Anyone have a great dill pickle recipe?
Anyone have a great dill pickle recipe?
- Thread starter JLawrence08648
- Start date
It depends on what you prefer. Instead of cucumbers (which I don't care for fresh so I don't grow them) I usually pickle peppers or zucchini spears.
I salt water to taste, then add in enough white vinegar to lower the pH to 4.5 or lower so they are bacteria resistant (but I still refrigerate them, this is not canning them). I add a couple pinches of alum for extra tartness (or you can substitute some ascorbic acid for some of the vinegar if you prefer that taste more, still needing a pH of 4.5 or lower. Alum and ascorbic acid are totally optional, one of those last 5% kind of improvement, less so than other ingredients. I hate sweet pickles so no sugar in mine.
Sometimes I put peppercorns in. Sometimes I put fresh dill in (when it's in-season here, mine is just starting to bolt from warmer weather, or when it's off-season I put dehydrated dill (which is much weaker than fresh) and/or dill seeds in instead, but seeds take much longer to transfer the flavor into the brine) and for my own consumption I'll put some hot pepper flakes in. Sometimes (usually) I'll put some minced garlic in too.
Simmer everything except the vegetable you're pickling for at least 20 minutes, bring the brine up to boiling then put the vegetables in at least long enough to blanch them, which depends on how thick the vegetable is, usually 1.5 to 3 minutes is enough, towards the lower side of that if you want them more firm and crisp. That's if the water quickly returns to a boil, I turn my stove burner up all the way to shorten the time it takes to return the brine to a boil when the vegetables are added and put a lid on to reduce that time further... if the brine doesn't even get back to boiling within a minute or so, you need to add another minute to the blanching time.
Transfer that to glass jars and leave them sitting in the fridge for a week to let more flavor transfer into the vegetables. They'll keep in the fridge for at least a couple months, or longer the lower your pH is. I test pH with pH test strips I bought from... can't remember, it was years ago and got a lifetime supply for only a few dollars.
I might be leaving something out, I sort of go on autopilot when making them while I'm doing something else. The main thing is get the brine pH down to 4.5 or lower so they don't rot before you're done eating them.
Oh, use non-iodized salt if you want them to stay firmer and not darken as much.
I salt water to taste, then add in enough white vinegar to lower the pH to 4.5 or lower so they are bacteria resistant (but I still refrigerate them, this is not canning them). I add a couple pinches of alum for extra tartness (or you can substitute some ascorbic acid for some of the vinegar if you prefer that taste more, still needing a pH of 4.5 or lower. Alum and ascorbic acid are totally optional, one of those last 5% kind of improvement, less so than other ingredients. I hate sweet pickles so no sugar in mine.
Sometimes I put peppercorns in. Sometimes I put fresh dill in (when it's in-season here, mine is just starting to bolt from warmer weather, or when it's off-season I put dehydrated dill (which is much weaker than fresh) and/or dill seeds in instead, but seeds take much longer to transfer the flavor into the brine) and for my own consumption I'll put some hot pepper flakes in. Sometimes (usually) I'll put some minced garlic in too.
Simmer everything except the vegetable you're pickling for at least 20 minutes, bring the brine up to boiling then put the vegetables in at least long enough to blanch them, which depends on how thick the vegetable is, usually 1.5 to 3 minutes is enough, towards the lower side of that if you want them more firm and crisp. That's if the water quickly returns to a boil, I turn my stove burner up all the way to shorten the time it takes to return the brine to a boil when the vegetables are added and put a lid on to reduce that time further... if the brine doesn't even get back to boiling within a minute or so, you need to add another minute to the blanching time.
Transfer that to glass jars and leave them sitting in the fridge for a week to let more flavor transfer into the vegetables. They'll keep in the fridge for at least a couple months, or longer the lower your pH is. I test pH with pH test strips I bought from... can't remember, it was years ago and got a lifetime supply for only a few dollars.
I might be leaving something out, I sort of go on autopilot when making them while I'm doing something else. The main thing is get the brine pH down to 4.5 or lower so they don't rot before you're done eating them.
Oh, use non-iodized salt if you want them to stay firmer and not darken as much.
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Make the pickling solution with sprigs of dill, mustard seed, onions, coriander, allspice, laurel leaves, juniper berries, and peppercorns.
I make mine with bunches of flowering dill, garlic, horseradish root and some pepper flakes.
My recipe is in almost every store, VLASIC.
Seriously, my grandmother made some of the best dill pickles I had ever eaten. I wish I could have got that recipe, along with many more recipes, before she passed away.
Seriously, my grandmother made some of the best dill pickles I had ever eaten. I wish I could have got that recipe, along with many more recipes, before she passed away.
I don't make my own but there's this guy on Long Island called The Pickle People and he makes a KILLER horseradish pickle that I love.
Here is a simple recipe written by nice lady who made great pickles. Try it out.
![[Linked Image]](https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/attachments/usergals/2019/06/full-71018-33591-imagejpeg_0.jpg "[Linked Image]")
Digging up this thread to get some additional ideas.
FYI, I just made a jar using this recipe:
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/quick-and-easy-dill-pickles.html
Quite good after 24 hours already, although I'm guessing they'll benefit from some extra time in the fridge. Also, I'd increase the dosage of red pepper flakes for more kick.
FYI, I just made a jar using this recipe:
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/quick-and-easy-dill-pickles.html
Quite good after 24 hours already, although I'm guessing they'll benefit from some extra time in the fridge. Also, I'd increase the dosage of red pepper flakes for more kick.
She’s got a reliable naan bread recipe I use when I make an Indian-style curry too.
I’m working on a fermented pickle now - I bought a few cukes with fresh dill from the Farmer’s market and found a grapevine by the house - you need tannins to help crisp up the cucumbers(or at least try to keep them from going totally limp). I’ve made a brine without vinegar seasoned with garlic, red pepper flakes, peppercorns, coriander, dill and a generous amount of grape and bay leaves.
You can use kalonji (black cumin, black caraway, nigella sativa) seeds to help cucumbers stay firm. It does modify the taste a little bit though. That's what I use when making pickles without vinegar - just brine, red pepper flakes, blooming dill, garlic, and horseradish root. It needs to sit in a jar in room temperature for 3-4 days. After that, you can move it to the fridge if you want to slow down the brining process.
For those of you that like spicy pickles, this one sounds interesting:
Just loaded up another jar using the above recipe. This time I reduced amt of sugar a little and I doubled the amount of red pepper flakes. Ready by tomorrow.
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No I just buy them at the store lol either Mt. Olive or Vlasic are my two favorites I can a lot of stuff but haven’t made pickles or anything.
