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!
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.
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.
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!
Well, it was enough vinegar for my taste, but you could certainly add a little more vinegar if you prefer it for your taste.
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
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!!
So glad you are enjoying the pickles Lyndsay!
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!!!
So glad you have been enjoying this recipe Nancy, and yes, it can be made any time of the year too. 🙂
after 24 hrs. can you fish out the dill weed?
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.
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.
Awesome! Thank you. I will try putting the dried dill in an empty teabag or piece of cheesecloth before adding to the mix!
How long do these pickles keep in the fridge?
how long do they last in storage
I had mine in the refrigerator for several weeks and they lasted fine throughout that time.
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
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.