Brined dill pickles
Brined dill pickles recipe in the canning category
Recipe ingredients:
- 20 pounds pickling cucumbers, 3 to 6 inches long
- 3/4 cup whole mixed pickling spice
- 2 to 3 bunches fresh dill
- 2 1/2 cups vinegar
- 1 3/4 cups salt
- 2 1/2 gallons water
Recipe method:
- For a strong garlic flavor, add 10 to 20 garlic cloves to the pickling brine. For a mild garlic flavor, add 1 garlic clove to each jar of pickles before processing.
- Cover cucumbers with cold water and wash thoroughly but gently.
- Remove blossom ends. Drain and wipe dry.
- Place half the pickling spice and a layer of dill in a 5 gallon crock or glass container.
- Fill the crock with cucumbers to within no more than 5 inches of the top.
- Place a layer of dill and the remaining pickling spice over the top of the cucumbers.
- Mix the vinegar, salt and water and pour it over the cucumbers.
- Cover the cucumbers with a heavy plate that fits inside the crock.
- Place a weight on the plate to keep the cucumbers submerged and completely covered with brine.
- Cover the crock loosely with a clean cloth.
- Keep the pickles at room temperature, ideally at 75 degrees F.
- In about 3 to 5 days scum will tart to form on the brine.
- Remove it daily with a metal spoon.
- Do not stir pickles. Always keep them completely submerged in brine.
- Add more brine as necessary, following the original proportions of vinegar to salt to water.
- After 3 weeks of fermentation, the dills will be ready to be put up in jars.
- At this point, the brine may be cloudy due to the development of yeast during the fermentation period.
- Strain the brine, or make a fresh brine of 1/3 cup salt and 4 cups vinegar to 1 gallon water.
- The strained brine makes a better pickle because its flavors have blended with the cucumbers and dill. Bring the brine to a boil.
- Pack the pickles, along with some of the dill from the crock, into clean, hot quart jars. Do not pack too tightly.
- Cover the pickles with hot brine, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Seal.
- Process in boiling water bath 15 minutes.
Tags: brined, dill, pickles, recipe, canning, recipes, cooking