Happy Friday here are some pickles!
Pickles because we’re still going with the calm before the bbq™© and I think good crispy dill pickles are necessary at every bbq. They go with just about everything and for me just make a good hamburger or sandwich great. Set out a jar of these babies and everyone will a) luv u for them and b) be impressed you actually made pickles.
One of the many cool things about these is that they’re refrigerator pickles, which means all the magic happens in the refrigerator, hence da name. There’s no need to can anything, no pots of boiling water, hazmat suits, weird tongs, etc. Most of us don’t find ourselves swimming in a sea of baby cucumbers (maybe you do I don’t know what you’re into) so the need to can several jars is nowhere to be found. This stuff is as simple as boiling some liquids, pouring it over cucumbers and waiting a few hours. Seriously the waiting a few hours is probably the hardest part.
And we don’t even need the special pickling cucumbers you’d need if you were actually canning these. We go for the Persian Cucumbers you can get at any Trader Joe’s, or really almost any grocery store, and the end result is still nice and crunchy, basically the cheaper cuter cousin of the vlassic pickle.
Once you jedi master these then you can move on to just about any pickled vegetable, the possibilities of party tricks without taking off your pants are endless.
Refrigerator Pickles
Makes about 1 Quart
pickling brine:
1 cup white distilled vinegar
2 cups water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
jar contents:
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
2-3 cloves garlic, sliced thin (3 is if ur a garlic luvr, heyy)
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 big sprig of dill or a couple smaller ones, like a rough 1/4 cup measurement (If you’re not sure just add a little more always)
1 lb persian cucumbers or sometimes stores label them seedless baby cucumbers
Make sure you have a clean quart size jar or 2 pint sized ones ready to go (wecks are cute but they’re a pain in the ass tbh I’d go with a ball or regular canning jar).
In a medium saucepan bring the vinegar, water, and kosher salt to a boil and keep the boil going for a minute or so. Most refrigerator pickles just have you mix it together col but boiling the vinegar first sort of takes off this edge that’s not welcome in my mouth. Let this mixture cool until it’s just slightly warm. If you want to speed it up only boil 1 cup of water and add 1 cup of ice water at the end. If you’re doing something like cauliflower or carrots ignore the cool down and pour it over the vegetables hot.
Assemble the pickles by adding the peppercorns, coriander seeds, garlic, red pepper, and dill to the jar first. If you’re using two smaller jars then just divide everything between the two.
Slice the cucumbers just shy of 1/4″, this way they’re a little thicker and they’ll stay crunchy, right into the jar using a mandoline slicer (I use the thickest setting on this one and it gets the job done, you should go buy it at bed bath and beyond with your 20% off coupon). If the jar fills up before you slice the whole pound don’t sweat it. The only thing you want to make sure of is that you don’t include the ends of the cucumber, there’s apparently an enzyme that we don’t want to test out.
After everyone’s in the pool and the brine has cooled down a considerable amount pour it over the cucumbers until it’s about a 1/4″ from the top. Don’t sweat it if all the brine doesn’t make it in there.
Pop the lid on the jar and refrigerate, shaking every hour or so the first few hours to make sure everyone’s getting to know each other. The pickles are good after just a few hours but they’re even better if you can give them a full 24 hours of makeout time. They’ll keep for about a week in the fridge but they shouldn’t last that long in a full house with everyone putting them on everything.
