Spicy Refrigerator Dill Pickles

In years past, by late August, we have been buried under a ton of produce coming form our little garden.  Not this year.  Other than cucumbers (of which I have picked well over a hundred of regular and pickling combined) we haven’t had much of anything.  Hasn’t been very hot and we’ve had way too much rain this year.

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 cucumbers
2 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.