TRY THIS BEST EVER HOMEMADE DILL PICKLE RECIPE

There are two kinds of people: people who like dill pickles, and people who are wrong. If you are in the former category, and you have yet to make your own, this homemade dill pickle recipe will change your life. If you are in the latter category, why did you even click this link? Here – try making these bread and butter pickles.

If you’ve been thinking about getting into pickling, summer is clearly the perfect time. The abundance of delicious local fruits and veggies means that you can get a great deal on cases of peak-season produce. Preserve them now, and enjoy the fruits of your labour all year. If you manage to save any that long, of course. The dill pickle recipe uses small pickling cucumbers, but if you can’t get your hands on those, you can use field cucumbers, scrubbed well and cut into 4 inch long spears.

Best Ever Homemade Dill Pickle Recipe

Equipment:

• 7 500 ml jars with snap lids and screw bands (sterilized)
• boiling water canner

Ingredients:

• For Ice Bath:
  • 8 lbs pickling cucumbers
  • 16 cups ice cubes
  • 4 cups water
  • 1/2 cup pickling salt
• Pickling Liquid:
  • 8 cups water
  • 6 cups white vinegar
  • 3/4 cup pickling salt
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• To Pack in Jars:
  • 7 tsp whole mustard seed
  • 7 tbsp dill weed or seed (or 7 fresh dill heads)
  • 7 peeled garlic cloves

Directions:

• The day before you plan to pickle, you need to ice your cucumbers. Wash your cucumbers with a scrub brush and rinse well in cool running water. Slice 1/8 inch off the blossom end (opposite the stem end) and layer with ice in a large, deep glass or stainless steel container. Dissolve 1/2 cup pickling salt in 4 cups water, and pour over and pour over the cucumbers and ice, and add cold water to ensure cucumbers are just covered. Fill a plastic bag with water and place it on top of the cucumbers to keep them submerged. Refrigerate (or leave in a cool place overnight).
• The next day, get your jars and lids sterilized and ready to go in your boiling water canner. Set jars aside and keep lids hot until you’re ready to use them.
• Prepare your pickling liquid by combining 8 cups water, 6 cups white vinegar, 3/4 cup pickling salt, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a large stainless steel pot. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar is dissolved.
• Drain cucumbers from the ice bath. Remove the hot jars from the canner and fill, one jar at a time, with cucumbers to 3/4 inch from the top.  Add 1 tsp mustard seed, 1 tbsp dill weed or seed, and 1 peeled garlic clove to the jar, pour hot pickling liquid to fill jars, leaving 1/2 inch of space at the top. Wipe the jar, centre the lid, and tighten the screw band to fingertip tightness. Place jar into canner and repeat with the rest of the jars.
• Cover the canner and bring to boil. Boil filled jars for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, allow boil to subside, and remove the jars without tilting. and cool, upright, undisturbed, for 24 hours.
• Once the jars have cooled, check that the lids are curved down (that means they’re sealed). Remove the bands, wipe and dry the bands and jars, and replace the bands loosely on the jars. Label, and store jars in a cool, dark place.