Homemade Pickles
Makes about 9 quarts
When my friend Hannah and I make pickles, we make lots of them. (This year we made 80 jars.) In order to do so many in one day, we cheat and use a hot oven instead of a canning bath to seal our jars. This is a more risky method (not all your jars seal every time), but it makes canning a much quicker process, so that you can get to the real joy of the day—simple, crispy pickles.
9 quart canning jars with seals and rims
16 cups distilled water
4 cups white vinegar
1 cup kosher salt
75 pickling cucumbers, washed and blossom tips removed*
18 cloves garlic, peeled
9 sprigs of dill, washed and dried
*The blossom tip is the end of the cucumber where the flower grows. Usually, this end is a lighter green and is marked with a small, brown circle. Once cucumbers are trimmed, keep them in an ice water bath.
Remove lids and seals from jars, and pass jars through a cycle in the dishwasher. This will sterilize the jars.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. When jars are done in the dishwasher, transfer them to the oven.
Place the rims and seals in a bath of boiling water.
In a large pot, bring distilled water, vinegar, and salt to a boil to make brine. Stir occasionally, until the salt has dissolved.
Using a dry towel, remove a jar from the oven. (I recommend working with one jar at a time, unless you have people helping you.) Drop in two cloves of garlic and a sprig of dill. Pack jar with cucumbers, starting with larger cucumbers on the bottom and finishing with smaller ones.
Using a funnel and ladle, fill the jar with brine, leaving an 1/8-inch empty space at the top. Wipe the rim of the jar with a damp cloth to remove splattered brine. Then wipe it with a dry cloth. Remove one lid and one seal from boiling water bath. Dry thoroughly. Place lid on jar, and screw on rim. Let sit overnight, without disturbing. When the lid pops, the jar has sealed.
Store jars in dry place, away from sunlight, and pickles will last for about a year.
big world | small kitchen
http://www.bigworldsmallkitchen.com/recipe/homemade-pickles-recipe
