Recipes

Homemade Dill Pickles (Refrigerator Pickles)

Hello my fellow pickle loving friends. Have you ever made your own homemade dill pickles? There are basically two main methods of making pickles but one requires more time, patience and skills if you will. The other is for those of us that just want the pickles asap and have no problem whipping up a batch weekly or as desired. The first method of course is canning which I will eventually try but my favorite method and the one I’m sharing a recipe for today is refrigerator pickles using cucumbers from our edible garden.

Refrigerator Pickles

The great thing about refrigerator pickles is that they can be eaten the same day. You can easily whip up different flavors like dill, spicy, or bread and butter style pickles. And since I’m all about the edible garden life, I always have an abundance of cucumbers just waiting to be pickled starting in late spring. Today’s recipe is homemade dill pickles using the refrigerator method.

Homemade Dill Pickles

The main ingredients for any pickle is of course cucumbers. The other main ingredients are vinegar and sugar. For dill pickles obviously dill is a must. Garlic is also a stable in any dill pickle recipe. I also add peppercorns, sweet or smoked paprika, and a bay leaf or two to my recipe. The peppercorns and paprika don’t make this recipe truly spicy but they do add a nice flavor punch. Smoked paprika is my preference but sweet works well too and compliments the sugar in the recipe.

Homemade Dill Pickles (Refrigerator Pickles)

2018-07-05 11:13:00

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Ingredients

2 cucumbers, thin sliced
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp red peppercorns
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1 bay leaf

Instructions

Placed sliced cucumbers in an air tight glass jar.
Add the dill, peppercorns, garlic and bay leaf to the jar.
Combine the salt, sugar, and vinegar in a bowl, stir to combine then pour into the jar of cucumbers.
Seal the jar, shake well and refrigerate. Shake several times.
Pickles will be edible in 6-8 hours.

Notes

You can choose to combine the vinegar and sugar in a pot with a 1/2 cup of water and simmer until well combined. Let the brine cool before adding them to the jar of cucumbers and spices.

What MJ Loves™ https://www.whatmjloves.com/

I like to make my homemade dill pickles by cutting the cucumber into discs like in this recipe. It allows for the flavors to come together quicker than using a whole pickle or long slices. You can choose any method of cutting you prefer but keep in mind the type of pickle you use. Generally speaking any variety with the word “pickling” included in the name is a good one. I use Boston Pickling pickles from my garden. For pickling whole pickles go for a small to medium kirby pickle.