’s markets. They make a sweet pickle with red peppers that we buy in quarts to take home to NJ, but they never survives the weekend.
8. Jennifer added this comment on Aug 12 09 at 12:58 pmAlthough I have made jam in the past, this is my first summer pickling. I’ve used the final boiling water process on my dilly green beans and pickled jalapenos. For my dill pickles, I put them in the fridge because I have been reading that the water processing can make the pickles less crisp. What do you think?
9. Marisa added this comment on Aug 12 09 at 1:08 pmAs far as the crispness of pickles go, these stay fairly crisp, particularly if you use kirbies (other slicing cucumbers won’t stay quite as snappy). However, if you are a fan of super crisp pickles, then skipping the hot water process is the right thing to do. That does mean though that you should only make as many pickles at one time as you can eat over the course of a few weeks. I’m shooting to make enough to have them through next summer, so I’m forgoing a bit of crispness in order to have shelf stable pickles.
One thing to note: I have been told that if you have access to a cherry tree or grape arbor, a leaf from one of those inserted into the jar with the cucumbers and brine will aid in preserving some additional crispness. I haven’t had access to either, so I can’t offer first-hand knowledge, but I’ve read this tidbit in a number of places, so I’m assuming it’s true.
10. Erin added this comment on Aug 12 09 at 1:46 pmI thought I was the only one who wiped off pickles before inserting them in my sandwich. If the sandwich is traveling with me to the office I actually take it one step further and wrap the bread in a separate covering from the meat and cheese and place the dried pickles in another covering so that everything is crisp, dry, and fresh when I actually get the chance to assemble my sandwich.
Your pickles look lovely!
11. Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) added this comment on Aug 12 09 at 4:32 pmGreat minds think alike; I made pickles this week, too. And they absolutely would not be the same without the garlic. Beautiful photos, Marisa.
12. Charlotte added this comment on Aug 12 09 at 5:53 pmI remember those Polish pickles. They were a favorite of my family when I was growing up.
13. Kelly added this comment on Aug 13 09 at 7:40 amIf you use whole pickles (instead of slicing) for the refrigerator method, do you need to let them sit in the fridge longer before you can eat them?
14. Marisa added this comment on Aug 13 09 at 10:54 amKelly, you would most definitely have to let whole pickles sit longer than the sliced ones. If you’re making refrigerator pickles, I would give them at least 3-4 days in the fridge to get nice and pickly.
15. pam added this comment on Aug 13 09 at 4:17 pmI keep a constantly replenished jar for my cucumbers in the fridge too. I’ve never tried garlic dill though!
16. Sylvie, Rappahannock Cook & Kitchen Gardener added this comment on Aug 14 09 at 9:19 amLove fridge cucumber pickles – good way to use just one or two cukes.
I love the fact that your recipe calls for NO sugar! Too many recipes have way too much sugar. Thank you.
17. Catalina added this comment on Aug 14 09 at 6:18 pmI just started a pickle fermentation experiment.
The pickles I made last year were too soggy, so this year I’m cutting 1/16th inch of the blossom end from my pickles and adding grape leaves.
Some I canned “raw” and some I am brining for 3 to 4 weeks and then canning.
I tasted one (Ok, two) and they were great! Can’t wait to test the rest!
18. Melynda added this comment on Aug 15 09 at 9:46 amHi Lydia from Perfect Pantry sent me your way. I want to make the rhubarb and apricot chutney from her site. However it is not canned and I was wondering how long to process a boiling water bath.
Thanks so much.
19. Sue added this comment on Aug 16 09 at 10:55 amI’ve just started canning and pickling. I did an experiment with one of my first batches. To half of the jars I added a grape leaf or two. Those pickles were crisp and perfect. The grape leaf-less pickles tasted great, but had a soggy texture.
21. Breeze added this comment on Aug 25 09 at 7:35 pmHi, I just made your recipe and wondered how long I have to wait to crack open a jar. Any suggestions on a minimum?
22. Di Zale added this comment on Aug 29 09 at 8:54 amCan you tell me how to make the crisp refrigerator pickles like Klaussen’s? I’ve been trying for years to duplicate them. In the meantime, these garlic dills are great!
23. Tracey Jurkovac added this comment on Sep 03 09 at 1:27 pmHi there! Can you tell me how long the refrigerator pickles last in the fridge before they go bad? Thanks so much!
24. Marisa added this comment on Sep 03 09 at 3:32 pmTracey, refrigerator pickles can last up to a couple of months without a problem. Just keep an eye on them and if they begin to look sludgy or slimy, toss them.
26. Brittany added this comment on Sep 11 09 at 2:22 amHey Marisa,
I made these pickles and they are to die for! The only problem is, in some of the jars I canned the pickles are sticking up above the brine. Will these mean that they go bad? Did I pack the jars too full? Not use enough brine? It looks like the pickles are floating, and them some stick up out of the brine and are in the dry air space at the top of the jar. Will they keep like this unrefridgerated?
Thanks a million!Brittany
27. Marisa added this comment on Sep 11 09 at 9:53 amBrittany, if the pickles are sticking up just a bit, because they’re floating in the brine, you have nothing worry about as long as the jars sealed. Food sometimes floats after being canned, and there’s nothing you can do about it other than packing the jars more tightly next time and using regular mouth as opposed to wide mouth jars (the shoulders of the regular mouth jars keep the pickles in their place better, particularly if the jar is well-packed).
Also, before processing, make sure that you’ve only left a 1/2 inch of headspace and that you’ve tightened the rings well. However, consider this batch a learning process, don’t wait forever to eat them and don’t worry!
29. Janice added this comment on Oct 04 09 at 7:55 pmI have everything on hand to make these lovely pickles–my first try at canning something other than fruit. Can these pickles be eaten right away or do they need to stay in sealed in the jars for a few days/weeks before they reach a true pickle flavor? Thanks!!
30. Janice added this comment on Oct 05 09 at 11:44 pmOpened our first jar today–I couldn’t even wait a couple of days. The pickles are really delicious, thank you for the recipe! We couldn’t stop eating them.
31. Sara added this comment on Oct 11 09 at 9:13 pmI just used this brine to make 13 pints of pickled veggies. We pickled beets, turnips, carrots, and parsnips (mostly separate, but some parsnips and turnips did get mixed together and a beet snuck into one can of the carrots). Not sure how the parsnips will turn out, but we’re expecting great things from the others. We also ended up with a pint of plum-pear butter. A friend who’s never canned before came over for her first ever canning experience (and my second!) and we have plans again next weekend for more canning. I love your site, it inspires me every time I come here!