Kosher Dill Pickles Made Easy! Short Version Recipe!

If you want the long version with more details, facts, and help with the decision-making process, now is the time to jump on over to our long-version Kosher Dill Pickle recipe which gives you all that and more.

For those pickle-pros who know all the ins and outs of lacto-fermentation and “just want the recipe, please!”, here ya go! Keep reading…

The recipe that follows is the same, whether you read the long or short version. It doesn’t hold back on flavor – two heads of raw garlic cloves, dill weed, flowering dill heads, and a variety of our favorite pickling spices detailed in our pickling spice recipe, following the recipe.

In typical style, we’ve not gone along with modern lacto-fermentation techniques, but instead, have created this recipe to follow traditional methods. Instead of adding all the ingredients in at the beginning of the fermentation process, we’ve followed traditional wisdom that withholds the garlic and dill – they’re bacteriostatic – and instead, add them a few days into the fermentation process.

This technique gives the lactic-acid bacteria a good chance in the Pickl-It anaerobic environment to grow strong, generating a generous dose of carbon dioxide, dropping the brine’s pH and accumulating a healthy-dose of lactic-acid. That takes several days. After that is when we drop in the garlic and dill, adding a powerful zest and flavor to the final product.

Kosher Dill Pickles Made Easy!

DIRECTIONS

Container size: 3-liter Pickl-It (or use two 1 1/2-liter Pickl-It or three 1-liter Pickl-It containers)
Brine: 6 T high-quality sea salt, stirred-to-dissolve in 8-cups filtered, non-chlorine, non-fluoridated water (simple brine recipes

Ingredients

• 3-4 pounds small, unwaxed Kirby-style pickling cukes, preferably no wider than 1 1/2-inche; try to select ones that are uniform in size
• 2 heads garlic, peeled
• 4-5 heads flowering dill
• 1-cup blanched pearl onions (cut “X” in root end with sharp knife, blanch for 1-minute; rinse under cold water, “pop” onion through “X” removing from outer skin)
• 2-T organic pickling spice blend (purchased or home-made, recipe follows)
• 5-6 medium organic grape leaves

Directions

1. Remove lid from the Pickl-It container for easier filling
2. Insert airlock into Pickl-It lid; set aside
3. Make sure all traces of the cucumber blossoms are removed; scrub all debris, sand from pickling cukes
4. Pack and alternate pickling cukes, pearl onions (if you’re using them!) and whole-spices into the Pickl-It; rows and layers work best, rather than just randomly dumping them into the jar; this reduces oxygen space and is more efficient.
5. Note: Garlic cloves and dill heads will be added in a few days.
6. Do not load the cukes any higher than the jar “shoulder”
7. Place Pickl-It Dunk’R on top the pickling cukes, holding them under the brine. Hint for using carrot strips under Dunk’R to hold pickles down.
8. Install Pickl-It lid on Pickl-It jar
9. Fill airlock with 1 1/2 T water
10. Place Pickl-It in dark corner of counter, its sides covered with a towel
11. After 24-hours, you should notice a small carbon dioxide bubbles throughout the brine – this is normal, a sign of good, healthy fermentation. A “froth” or “foam” will accumulated on top the brine. Simply unlatch the Pickl-It container, partially-opening the lid and scoop off the foam. You may need to repeat this procedure in another 24-hours. Relatch the lid, recover the Pickl-It jar sides. Carbon dioxide will quickly build-up, forcing out whatever oxygen was allowed into the container. If you do not remove the “froth” or “foam” (some people say “scum,” but that is misleading), the flavor of your brine may be negatively affected.
12. If your room temperature is between 68-74F, leave the Pickl-It container on the counter for 5-7 days. Monitor the carbon-dioxide bubbles. When there are fewer small bubbles, that indicates less activity; at this point, add garlic and dill.
13. Re-install the “Dunk’R”, re-latch the Pickl-It, re-cover the Pickl-It sides, and leave it on the counter for another 3-5 days.
14. Move the Pickl-It to the refrigerator for another 10-days of fermenting.
15. Remove one pickle and slice in half. If there is a uniform green color throughout the pickle’s interior, without white spots or streaks, your Kosher Dill Pickles are ready to eat!
16. If you have white spots or white streaks, return the re-latched Pickl-It to the refrigerator for another 7-days. Check progress again, and continue to repeat until there is even coloration. Enjoy!

Pickl-It Pickling Spice Blend

• 1 cup mustard seeds
• 3/4 cup coriander
• 1/2 cup whole allspice
• 1/2 cup black or mixed peppercorns
• 1/2 cup 3-inch cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 cup dill seeds
• 1/2 cup mace
• 1/4 cup cardamom seeds
• 1/4 cup whole cloves
• 10 bay leaves
• 6 (dried) hot peppers
• 4 1-inch pieces dried ginger (optional)

1. Stir all ingredients in a glass jar, preferably wire-bail
2. Store up to 6-months

Nutritional Benefits of Dill Botanical Description of Dill New York Food Museum Long-version Kosher Dill Pickle recipe Open Crocks are a Crock – Reviews why modern open-bowl, open-crock lacto-fermentation techniques are not traditional. Recreating Grandma’s Kosher Dill Pickles Simple Brine Recipe Pickl-It versus Harsch Crock – Pickl-It wins by a landslide!

by Kathleen in Recipes | Permalink