I honestly can't believe I've never tried making them before. I think it's because there's always the danger of botulism if you can or jar wrong. But, guess what? These are fresh refrigerator pickles, so there's no threat of death! It's super easy and it took 5 days to get perfectly crisp, snappy, garlicky pickles. We had them last night with burgers (and chips, of course). I bought more cucumbers to start a new batch already.
The following recipe is from The Midnight Baker
http://bakeatmidnite.com/half-sour-pickles/#
Sorry, the picture is not that exciting. I forgot to take one last night, so this is from lunch today.
Half Sour Pickles
Prep time: 5 mins
Total time: 5 mins
Serves: 2 quarts
Ingredients
• About 2 lbs pickling cucumbers (aka kirbys)
• 4 cups water
• ¼ cup kosher or canning salt
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed (not necessary to peel)
• 1 tbs pickling spice
• 2-4 sprigs fresh dill
1. Wash cucumbers well and slice off the stem and blossom ends.
2. Wash 2 wide-mouth quart mason jars in hot soapy water; rinse.
3. Place 3 cloves garlic, 1-2 sprigs of dill and ½ tbs pickling spice into each mason jar.
4. Pack cucumbers into prepared jars--pack them as tightly as you can.
5. If cucumbers are thick, you may have to slice them in half lengthwise or even quarters (like spears).
6. Mix the water and salt in a large non-reactive (i.e. ceramic, stainless steel) bowl and stir until salt is dissolved.
7. Pour enough salt water into each jar to cover cucumbers.
8. Seal and refrigerate. It will take about a week until they are done on average, but check them in about 5 days.
Makes 2 quarts.
