One of the first foods I binged on as a kid was pickles. I ate so many, my dad took me to the hospital, convinced the acid would eat a hole in my stomach! Years ago I taught myself how to make my mom’s sweet pickles but this time, I wanted to learn how to make deli-style sour pickles for my bucket list. Pickles are so easy to make, it is dangerous!
The Prep
To make sure the pickles are as crispy as possible, let them sit in an ice bath for half an hour and then scrub extremely well to make sure there is no dirt on them.
The Brine
Bring 4 cups of filtered water with 2 tbsp of kosher salt to a boil to dissolve salt.
Add 1/4 cup of white vinegar. Cool completely.
Pickling Spices
I picked up some Suraj Pickling Spices to make my life easier. It contains coriander seeds, yellow mustard seeds, cracked black pepper, whole round chilis, dill seeds, allspice, cloves, whole black pepper, bay leaves, cinnamon, celery seeds…
Add 1 tsp of the pickling spice mix to a large mason jar.
Bringing Everything Together
I thought that the brine would make enough for two large jars. It doesn’t! So in one jar add some fresh dill and 2 cloves of peeled garlic.
Slice the cucumbers in half, stuff them into the jar and top with the brine right to the top of the jar.
You will have some brine left over. My mom would let her pickles sit until the vibrant green disappeared.
I let mine sit for three days and each day I would open the container to release some of the pressure.
Foodie Results
D – A – M – N!!! SPICY!!! I loved these pickles and could not stop eating them. Reg did not like them at all. I think the flavours were a little too wild for him but I say… Bring it! Loved munching on these with deli sandwiches made on my homemade bagels.
That is TWO items completed on my Bucket List now! Totally loving this challenge. Have no idea what I will take on next but I am thrilled I can now make my own super sour deli-style pickles at home. So liberating and delicious at the same time.
Those are awesome-looking pickles! Any deli would be proud to serve them!
Thanks Debra! I think the trick to getting that deli flavour is the pickling spices combo.
Pickling is so great to eat. My grandparents pickled all kinds of things and boy, are they ever happy memories. Good stuff, Suzie.
It really is quite a tradition, isn’t it? My mom wouldn’t do canning very often, she just loved making her own pickles, LOL. Sometimes she would make them daily!
That’s wonderful. I love it. Because of you I took my old jalapeno juice and just stuck the Canadian cukes in the leftover. So yum.
I’m big into fermenting. Today, I get to taste the jars I made over the weekend. I like to taste them as the good bacteria gets going. Yum.
Came back to tell you that I cracked into one of the three ferments that I made this weekend. I like to let them sit for a week or two but since I was out, I wanted to open one and wow, I loved the addition of the tomato paste.
Come summer though, I will have to give pickling a go.
That’s treat the ferments are going great and that tomato paste added good flavour! Pickling and summer go hand-in-hand.
You need to also trim off the blossom ends. They contain enzymes that soften pickles.
Here’s a tested, guaranteed safe recipe for such pickles from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_06/dill_pickles.html
The National Center is regarded as the world’s foremost authority in home food preservation knowledge and advice.
Thanks for the advice and intel Randal!