Brined Garlic Dill Pickles

⏱ 30255 mins 🍽 9-10 quarts 🏷 Canning

This traditional recipe guides you through making brined garlic dill pickles, a classic canning project. The process involves layering fresh cucumbers with dill, garlic, and spices in a crock before covering them with a vinegar and salt brine. After a fermentation period of several weeks at room temperature, the pickles are packed into jars with fresh aromatics and processed in a water bath for long-term storage. The method yields 9-10 quarts of flavourful, crisp pickles.

Brined Garlic Dill Pickles

Ingredients

  • 1/2 bushel cucumber, 3 to 6 inches in length
  • 3/4 cup whole mixed pickling spice
  • 2 -3 bunches fresh dill or 2 -3 bunches dried dill weed
  • 2 1/2 cups vinegar
  • 1 3/4 cups granulated salt
  • 1 -2 whole garlic clove (per jar)
  • 2 1/2 gallons water

Method

  1. Rinse the cucumbers in cold water and allow them to dry on a rack or by wiping them.
  2. Put half of the pickling spices, the garlic cloves, and a layer of dill into a five-gallon crock or large jar.
  3. Fill the container with cucumbers, leaving a space of 3-4 inches from the top.
  4. Top the cucumbers with the remaining dill, spices, and garlic.
  5. Combine the vinegar, salt, and water completely and pour this mixture over the cucumbers.
  6. Use a heavy plate to cover the cucumbers, weighing it down with a jar of water to keep them submerged in the brine.
  7. Loosely cover the crock with a clean towel.
  8. Store the pickles at room temperature, skimming off any scum that forms each day for 3-5 days.
  9. Avoid stirring the pickles, but check that they remain fully covered by the brine.
  10. Prepare more brine using the original proportions if the level becomes too low.
  11. After approximately 3 weeks, the cucumbers should turn an olive green colour and develop a good flavour.
  12. Any white spots present will vanish during the final processing stage.
  13. Strain the brine through a sieve before using it, as this is recommended for the best flavour.
  14. Firmly pack the pickles into clean, hot quart-sized jars.
  15. To each jar, add a few pieces of dill and one or two garlic cloves, then fill with boiling brine to within 1/2 inch of the rim.
  16. Secure the lids and process the jars for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath, starting the timer once the jars are in the vigorously boiling water.
  17. Note that the brine may appear cloudy if you use the original strained brine as the covering liquid.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sodium22028100 mg

Recipe details

CategoryCanning
AuthorTaylor in Belgium