Canning pickles - new recipe

[BC Gal]

Hi Chicken Lovers

So I am going to try my hand at making dill pickles. It has been a few years and last time they turned out pretty good even though the process was disastrous! This time I will have enough brine ready and everything set to go before I start. As well, I wanted to try to find a recipe that would make what I think will be the best pickles - crunchy, dilly goodness. I found this recipe and am thinking of trying it:

Recipe: Extra-Garlic Dill Pickles

Ingredients-

Day 1

■7-8 lbs (4 kg) of 3-4-inch (7.5 to 10 cm) pickling cucumbers
■1 cup (250 ml) pickling or canning salt (not table salt)

Day 2

■35 peppercorns
■1 Tbsp (15 ml) pickling or canning salt
■7 cups (1.75 L) water, preferably filtered
■6-1/2 cups (1.625 L) of white vinegar
■21 cloves of garlic, each cut into quarters
■14 dill heads
■7 grape leaves (optional)


Day 1
1- Scrub the cucumbers gently under running water to remove dirt and prickly bits. Trim off 1/8-inch (3 mm) from each end and prick all over with a fork.

2- In a large bowl, layer cucumbers and salt using about one-quarter of each per layer. Add cold water to cover by about 1 inch (2.5 cm). Place a plate on top to weigh down the cucumbers. Cover and let stand at a cool room temperature for at least 12 hours or for up to 24 hours.

3- Soak dill heads upside down in a bucket of salt water overnight. Any bugs on the heads will either drown or crawl away.

Day 2
.....Working in batches, with a colander, rinse and drain the cucumbers. Rinse again and drain well. Set aside.

..... ( see http://www.simplebites.net/pickles-101-recipe-garlic-dill-pickles/ for canning instructions and pics)



Has anyone done this method of pricking salting the cukes the day before?

 

[havi]

Thanks for posting. I will have to try this one. I LOVE pickles, but the two times I tried making them, it didnt turn out very well. By the way I love your avatar picture!

 

[havi]

So have you tried this one yet? How did it work out?

 

[BC Gal]

I did presoak them in the cold water/salt mix over night in the fridge. Actually it was nice having the extra day for the prep work

When I rinsed them off the next day, it seemed like the larger cucumbers were harder, but the really small ones were almost rubbery. The pickles look like they will be good, but I will not know for sure for about 2 months when they will be ready to open

. I had some leftover brine, so I sliced up a large cucumber and have a bowl in the fridge to fulfill my pickle necessities until I can open a jar

 

[3goodeggs]

Please let us know in a month how it turned out! I pickle small green cherry tomatoes kinda like that, but I have never used grape leaves. Please remember to post back!

 

[chickenvirgin]

3goodeggs......I have never heard of pickled green cherry tomatoes! May I please have the recipe?

I have a feeling that I may end up with a lot of them this year.

 

[3goodeggs]

These are from a book called: Preserving Fruits and Vegetables by Carol Costenbader.
They taste kind of like green olives, but it is a great thing to do with green cherry tomatoes that did not ripen before the first freeze.
The bits in () are my comments, the rest are quoted from the book.

Ingredients: 2 1/2 pounds green cherry tomatoes
6 sprigs fresh dill (by this time my dill has long gone to seed-so I use dried or dill seed)
3 Tbsp mixed pickling spice
1 1/2 cups pickling salt
2 cups white distilled vinegar.
2 quarts water

1.Combine tomatoes, dill, and spices in a large mixing bowl-glass.
2.In a kettle combine salt, vinegar, and water.dissolve the salt and cool slightly
3.ladle brine over the tomatoes.
4.Weigh down with a plate and a heavy object. Any tomatoes left floating on top will spoil, and ruin the mixture, ( I can not give up a bowl large enough for this process for three weeks, so I use a giant pickle jar. I fill a small glass jar with water and let it rest on top of the tomatoes in the mouth of the jar. I then cover it with a clean hand towel. It may not pick up the wild yeasts and things this way, but...

)
5.Cover with a dish towel and store in a cool place for about three weeks.
6. Skim off scum and foam each day and place a clean plate and weight on top. Add more brine if necessary. (this is where the pickle jar works best for me. very little scum if any. I am not a big scum fan.and because the jar opening is narrow, there is less evaporation, thus no need to add extra brine.)
7. After three weeks ladle into jars and seal
8. Place jars in a simmering-180 to 190 degrees, hot-water canner and process for twenty minutes.
Remove jars from canner and cool. Wipe rims of jars cover tightly and label. They can also be stored unprocessed in the refrigerator for up to six months. (My family eats them out of the jar as they are pickling, so I never really have enough to process. I put them in the refrigerator and they never see six months. Those guys are pickle people!)
I hope you enjoy them!

 

[3goodeggs]

oops. where is SK?

Do you need these measurements in metric? I can do that. or altitude?
I have to go google SK. I feel stupid.

Edit* Saskatchewan- okay, that was my first guess.

 

[BC Gal]

Quote:
I have used grape leaves before and I believe it makes for a crunchier pickle. As far as the poking and soaking in salt water, it is suppose to help the cukes soak up more flavor from the brine, dill, etc. It is sooo hard to wait to open and give them a try

Oh, and the metric thing, I don't know anyone who cooks in metric in Canada, even though Canda switched to the metric system 40 years ago. Same goes in building things (we still mostly use inches and feet). I think a lot of that has to do with the products we buy and sell with the US.

 

[chickenvirgin]

3goodeggs.....Thank you so very much for the recipes, I will have to try it soon. I am 47 years old so I was older when Canada changed to metric and I have an easy time switching back and forth, but thank you for thinking about it. BC gal is right .....most recipes are still written in imperial measurments not metric.