Transforming fresh cucumbers into delicious pickles has never been easier. If you had a bountiful harvest this season, there’s no better way to save those cucumbers than by pickling them!
With this super simple refrigerator dill pickle recipe, you are just a few steps away from savoring the tangy, crunchy goodness of homemade pickles. You only need a few basic ingredients and a bit of patience.
So, if you are ready to make some tasty pickles, keep reading to find out how!
How To Make Dill Pickles
If you want to make preserved foods, then you will definitely love making refrigerator dill pickles! We are going to cover the ingredients first, so you can get prepared; then, we will cover the entire pickling process step-by-step.
Let’s get started.
What You Need
Here’s what you’ll need:
• 2 cups of vinegar
• 3 cups of water
• 4 pounds of pickling cucumbers
• 1 large bunch of fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon of non-iodized salt (sea, kosher, or canning salt)
• 4 whole garlic cloves
Step-by-step Instructions
Although it might seem like a hard task, making brine is an easy-peasy process!
Follow our step-by-step instructions on making refrigerator dill pickles so you won’t mess up anything:
1. The first step is making the brine. Find a large stainless steel pot and put water, salt, and vinegar in. Put it over medium-high heat until the salt is dissolved and the mixture starts to boil. Then, put it aside and leave it to cool a bit.
2. In the meantime while the brine is cooling, you should prepare your cucumbers and jars. Make sure to remove the stem and flower ends before giving them a thorough cleaning. Cucumbers can be quartered or chopped into halves, or they can be left whole.
3. Next step is prepping the garlic. Simply peel them and remove the root end.
4. After garlic comes dill. Make sure to cut them in smaller heads. For a quart jar, use one or two flower clusters. Dill weed can also be used in place of flower clusters; typically, one sprig is added to each jar. Use dried dill instead if you don’t have any (approximately one teaspoon for each jar).
5. Four spotless one-quart jars are required, although you can use any size you want. In the bottom of each jar, add one or two heads of dill and two garlic cloves. You should also add some additional spices if you want.
6. Then, it’s time to put your cucumbers in the jars. Spears are positioned vertically on their ends while chips are stacked horizontally.
7. After this, use a canning funnel to add brine into your jars filled with pickles. Don’t forget to put on lids afterwards!
8. Before eating your fresh pickles, store them in the fridge for at least three days. Although these refrigerator pickles can technically be consumed whenever you choose, it’s best to allow them a few days so the flavors and brine can meld.
Store Leftover Pickle Brine
In case you made more brine than needed, you can simply put it in a jar and store it in the fridge. Make sure to label the jar so you don’t forget what’s inside!
The next time you want to make pickles, you can use this brine. Or, you can use it to pickle something else.
For instance, you can make pickled peppers, green tomatoes, zucchinis, beets, carrots, garlic cloves, cauliflowers, asparagus, etc.
Here’s a video on how to make pickled cauliflowers: Easiest Pickled Cauliflower Ever
In Case You Don’t Like Dill…
If you don’t like dill, the solution is quite simple – just don’t add it to your pickles!
It’s not a preserving agent that must be added to the mixture; dill is simply there to spice things up. In case you don’t like dill, you can simply replace it with some other spices such as mustard seeds or pickling spice.
Just like you would use dill, place one tablespoon of pickling spice in the bottom of the jar. When it comes to mustard seeds, usually one teaspoon is added to the bottom of a one-quart jar.
If you want to make things even spicier, add dry red pepper flakes or one small hot pepper to your pickled cucumbers!
On the other hand, you can make the mixture sweeter by using different vinegar. For instance, you can use Apple Cider Vinegar, which is a bit sweeter than the distilled white vinegar. Just make sure that it has 5% acidity.
If you want more sweetness, then adding sugar to your brine is a good way to go. Usually one or two tablespoons of sugar are added to the batch of brine. Add sugar when you are making the brine – that is, mix it with vinegar, water, and salt.
If you are keeping track of your calories, then think twice before adding sugar. If you were wondering if pickles have calories, the sad truth is that they do – but just trace amounts, and adding sugar would certainly change that.
Still, you can make any type of pickles you want. Experiment a bit with different spices and find something you and your family adore!
If you have extra pickle juice, you can use it to water some of your acidity-loving plants, such as Hydrangeas. Here’s an article that explains more: Find Out If Pickle Juice Is The Secret To Thriving Hydrangeas