Half-Sour Dill Pickles
These kosher-style dill pickles are delicious sliced onto hamburgers, served alongside sandwiches, or straight from the jar! If you don't grow your own, look for pickling cucumbers to pop up in farmers markets in June until September.
Equipment
- 1 2-quart jar
Ingredients
- 2 to 5 large fresh dill plants
- 2 or 3 grape leaves, horseradish leaves, black currant leaves, or oak leaves (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 to 2 tsp. peppercorns
- 3 to 4 lb. small pickling cucumbers
- 1 qt. water
- 2 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. fine sea salt or 3 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
Instructions
- Remove thick stems from dill plants chop flowers, thin stems, leaves, and seeds (if present). Scrub cucumbers. Trim flower ends from each cucumber. Layer the cucumbers and the dill, desired leaves, garlic, and peppercorns in the jar.
- For brine, combine water and salt in a large glass measuring cup, stirring until salt dissolves. Pour brine over cucumbers in jar to cover; use a chopstick or shake jar lightly to knock out any big air bubbles, then add more brine as needed to cover cucumbers. Cover loosely with jar lid. Let stand at room temperature until very bubbly, 2 to 3 days. Chill at least 1 week before serving.