Mark's Barrel Cured Pickles

Jewish/polish/German style full sour pickles.

• Ready In: 360 hrs 10 mins
• Serves: 100
• Yields: 15 JARS

Ingredients

• 4  gallons distilled water
• 1  cup kosher salt
• 1  head garlic, chopped
• 3  tablespoons black peppercorns
• 3  bunches fresh dill
• 7  lbs pickling cucumbers

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in five gallon bucket with air lock. Don't let this scare you. You can buy one for about $5.00 at a home brew supply store, which almost every community has -- otherwise, buy one off ebay, or from some hardware stores. They are called 'Ale Pales", misspelling intentional. The air lock costs less then a dollar and is a simple piece of plastic that sticks through a hole on the bucket lid. Easy stuff, a 6 year old could make this recipe.
2. Mix all ingredients with long spoon or other chosen tool.
3. Add cucumbers.
4. Weigh down so that all cucumbers are below the liquid. I use a overturned ceramic bowl that fits the bucket well. others use large gallon Zip- Lock bags filled with water. You are a smart person, find something that keeps the pickles under the liquid. Something non-reactive though, no copper or brass --
5. Cap bucket and fill airlock with some tap water. This keeps bad stuff out, but lets the bucket breathe. Let the bucket sit for 10 days in a cool dark corner of your house. if you live in a very hot place, consider using the basement.
6. After ten days open container, skim off the scum ( the scum is a perfectly safe yeast extract, if you wanted to you could just stir it in, but it is ugly, so remove it), recover bucket, and let sit for 5 more days in the cool dark place in your house.
7. Open again, get rid of scum and/or soft pickles. If you can squeeze and easily crush the pickle toss it. I lose about ten each time, its just part of the game. Now get ready to jar.
8. Take out pickles a few at a time, slice into half or fourths, and fit into a jar. You will need about twenty jars. If you want you can jar them whole, but most people don't like eating whole pickles.
9. Fill said bottles to very very top with brine, and hand tighten lid.
10. Put them in a fridge, and they will keep for a very long time, as long as they stay in the fridge.
11. Once you open a jar to begin consumption they will last about 5 days. It is important to not let the yeast extract that will settle at the bottom of the jar bother you. Simply shake the jar like a bottle of juice each time you take out a pickle. The liquid should and will be cloudy.
12. When they turn soft, or the skin easily peels off pickle, it is time to throw them away. This will not happen until you open the jar. So remember to tell the happy people that you share these pickles with to consume within 5 days.