No-vinegar Dill Pickles

Jenny Sanders's Note:

Posted in response to a request for dill pickles made without vinegar. This recipe is per quart; make as many quarts as you like. These are excellent, and very easy to make. The hardest part about making pickles is scrubbing the cucumbers, and I'm not kidding. I prefer fairly small pickling cucumbers, and pay a premium to get them. Dump them in a sink, cover with cold water, then start fishing them out and scrubbing them THOROUGHLY with a soft brush. Get every bit of grit and dried-out cucumber blossom off of them, or they will not taste so good. When you have scrubbed every last blessed cucumber, rinse them again. Now you are ready to start - or maybe two-thirds done.

• Total Time: 1008 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1008 hrs

Ingredients:

Serves: 30

Yield: 1.0 quart

• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon mixed pickling spices
• 1 clove garlic (optional)
• 1 quart fresh small pickling cucumber
• 1 -2 head of fresh green dill seed
• filtered water , at room temperature

Directions:

1. Put the quart jar (s) in a large pot, cover and bring to a boil.
2. Boil them for 10 minutes.
3. Remove and empty them.
4. Put the salt, spices and garlic in the bottom of a sterilized quart jar.
5. The amount listed is for one jar.
6. Add a little water to dissolve the salt.
7. Pack- I say PACK!
8. -with cucumbers and a couple heads of dill, as tightly as possible, without breaking the cucumbers.
9. Leave a little headroom.
10. Fill up with water, leaving 1" headroom at the top.
11. Cap lightly for 24 hours, then tighten and store for 6 weeks in a cool dark place.
12. Use sterilized lids and rings to cap.
13. (Boil both for 5 minutes.).
14. Place on newspaper in case they leak while fermenting.
15. Store in a cool dark spot- a basement is ideal.
16. I make these every year for fear that my father might disown me if I failed to make him 6 or 8 jars for his Christmas present.

Reviews

[76sarah]

Excellent recipe! It is really important to use crispy cucumbers--I used a couple that were a little soft and they were mushy in the finished product so follow the recipe and use only your best cucumbers. Thanks!

[Gerry]

Great tasting pickles. Wish I had made more! These are very similar to the 'salt dills' that are a favorite with several family members and are on the request list each year. The tablespoon of pickling spice is more then in my recipe and found it made for a nice touch! I used garlic and of course the fresh dill. I was very impressed with your instructions. I highly recommend this recipe for the making of delicious dills. Thank you Jenny.

[Chef #945766]

I have not tried this recipe yet. I would like to share my tip for cleaning cucumbers. I use a sponge designed for non-stick cookware. When wet they curve around the cukes nicely and are just right for washing away all those pesky little pricklys. CAA