Faced with mounds of cucumbers, I had to find ways to use them up without making the family sick of them. Canning is out, as the whole process scares me and I fear poisoning the family if it isn’t done properly. So my focus is on refrigerator pickles. They’ll stay for a good month in the refrigerator so I don’t have to worry about eating them up within a week.
I found this recipe on Allrecipes and since we all like spicy I thought I’d give it a try. I had quart sized jars so instead of putting them in whole (plus I didn’t want to wait 10 days) I cut them into spears and stuffed them in 2 jars. I mixed up the brine and it filled both jars all the way up to the top, with 1/4 cup left over. Perfect.
I let them sit for a week in the refrigerator and we tried them this weekend. They were really good – slightly spicy and very garlicky with just a hint of sweetness. Probably could have used a touch more dill, but my dill plant died last month and I had to go to 3 different stores before I found any fresh.
Spicy Refrigerator Dill Pickles
12 three to four inch long pickling cucumbers2 cups water
1 3/4 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh dill weed
1/2 cup white sugar
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon pickling spice
1 1/2 teaspoons dill seed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
4 sprigs fresh dill weed
In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers, water, vinegar, chopped dill, sugar, garlic, salt, pickling spice, dill seed, and red pepper flakes. Stir, and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, until the sugar and salt dissolve.
Remove the cucumbers to three 1 1/2 pint wide mouth jars, placing 4 cucumbers into each jar. Ladle in the liquid from the bowl to cover. Place a sprig of fresh dill into each jar, and seal with lids. Refrigerate for 10 days before eating. Use within 1 month.
