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August 11, 2014 · by Beverly

Make Your Own Dill Pickles

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Got cucumbers?  If you do, then you can easily have pickles too!

I’m loving this simple recipe for homemade pickles that doesn’t require any canning and can be made one quart-sized jar at a time.  This is just the right quantity for my household size and of course if you need more, you can just keep filling up more quart sized jars as needed.  It’s a natural and simple method and gives you a tasty crisp pickle without any of the food dyes or other chemicals that can be lurking in the pickles on the store shelves.

I was inspired to give this a try after reading the pickle recipe at the DIY Natural website.  It was one of the few recipes I could find with instructions for how to make a “refrigerator pickle” (meaning it doesn’t require canning), AND I wanted to be able to use a quart sized canning jar which was exactly the size called for in their recipe.

So here’s my adapted version of a homemade refrigerator dill pickle.  It’s a great way to put those cucumbers to good use and enjoy a delicious pickle too!

how to make homemade dill pickles

Make Your Own Dill Pickles

Adapted from DIY Natural

Ingredients:

  • 1 or 2 Cucumbers (or 4 mini cucumbers)

  • 1 Tablespoon Dried Dill Weed  (or 1/4 cup fresh dill sprigs)

  • 3 Garlic Cloves – chopped

  • 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon Black Peppercorns

  • 3 Tablespoons White Vinegar

  • Distilled or Filtered Water (I use my Brita Water Filter Pitcher)

  • Quart Canning Jar with a Lid (I like to use these plastic lids)

Begin by slicing your cucumbers.  I like to slice mine into spears.  I put about 16 spears in a quart jar because that’s the size batch I wanted, however you can probably pack more in if you want a larger batch.

cutting up cucumbers t make homemade pickles

Put your sliced cucumbers in your jar.  Add in the dill, garlic, salt, and pepper.   Next add in the 3 tablespoons of vinegar, and then top it off with the distilled or filtered water until the cucumber slices are covered.  Put the cover on the jar and then shake it a bit to get things mixed together.

Let the jar stand on your countertop for 12 hours.  Then shake the jar a bit again and set it upside down (make sure the lid is on tight!) and let it sit for another 12 hours.

After this 24 hours, taste your pickles and they should be ready to enjoy!  After this initial 24 hours of pickling, store your pickles in the refrigerator.

A Few More Notes

~~ I tried this with fresh dill, dried dill weed, and with dill seed.  I was a little surprised that the batch with the dried dill weed was our favorite (I thought it would be the fresh dill).  The dill seed didn’t seem to do much for the flavor and we probably won’t use that choice again.

~~ While the dried dill weed gave us our batch that we rated as the best flavor, the dried dill does float around the top of the pickle brine and wants to stick to the pickles.  Because the flavor was good, we didn’t let this minor detail bother us.

~~ While table salt is safe for pickling, kosher salt or sea salt are usually preferred as they are a purer form of salt with no iodine added.

 

 

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Comments

  1. Gail Brant says

    September 29, 2020 at 5:39 pm

    What’s wrong with iodized salt ?

    Reply
    • Beverly says

      October 1, 2020 at 8:08 pm

      Nothing technically wrong with it, it’s just that some folks prefer salt without additives.

      Reply
  2. Helen says

    July 20, 2020 at 10:24 am

    Tried your recipe. It came out great. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  3. Kathryn Christmas says

    July 9, 2020 at 2:36 pm

    Can you water bathe these to last longer? I’ve got a small fridge.

    Reply
    • Beverly says

      July 11, 2020 at 3:20 pm

      Yes, I think if you leave enough head space in the jars, you could can them using a water bath method.

      Reply
  4. Christine Roppel says

    August 4, 2019 at 5:52 pm

    Looks really delicious. I do have a question: the recipe seems like it calls for very little vinegar. Does this make the pickles “briney” enough? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Beverly says

      August 5, 2019 at 7:51 pm

      Well, it was enough vinegar for my taste, but you could certainly add a little more vinegar if you prefer it for your taste.

      Reply
  5. Kahle says

    June 22, 2019 at 10:20 am

    I love this recipe! I use it all the time. I also use it for peppers, eggs, veggies. My daughters devour them!
    Thank you for sharing

    Reply
  6. Lyndsay Stave says

    January 25, 2019 at 4:21 pm

    Thank you!! Thank you!!! I can’t stop eating these!! So so good!!!!!! I am not buying anymore soggy pickles!!! You are the best!! Thanks much!!

    Reply
    • Beverly says

      January 27, 2019 at 7:24 pm

      So glad you are enjoying the pickles Lyndsay!

      Reply
  7. Nancy L Moorman says

    August 12, 2018 at 7:03 pm

    I have used your recipe for 2 years, and even in the winter, I would buy fresh cucumbers and make my own dill pickles. Nothing in the store compares to this recipe!!!

    Reply
    • Beverly says

      August 15, 2018 at 11:08 am

      So glad you have been enjoying this recipe Nancy, and yes, it can be made any time of the year too. 🙂

      Reply
  8. virgie lawless says

    August 7, 2018 at 2:28 pm

    after 24 hrs. can you fish out the dill weed?

    Reply
    • Beverly says

      August 11, 2018 at 8:27 am

      Yes, after the 24 hours you can fish out the dill weed if you wish. It might add a little extra flavor if you keep it in there, but the pickles should already be nicely flavored by that point anyway.

      Reply
  9. Sauerkraut Billy says

    August 14, 2017 at 6:22 pm

    These look great! Love seeing dill pickle recipes and love giving them a try at home! Can’t wait to give your recipe a try. Hopefully they turn out as good as yours! Thanks so much for sharing.

    Reply
  10. Susan M Grimes says

    April 25, 2017 at 9:07 am

    Awesome! Thank you. I will try putting the dried dill in an empty teabag or piece of cheesecloth before adding to the mix!

    Reply
  11. Beth says

    July 25, 2016 at 4:07 pm

    How long do these pickles keep in the fridge?

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      September 4, 2016 at 3:44 pm

      how long do they last in storage

      Reply
      • Beverly says

        September 5, 2016 at 8:01 pm

        I had mine in the refrigerator for several weeks and they lasted fine throughout that time.

        Reply
        • Nancy L Moorman says

          August 12, 2018 at 7:02 pm

          I have store bought pickles in the refrigerator for months – and these seem to last the same. With the garlic, salt, and vinegar – I used Apple Cider Vinegary – they seem ‘preserved’ well enough

          Reply
  12. Cynthia says

    August 13, 2014 at 7:01 pm

    Such a great side for summer sandwiches. Love how simple this seems. Thank you for linking at the In and Out of the Kitchen Link Party. Hope to see you again next week.

    Reply

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