A few weeks ago, while visiting my Aunt Bena, she mentioned making more refrigerator pickles. I am not opposed to refrigerator pickles at all, don't get me wrong. I just never seem to have enough room for them. I would prefer to put them on a shelf. And most refrigerator pickles I have tried are always Bread and Butter pickles. Love those too, but how many can you really eat? And again, I have a canned recipe for them that I love, so on the shelf they go! I told my Aunt as much and she said, "Oooooh, no. These are Dill."
Well slap me and call me a glutton for punishment if my ears didn't perk up! She even had some for me to sample.
Oh.My.Gawd. If these weren't the best dill pickles ever! Lip-smackin'. Halfway home I was still savoring the flavor...
Aunt Bena's "Big Dog" Dill Pickles
2 or 3 whole heads of Dill
4 cloves of Garlic, peeled and cut in halves
1 Grape Leaf
1 Medium Onion, thickly sliced
2 t. Alum (you can leave this out)
Cucumbers, cut into spears (roughly 4 pounds +/-)
Layer the ingredients into the bottom of a 1 Gallon glass jar. Then pack the Cucumbers in.
Bring to a boil the following:
1/2 Qt. White Vinegar
1 1/2 Qt. Water
1/3 C (or less) Pickling Salt
Pour brine over the contents in your jar.
Cover the jar with a piece of tin foil then seal the lid down tight.
Turn the jar upside down and place in the refrigerator for 2 days. (I used an old cake pan just in case there was seepage, which there was not)
After 2 days, set the jar upright.
As with any pickled recipe, it's always best to let them set for a few weeks before sampling. You can remove the tin foil then.
Now, wouldn't those go perfectly with one of these?
And suddenly a magical space appeared in your fridge, just perfect for the size of those jars! :)
ReplyDeleteWicked awesome recipe! We tried a refrigerator dill recipe once that was a bread and butter in disguise. I'm totally trying this one. I'll leave the Bloody Mary to you, though. Tomato juice makes me gag. :)
Wa-hoo! I'm definitely gonna give these a try. As soon as I get the poly/paint off my hands. As soon as I have time to do anything in the kitchen except construction work. As soon as I have picking cucs in the garden. Next year.
ReplyDeleteP.S. That Bloody Mary is making me salivate . . . and it's 8:15 a.m.
I have given up on canning pickles too. They always just taste so soft and rubbery from the cooking.(although I did make some lemon pickles this year and thought of you the whole time) These look really good, but I wonder what would happen if I made them on the counter instead? Think I would die? Enough salt kills anything, right?
ReplyDeleteYou posted this just in time for me! I've been hoping to run across something like this for a while, and I really need it now. Looks great, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by -- I have checked out your canning info. and those dills look great. I'm just a beginner and had a bumper crop of tomatoes. I was giving away much more than we could eat. Do you have a tomato sauce recipe for canning that you would mind sharing? Have never canned either - so maybe a good web site too?
ReplyDeletePlease come again!
back to the farmers market for me-that is the only reason I don't make pickles any more either but these sound like the "real deal" and I WON'T TELL YOU WHAT OTHER THINGS MY SISTER USED TO USE ALUM FOR ,EVERYONE WOULD THING A ME A REALLY DIRTY OLD LADY ') .)
ReplyDeletesave me some!
ReplyDeleteThe pickles look great, but where do you get "Grape Leaves" if you do not have grape vines?
ReplyDeleteWell I don't use a recipe but this is about exactly what I use LOL, no alum though and I chuck peppercorns or red pepper flakes in too! For Tom, you have to steal them from someone's garden LOL... don't use the storebought kind, they won't work if they aren't fresh!
ReplyDeleteBTW, APG, these actually will keep for a year in the fridge if you use enough vinegar (some books will only say a couple months), but won't last that long!
What does the grape leaf do? This is the first time I have ever heard of using them in pickles!
ReplyDeleteYes-inquiring minds want to know--what DOES the grape leaf do? Is it that important to the recipe?
ReplyDeleteI 3rd or 4th that about the grape leaf?
ReplyDeleteFresh grape leaves contain an enzyme that keeps your pickles crunchy! In the 3 years of using them, my pickles are always just as crunchy after months as they are as a fresh cuke!
ReplyDeleteHey guys, posting from the road so just a quick note about grape leaves. The tannins from the leaf help keep the pickles crisp. So you need to go steal them! :)
ReplyDeleteMamaTea, how on earth do you medicate a hangover w/o the Bloody Mary then? ;)
ReplyDeleteMamaPea, I'm told that a Bloody Mary in the morning contains everything you need to get your day off to a bright start :0)
Jane, lemon pickles?? Did I miss something? Do tell!
Patty, well be sure to let me know if you loved them as much as I did!
TreeHugger, well you picked a good spot to start poking around for canning buddies! I think an email is more in order for a few hints to get you started. I will check out your profile and if your email is there, drop you a line. Otherwise my email is on my profile. I will find a way to you!
Judy, alright you have to tell about the alum because I have no clue! Curiosity...
Pops, always enough to share with you!
Tom, hmmmm...phone a friend? Erin is right tho, they must be fresh grape leaves. Now you could always put grape vines on your list of things to plant. You could make jelly/wine etc and still have the leaves for pickling! It's a two-fer!
Erin, you are right! My Aunt's were last seasons pickles that I sampled and if she hadn't told me I would have never known!
MillitaryFarmGirl, Sue, Judy, yup just like Erin and I managed to post at the exact same time (thanks for the save Erin) the grape leaf helps keep the pickles crisp.
That said, the alum is supposed to do that as well. However, as with any old school ingredient like that, the "powers that be" are advising us to get away from using it. Which is why I said you can leave it out. You would not want to leave out the grape leaf for certain. Otherwise they will just be a "flop".
Happy Pickling!!!!
WELL MY SISTER USED TO TELL THE STORY THAT AFTER THE BIRTH OF EACH CHILD SHE WOULD TELL THE DOC TO TAKE A EXTRA STITCH FOR DADDY SO IT IS AMONGST THOSE LINES AND ACTUALLY DESCRIBES WHAT ALUM WOULD DO ONLY YOU WOULD USE SOME PERSONAL CLEANSING MATERIAL--NOW I FEEL I WENT WAY OVER THE LINE-YOU DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE ANY GUY COMMENTERS DO YOU?I'M TURNING RED BUT ONLY BECAUSE THIS IS SO PUBLIC LOL NOW I'M SURE YOU HAVE FIGURED IT OUT
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to rustle me up some of those BD Dills! I LOVE dill pickles, but have had the same problem as you when I made them myself. They make such great 'stir sticks', don't they???
ReplyDeleteAPG, yeah, sorry I jumped in but the troops were getting restless LOL!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to share something with you-its about honey you should let people know, that any honey made in china is being banned right now-it does not say china on it because it is being smuggled out through other countries. It contains poisons. people can go to the "Food Inc." site to find out more I'm not very good at copy and pasting articles sorry but it is important.Maybe you had already heard
ReplyDeleteJudy, well -I get it now ;) HA!
ReplyDeleteAnd I will also check out the info regarding honey from China! I have been working on a new post about the honey and will look into this as well! THANK YOU!!! See, this is how we all stick together!
Susan, oh yes they make the best kind of stir stick! Let me know if you make them and how you like them!
Erin, hey once again -friends stick together and I am glad you had me covered! Anytime Missy! Thank you!
That is a great recipe! I have a friend that makes AMAZING fridge pickles, and the recipe is pretty darn similar. I have never been successful at jarring pickles either, but next year? Next year, I am growing cukes and I will succeed!!!!
ReplyDelete