Perfect Dill Pickles
Canning Week continues! Calling these The Perfect Dill Pickles is a pretty big claim but one I’m willing to back up. Slightly sweet, these brine-y dill pickles are crispy, savory and in my mind, absolute pickle perfection.
I realize calling a recipe perfect is pretty bold. And cocky as I’m sure there are some pretty amazing pickle recipes floating around out there. But after trying umpteen recipes for pickles over the years- and always being disappointed with the end result- I can say, without a doubt, these are the perfect dill pickles for me. I’ve tried canning a few different pickle recipes over the years and they’ve always turned out either limp or the flavor was off. (By the way, I promise never to say limp again in reference to food. Ick.) After almost giving up on creating a worthy pickle recipe, I made these last year in a small batch as a test. In one word: WINNER. Because,YOU GUYS! This recipe produces crispy pickles. And the brine is savory with just a hint of sweet. They are perfect. And as of last September, my now go to recipe that I will putting up year after year.
I make these Quick Refrigerator Dill Pickles throughout the year because they’re a cinch to do and better than anything you can get in a grocery store. Plus the ingredients are assessable year round. But I wanted a proper pickle recipe. One that I could line up in my pantry amongst the jams and tomatoes and that I could gift to my kids teachers or take as a hostess gift. These are so spot on. I am already preparing to make another batch because my husband (who loves anything pickled) has already finished off a jar and a half in just under a week.
I shared a recipe for Whole Raspberries in Light Syrup yesterday and when I shared the post on Facebook I got a couple of comments that canning was intimidating. I’m just wondering if others feel that way? I guess I was a little intimidated at first but once I got the hang of things, I really felt like it’s a fairly simple process. And if you’re new to canning, these pickles are the perfect thing to get you started. This is super friendly recipe. My best advice if you’re new to canning is get a book, I recommend this one– it’s my canning bible and find a friend that also wants to learn- it’s always nice to have a partner!
Obviously no Taco Tuesday this week as I’m instead sharing a canning recipe for Canning Week but rest assured that I’ll be back next week with a new taco recipe…I’m thinking something with eggplant!
Be sure to check out The Vintage Mixer’s recipe for this Maple Vanilla Apricot Jam.
And this delicious looking recipe for Spiced Raspberry Syrup from Completely Delicious.
And don’t forget to enter this fun canning giveaway HERE!
Perfect Dill Pickles
Yield: 6 pints 1x
Yield:
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The best ever dill pickle recipe for canning!
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 lb pickling cucumbers
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups white vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup pickling salt
- 6 tablespoons dill seed
- 6 cloves peeled garlic
- 3 hot chili peppers, halved (optional)
Instructions
- Throughly scrub cucumbers with cold water. Slice of blossom ends. Cut cucumber length wise into quarters.
- In a large stainless steel pot, combine water, vinegar, sugar and salt. Bring mixture to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves.
- Place 1 tablespoon of dill seed, one garlic clove and 1/2 of a chili pepper if using into 6 hot sterilized pint sized canning jars. Place quartered cucumbers into jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Pour hot vinegar mixture over cucumbers, maintaining the 1/2-inch head space. Wipe jar rims with a warm, wet paper towel. Center lid on each jar and screw bands to just finger-tip tight.
- Process jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Remove jars from canner and let pickles cool on a clean towel laid out on the kitchen counter. Do not disturb for 12 hours before removing bands and storing pickles in a cool space for up to a year.
Notes
Add 5 minutes for each 3000 feet of altitude ABOVE 3000 feet. I added 15 minutes since just below 7000 feet for a total of 25 minutes.
I doubled the recipe and sliced some of the cucumbers into slices and processed them in quart jars. I processed them for an additional 10 minutes.
16 Comments
Thanks for the recipe! I just realized I’ve never made my own pickles! Must rectify this… I think everyone feels that they’re going to kill their family with botulism. But once you do it, you’re right. It just isn’t intimidating anymore.
Why process them at the end? Put the lid on them and turn the jars upside down and leave for 12 hrs. The heat seals the jars
I don’t mess around….I process everything I can. With that being said, feel free to preserve them how you like. Either way, these are delicious pickles!
Okay, I’m going to give this recipe a try. I’ve never canned pickles before, but we go bananas for pickles in this house and go through them like crazy. Thanks for doing all the hard work for me finding the perfect recipe!
I am totally intimidated by canning, too…I don’t know why! But these pickles look SO perfect and you make it sound SO easy, I think I’ll need to give it a try!
Pickles, pickles, pickles! Your photos look TERRIFIC and make me want to crunch and munch my way through the whole lot. But I’m just like that, you’d think I was preggers 365 days a year!
I have always wanted to make homemade pickles! These look so crunchy and delicious.
My oldest daughter is OBSESSED with pickles. She would think I was the shizzle if I made homemade pickles!
Impressed 🙂
They’re so easy to put up, Kristen! BTW- you’re the shizzle no matter what! xo
Pickles!!!! My husband loves to make refrigerator pickles. My fridge would be happier if I would learn to can properly.
How long after processing are these ready to be eaten?
They need to sit on the counter for 12 + hours until they’re ready to be opened but I think they’re best after a few weeks or so.
So happy to hear you found the perfect dill pickle recipe for you! I can’t say I’ve personally found the perfect one for me, but if this one is perfect for you, surely its perfect for someone else too right? Definitely going to give this one a try! Thanks for sharing!
I’d like to try this recipe but use fresh dill. Any reason I should not? Also, I was going to try pickle crisp too. Any thoughts on that?
If you’re going to process the pickles you need to follow the recipe as written. If you’re planning on storing the pickles in the fridge, feel free to change the recipe to your liking!
I have also been searching for a good recipe that stays crisp.
I just have a question.
You used dill seed instead of fresh dill. Do you think it matters? I have dill growing all over my garden?