Makin' Pickles

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TheNewMexican

TheNewMexican

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Cucumbers are in at the farmers market, just the right size for making pickles. Ordered a "SaeurKraut" crock online since they have ceramic weights included. Seems pretty straightforward.

Any recipes to share or advice?
 
You open to anything, or are you thinking dill or bread & butter or sweet?

I've only pickled a few times, including freewheelin' a batch of sweet relish last year. Based it on diced cucumber and onion, vinegar (can play with the type(s), touch of salt, sugar, mustard seed and whatever spices that were within reach that seemed like a match. I think there was some dill seed. Don't remember if there was any bell pepper. My wife tackles a variety of things, including pickling tomatoes -- that one includes a ton of garlic cloves.

Basically just taste the pickling liquid as you go, and tweak to keep it in line with your taste preferences.

With all that being said, I'm sure a few pros will see this tonight and give real ratios, etc.
 
Here is my spicy kosher dill recipe.
Sorry it is for large batches since I usually do a bushel of kirby cucumbers at a time.
Just make sure that the fresh chopped dill is only added after the brine has gotten all the way down to room temp.
Let the brine sit in the fridge for 3 days for the dill to fully infuse.
Cut your kirby cucumbers in half length wise and add them to the cold brine. They should be ready after 3 to 4 days in the brine.
This is known as a new pickle and will stay bright green and crisp instead of a hot pickle , a pickle added to warm brine which will loose its color and crunch.
You can also lower the amount of red chile flakes for less heat, this recipe has a descent kick to it.

Spicy Kosher Dill Pickle Brine:

1 gal Distilled White Vinegar
1 qt Apple Cider Vinegar
2 gal Water
1 cup Pickling Spice
1/4 cup crushed red Chiles
1 pound Fresh Dill Rough Chopped
1 cup Fresh Garlic Minced
1 quart Kosher Salt
1 cup Sugar

Place all ingredients in a large stainless steel pot EXCEPT DILL. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, Cool down to room temp and add in the fresh dill. Reserve to make house pickles.
 
As an avid fermenter and chef I highly recommend “full sour” or “half sour” kosher dill pickles, especially if you have a crock.

Mix a 5% salt brine (5g salt per 100g h2o) make sure at RT, cut a few heads of garlic in half and through in dill seed heads, bunches or seeds, a few slices of fresh horseradish and a few fresh oak or grape leaves. ( the tannins in the leaves will keep the pickles crunchy!) Sink all the cucumbers into the brine and weight the top down with a plate or bowl so everything is fully submerged. Cover or lid and leave out at room temp for at least 3 days, taste and decide how sour you want (longer for more sour, but don’t go too long or they’ll get gross! Refrigerate when tasty!
 
LewRob80 said:
Or sea salt, or kosher salt. Really just avoid table (iodized) salt
Click to expand...
The anti-caking agent that's in a lot of salts isn't great either. Sea salt without additives and Diamond Crystal are fine. Morton kosher salt contains anti-caking agent, so I'd avoid that. Also stay clear of the various rock salts; they tend to contain minerals other than sodium chloride. If the salt isn't pure white in colour, it contains things you probably don't want for your pickles.
 
Does anyone have a Pickled Pepperoncini recipe? I have like 5 Orange Pepperoncini plants, that are looking to be very productive.
 
The recipe below is by Karen Harris. Her website is below so she gets credit as this is not my creation. I do use this recipe for canning pepperoncini and and out of the 3 or 4 recipes I have tried, this one tastes the best. If you want to skip the waterbath processing, put the jars in the refrigerator and let it sit for 3 days before eating. Also, if you intend to process with waterbath canning, I use and suggest a lime soak to crisp them up. The lime is optional though. If you choose to lime, get Ball Pickling Lime and follow the directions on the bag. Finally, I skip the red chili pepper flakes below and add 4 or 5 dried Aji Charapita peppers to each jar. They can be difficult to find, but don't be afraid to play with the recipe. Just don't mess with the vinegar, salt, sugar or water proportions.

Yield: 4 16 ounce jars

Ingredients

  • approximately 12 cups fresh pepperoncini peppers
  • 4 cups white, distilled vinegar
  • 4 cups water
  • 1/3 cup kosher or pickling salt
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 cup dried red chili pepper flakes
  • 1/4 cup whole black pepper corns
  • 1/4 whole coriander seeds
  • Equipment
  • 1 Canner
  • 4 16 ounce canning jars, lids and rims
Instructions

  • Wash and sort the pepperoncini. Using a sharp knife, make a split in the side of each, keeping the stem in tact.
  • Wash and sterilize 4 16 ounce canning jars.
  • Simmer the tops in water.
  • Set a large canning pot to boil.
  • In a large heavy bottomed pot, add 4 cups white vinegar and 4 cups water with 1/4 cup kosher or pickling salt and 1/3 cup sugar.
  • Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove from the heat.
  • Stuff the jars with pepperoncini. Once these come out of the water canner, there will be considerably shrinkage of the peppers, so the more you can fit, the more appealing the final product will look.
  • Into each jar add 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 6-7 whole pepper corns and 6-7 whole coriander seeds and 1 teaspoon of dried, crushed red pepper flakes.
  • Fill the jars to about 1/4 inch head room, then add the tops and then the rims, and close, but not too tightly.
  • Process for 10 minutes in boiling water with at least 2 inches of water above the rims.
  • Once done, let the jars sit, covered for 5 minutes.
  • Remove the jars from the canner and let them sit, undisturbed for 24 hours.
  • Check the tops to be sure they've popped. This means, they've usually made a popping sound and the soft center of the lid as inverted. You can also check by tapping the top. If it goes up and down, the seal did not take. Any that did not can be refrigerated and eaten with a few weeks. Properly preserved, you can store the pepperoncini for up to a year. Refrigerate once opened.
  • Enjoy!
  • Karen Harris BITTER SALTY SOUR SWEET, Life's Delicious!
Notes

Pack the jars as full as you can with the peppers. Because they are fairly hollow inside, they will slowly fill with the brine. Let them sit a for about 10 minutes, top them with the brine once again before closing the jars and canning.
 
Thank you for that! I'm about to plant a bunch of pepperoncini; I'll be using your recipe once they've grown up :)
 
I agree with Michi! Thanks for this.

Do you recommend pickling the Pepperoncini while they are still Green, or fully ripened?
 
Ripened, but freshly harvested. Do not pick them and let them go limp/soft from sitting out a few days. If you need to save up for a batch, put them in the refrigerator. Once they are canned/pickled, they effectively stop ripening. If you like to eat them still green, there is nothing wrong with pickling them that way or even mixing green and ripe. I just prefer them ripe.
 
They ended upcoming out great! Thanks for the help.........



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