Sunday, August 7, 2011

Homemade Dill Pickles

See the little dill head at the bottom of the jar?  I grew that too (she said proudly).  The cute little canning jars are Italian and on sale at Tuesday Morning.
Cucumbers abound at our house and it has been a lot of fun trying all sorts of new recipes.  The cucumber recipe du jour was dill pickles.  I love making these because they are so easy, and allow for a bit of creativity when it comes to additional flavor-making ingredients.

EASY DILL PICKLES

8-10 small pickling cucumbers (about 3 pounds)
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
2 tablespoons pickling salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
4 heads fresh dill or 4 teaspoons dill seeds
4 small cloves garlic

Place your sterilized jars into the canner and bring the water to a simmer.  Keep them warm while you slice the cucumbers and prepare the pickling solution.

Cut a thin slice from the ends of each cucumber.  Slice into chips about 1/8 inch thick.  A mandolin works great for this as long as your cucumbers are crisp and fresh.  Set aside.

Combine vinegar, water, salt, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  If you prefer a pickle more to the sour side, eliminate the sugar.

Carefully remove hot jars from canner. Place them open side up on a towel on the counter to keep them steady.  Here's where the fun comes in.  You can get very creative with the pickles.  For a basic garlic dill, place 1 head fresh dill or 1 tsp dill seeds and 1 clove garlic into each jar; pack in cucumbers.

You can also try the following additions (when I make pickles, each jar is different):

1-3 slices of Jalapeno peppers
1-2 pearl onions
1/4 teaspoon pickling spice
Sprig of dill weed
2-3 peppercorns

Pour boiling vinegar mixture over cucumbers to within 1/2 inch of the rim of the jar. Screw on cap and lid.  Process 10 minutes for pint jars and 15 minutes for quart jars.  Allow to cool on the counter and be sure to listen for the popping noise that indicates that you've gotten a good seal.  Store for 2 weeks to allow for the infusion of flavors.

This post is linked to:


Seasonal Sunday, Metamorphosis Monday, Made by You Monday, On the Menu Monday, This Week in My Garden, Outdoor Wednesdays and 
Tuesday Garden Party

Norpro 2478367600456 7-Piece Home Canning Set

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the recipe. I can't wait to try it out.

FABBY'S LIVING said...

I love dill pickles and never made them. Thanks for the recpe, now I can make them too!! Have a great week. FABBY

Pat@Back Porch Musings said...

Looking good!! I used to make these pickles, too. Sometimes I really miss the garden.

Lynn said...

Sounds yummy! Lovin' the cute little jar-great pic:@)

Tablescapes By Diane said...

Hi lovely lady.
I was looking at my sidebar and you had post. I love your recpe now I also can make them too !!!
Thanks so so sweet lady.
XXOO Diane

Meg Luby said...

what a great way to use cucumber up! thanks for sharing!
-meg
@ http://clutzycooking.blogspot.com

Miz Helen said...

These are great looking pickles, Pattie, a very good recipe. Thanks for sharing and have a great day!
Miz Helen

www.designgivesback.com said...

They look very good, I can't wait to try out the recipe. Thanks for sharing. We hope you will consider helping kids with cancer by linking into the Miracle Makeover party this coming week
at www.designgivesback.com. Together we can change things! We appreciate you.

Love,
Sherry, DGB Team

The Tablescaper said...

Crisp and crunchy. Perfect for summer. Great to have your post being a part of Seasonal Sundays.

- The Tablescaper

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

I can't wait for my cucumber plants to start pumping out lots of cucumbers for pickles. These sound great- and I grew dill this year too ;)

The Sage Butterfly said...

Yummy! They look so delicious. Very easy instructions, too.

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

Hi Pattie,

Sorry I haven't been able to respond to your request for a fruity cocktail for your luncheon until now as I've been working the past few days. What about a champagne cocktail? There's a delicious-sounding one on Food.com. Just do a Google search for Champagne Punch and you should find it. Have a great luncheon!