Spicy Garlic Fridge Dill Pickles

I am back and I am sorry for my absence! I have been having a little bit of technical difficulties with my trusty MacBook. The track pad decided to have a mind of it’s own, and it made it almost impossible to do anything. The track pad kept trying to send random emails to everyone that I know, and it constantly changed the size of the images on my computer screen…super annoying! Let’s just say that I could not get anything done and that I am really grateful for AppleCare!

In other news, I felt the first nip of fall in the air yesterday and it has sent me into full panic mode to embrace every last ounce of summer. I love all of the summer produce, and I just wish that I could keep it around all year long. This desire has forced me to dabble in a bit of pickling and canning.  Some things have turned out and others have not. I was at the grocery store yesterday wallowing in my sorrows of the impending winter, when I spotted a mountain of Kirby cucumbers that were just begging to come home with me. So I loaded up my basket and decided to attempt my first ever refrigerator pickles. The pickling gods must have been shining down on me, because they turned out like a dream! Here is what I came up with.

Ingredients

• 6 smaller, fresh Kirby (pickling) cucumbers
• 3 tsp. kosher, coarse or pickling salt (I used Diamond)
• 3 TBS Fresh Dill, chopped
• 6 Cloves Garlic, peeled and smashed
• 2 Small Hot Peppers of your choice, tops removed
• 1 C White Vinegar

Directions

1. Slice your cucumbers very thin. I sliced mine about 1/8 to 1/4-inch because I like my pickles to be on the crispy side.

2. Place the cucumbers in a 1-liter lidded jar.

3. Add the salt, dill, peppers and garlic to the jar, then pour in white vinegar.

4. Close the jar and give it a few shakes to begin distributing the ingredients.

You’re going to find the liquid level pretty low, but try not to stress out. Within an hour or two, the cucumbers will wilt and release some liquid, the liquid in the jar should become a perfectly balanced pickle brine cover the pickles. If this does not happen don’t worry, just add more vinegar until the cucumbers are covered.

Place jar in the fridge, and try to shake it the next few times you are back in the fridge. You can eat them as little as 2 hours later, but they become super tasty about 8 hours. They’ll keep in the fridge, submerged in their brine, for 3 weeks, but I doubt they will last in the fridge for that long.

Happy Pickling!

Posted by Danielle Heckman & filed under Cucumber. This post has 2 comments.