Pickling Brine for Cucs and Beans

I was introduced to pickling last year by a friend of mine. I then gave away the fruits of my labor as Christmas gifts. My family and friends loved these so much that I am now growing my own cucumbers and I need to pickle about 75 quarts this season to fill the demand! I hope you have as much success with this recipe as well. Prep time is guesstimated and cook time is shelf time.

• Ready In: 1009 hrs
• Yields: 12 quarts (roughly)

Ingredients

• 24 -36  heads fresh dill weed
• 24 -36  peeled garlic cloves
• 18  dried cayenne peppers (24-36 for spicier pickles)
• 5  quarts water
• 1  quart cider vinegar
• 1  cup rock salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon alum
• 1  tablespoon sugar

Directions

1. Wash cuc's/beans throughly.
2. If pickling cucumbers prick each 2-3 times each.
3. Sterilize quart jars and lids- keep in hot water till ready to use.
4. In a large pot combine water, vinegar, salt, alum and sugar to warm ("warm" is a vague term I know- I usually wait till the salt has dissolved or just before boiling point is reached).
5. In each sterilized quart jar place 2-3 heads dill, 2-3 cloves garlic, 1-1.5 peppers (2-3 if you want a spicier pickle) then pack in cucumbers or beans (with beans I like to pack in half yellow wax beans, half green- it's very pretty).
6. Pour brine over veggies then let cool to room temperature.
7. Pour brine back into kettle and bring to a boil.
8. Once boiling then pour brine back over veggies, within .25" of top of jar.
9. Tightly screw HOT lids and rings on jars.
10. Place jars upside down for 5 minutes then flip back up, cover with a tea towel and leave jars to seal until next day.
11. Pickles/dilly beans are ready to eat in 6 weeks.
12. And every other week or so I flip the jars upside down so the brine distributes the garlic and dill flavor evenly.
13. Also the longer you can wait to eat the pickle the better it is.
14. This method creates a WONDERFUL, crunchy pickle, however the seal on the jar is fairly soft.
15. I store them with the bands on.
16. *Note: I don't give specific amounts of beans/cuc's as size can vary the amount per quart (though I try to harvest when the beans are no larger then a #2 pencil and the cucumbers are 2" long and about .5" in diameter). Generally I keep cuc's and beans in large bowls of ice water in the frig and every few days the garden provides me with enough produce that I can put up 3-5 quarts of pickles. This brine can be made up and stored in the frig and brought out and heated/used as you need it.