Easy Pickles
8-9 Pounds of pickling cucumbers2 Heads of Dill
Brine Recipe:
1 cup Mrs. Wages Pickling & Canning salt
8 cups water
4 cups white vinegar (5% acidity)
Optional:
For the Garlic/Dill/Pepper Pickles I also add:
Minced or Fresh Garlic
Fresh Jalepeno Peppers
Pickling Seasoning Blend
2 large pots (one MUST NOT BE ALUMINUM)
Quart Canning Jars
New Canning Lids & Bands
Towel or Newspapers
Paper Towel
Spoons
Knife
Tongs
Oven Mit
Instructions:
So most people are pretty intimidated by canning, or making pickles. This is SO easy, no need to get all nervous. The outcome is TOTALLY worth the time. So here it goes!
I start out by gathering all my ingredients & supplies.
Now, in a LARGE pot, add jars, lids & bands and fill 3/4 full of water. Go ahead and start boiling, this will sanitize & keep your jars & lids warm for the sealing process. You want this to boil 30 minutes.
I usually go pick my cucumbers right now, so they are fresh.
In the meantime you can go ahead and combine your brine recipe ingredients listed above (mrs.wages salt, water, vinegar) into a NON aluminum pot. You can put this on low heat for now.
Next I start cleaning & slicing my cucumbers into speas. Also cutting a small sliver off the ends, just to eliminate any tough spots where they were attached to plant or where the blossom was attached.
Go ahead & turn your heat up on the brine mixture, to a Medium-High Heat.
Then I seperate my dill & peppers into single jar portions, a few springs of dill per quart jar & peppers depending on your heat preference. For mine I did 1/2 jalepeno for HOT, 1/4 of a jalepeno for MEDUIM & 1/8 of a jalepeno for MILD.
So, once your jars have been boiling for a while, & your brine is boiling, turn both to medium heat. And this is when all the fun starts!
OK, I use my tongs (or a jar grabber thingy) and reach in and get 1 jar, set it over on my folded towel. Now i stuff my dill into the jar, tablespoon of minced garlic, 1/2 Tablespoon of my pickling seasoning & my jalepeno pepper piece.Then stuff as many spears of cucumbers into that jar.
NEXT I grab my measuring cup & scoop some of that HOT BRINE into my cup. Take it over to my filled jar & fill it, leaving 1/4" gap from the top of the jar. (Return any remaining brine back to boiling pot.)
Now wipe the rim of the jar with a dry paper towel.
THEN with your tongs, grab a lid & a band.
Carefully place the lid on the rim of the jar, and screw on band (use your oven mit to grab ahold of the hot jar.)
Set aside on your folded up towel (or newspapers). And repeat these steps until you are out of cucumbers. Any remaining brine you may refigerate & use on your next batch.
So now you have all that done, while you are cleaning up your mess, you may hear the delightful "PING" sounds coming from your jars. This is the sound of success..... it means your jar is sealed. Leave these jars alone, dont move them for 12 hours i would say.
After your 12 hours, insure all your jars are sealed by looking at the lid, if it didnt not seal, there will be a raised circle that you could press in on. Any that dont seal, need to be refrigerated & can be stored for 3 months. The others can be stored away (cool dark location.)
NOW the worst part is, to get the best flavor out of your pickles, you must wait 2-3 weeks before eating.... But its worth it!
Enjoy!!!
