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Refrigerator Pickles are just about the best thing you can learn to make for yourself. It’s extremely easy and fast too! Plus, there is just something about making your own pickles that make your sandwich taste a little bit better. This recipe started out from my Mother-in-law who got the recipe from her Mother-in-law. Well, since then I have also changed this recipe so now it is a conglomerate of 3 generations of Mother and Daughter in Laws.
Tips for making this recipe a success:
- ALWAYS use picking cucumbers.
- Invest in a large Gallon Canning Jar, or if you plan to make a bunch you can get a 4 pack here. (you can use large mouth Quart Jars as well but the gallon jar takes up less space in your fridge for this recipe size)
Ingredients:
- 10 pickling cucumbers, speared to a total of 40 pickle spears / thin sliced for flat sandwich pickles/ or into Pickle Rounds
- 5 garlic cloves, sliced thin
- 1/3 cup pickling Salt – or this brand of Sea Salt (also used for making Kimchi)
- Fresh Dill heads – at least 3 (If you can’t find fresh use extra 2 tsp dill seed and an extra 2 tsp dill weed)
- 2 tsp dry Dill Seed
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 5 cups Vinegar (White is the standard but you can also try Apple Cider which gives it an unique a different taste)
- Distilled Water- to fill rest of the jar to just above the cucumbers (about 3-4 cups depending on sizes of cucumbers)
Directions:
Making Refrigerator Pickles is pretty easy and takes very little time. Start by making sure your jar is completely clean whether from the last use or if it is the first time using it.
Prepare the cucumbers by cutting them into spears/flat slices (for topping on sandwiches)/or rounds and start to place them standing up inside the jar. I like to lay my jar on its side as I am doing this. Stop at about 3/4 of the way full with your cucumbers, stand up the jar and add in your Dill heads, dry dill, black pepper, garlic cloves, and pickling salt. Finish by placing the remaining 1/4 of the cucumbers standing up into the jar then pour in the vinegar and top off with distilled water. Make sure that when topping off the jar with water that the liquid covers the cucumbers. Seal the lid and GENTLY swirl in a circular motion to move the water around in the jar.
Place into the refrigerator for at minimum 1 week but they seem to taste better the longer they sit. 2 weeks is preferred to get a nice “pickle” taste and crunch. Keep stored in the fridge until your pickles are gone. Empty the jar and repeat. It’s that simple.
Using Smaller Canning Jars:
If you are wanting to use the smaller canning jars for the pickle rounds the above recipe makes about 2 Quart Jars and 1 Pint Jar depending on the size of your pickling cucumbers you may be able to get 3 Quart Jars. Only fill the Vinegar up 3/4 th of the jar after the cucumbers are in along with the other ingredients and top off with distilled water.
Refrigerator Pickles
Equipment
- Large Gallon Canning Jar
Ingredients
- 10 Pickling Cucumbers sliced into flats or spears for a total of 40
- 5 Garlic Cloves sliced thin
- ⅓ cup Pickling Salt or this brand of Sea Salt (also used for making Kimchi)
- 3 Fresh Dill Heads (If you can’t find fresh use extra 2 tsp dill seed and an extra 2 tsp dill weed)
- 2 tsp dry Dill Seed
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 5 cups Vinegar white or apple cider
- Distilled Water 3-4 cups needed to fill remaining jar
Instructions
- Making Refrigerator Pickles is pretty easy and takes very little time. Start by making sure your jar is completely clean whether from the last use or if it is the first time using it.
- Prepare the cucumbers by cutting them into spears or flat slices (for topping on sandwiches) and start to place them standing up inside the jar. I like to lay my jar on its side as I am doing this. Stop at about 3/4 of the way full with your cucumbers, stand up the jar and add in your Dill heads, dry dill, black pepper, garlic cloves, and pickling salt. Finish by placing the remaining 1/4 of the cucumbers standing up into the jar then pour in the vinegar and top off with distilled water. Make sure that when topping off the jar with water that the liquid covers the cucumbers. Seal the lid and GENTLY swirl in a circular motion to move the water around in the jar.
- Place into the refrigerator for at minimum 1 week but they seem to taste better the longer they sit. 2 weeks is preferred to get a nice "pickle" taste and crunch. Keep stored in the fridge until your pickles are gone. Empty the jar and repeat. It's that simple.
- Using Smaller Canning Jars:
- If you are wanting to use the smaller canning jars for the pickle rounds the above recipe makes about 2 Quart Jars and 1 Pint Jar depending on the size of your pickling cucumbers you may be able to get 3 Quart Jars. Only fill the Vinegar up 3/4 th of the jar after the cucumbers are in along with the other ingredients and top off with distilled water.
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