Pickles -The Easy Way-
Pickles are my passion. I am obsessed. Since I was a child, I have always ordered extra pickles, I will eat your pickle right off your plate, if you pickle it…I will eat it. My refrigerator is packed with pickled…..everything….it’s comical really, who needs that many pickles? I can’t help it, I like everything from your regular bread and butters…to pickled peppers, to pickled vegetable mix. I seem to pick up new jars wherever I go. I am not ashamed. I am addicted and I have come to terms with it. Here is an easy recipe for simple pickles. As we get into Spring, gardens will be producing, when you have extra veggies…..there is nothing better than pickling them and sharing them with friends. I hope you enjoy the recipe below, please leave a comment, or your advice. As with all of our recipes on Hunt Fish Cook, this is meant to be a starting point. Use more of what you like, less of what you don’t. Share the results with us. There are two recipes below…….Good luck!
- Bread and Butter Pickles
- 4 cups cucumbers, slice as thinly as you like. I like a bit more crunch so I tend to cut them on the thick side (there is a restaurant I know that cuts them in one inch thick slices…monster pickles…..they are awesome……but a bit too thick for my day to day habit).
- Make sure you get fresh cucumbers and clean\rinse them well. I don’t like to peel the cukes…I like the skin for the crunch…..some people cut half the skin….…….As always…do what feels right to you.
- One Vidalia onion, again…slice as you like.
- 1 ½ cups distilled white vinegar.
- About ¾ cup of sugar.
- 1 tbsp. salt.
- ½ tbsp. mustard seeds.
- ½ tsp of celery salt.
- ¼ tsp of red pepper flakes….go ½ tsp if you want to light these up a bit.
- ¼ tsp of fresh ground pepper.
- ½ tsp turmeric.
- 5 cloves of garlic peeled. I usually cut each clove in 3 pieces. Some people thinly slice. Again, this is up to you.
- 4 cups cucumbers, slice as thinly as you like. I like a bit more crunch so I tend to cut them on the thick side (there is a restaurant I know that cuts them in one inch thick slices…monster pickles…..they are awesome……but a bit too thick for my day to day habit).
- Regular Pickles
- Same as above, however add 2 tbsp. of pickling spice. And take out the red pepper flakes and turmeric. Add two sprigs of fresh dill per jar before you put the pickles in the refrigerator.
Ok, here we go. This is super easy. Take your sliced cucumbers (and any other veggies) and arrange them in mason jars, add the onion, and if you are up to it…I like to add some sliced banana peppers. You can add anything you want here. Sliced carrots, cauliflower, okra, anything you like. Remember, the hotter the peppers you add, the hotter the pickles will be.
In a pot, bring the vinegar and the rest of the other ingredients above to a boil. I remove from the heat as soon as the mixture gets to a rolling boil. Let cool down for 30 minutes.
Pour mixture into the mason jars and let the pickles cool completely with the tops off.
Lastly, put these in the fridge, and give them 4 days….if you can……I tend to break into them on the third day…but if you can wait four……you will be rewarded. These can stay in the fridge for a month or a bit longer.
So, that is it!! My kids love to help make these pickles. Experiment…try different vegetables. Have fun with this. If you really want to blow people’s minds…..try using Watermelon Rinds…..yes, the part of the watermelon that is between the sweet “red” melon and the skin\rind. This is one cool pickle…… Please leave a comment, and let us know how your pickles turned out. Tell us how you changed the recipe up.
Thanks for reading! Have fun.
Chris