4 lb Pickling cucumbers
8 Dill heads
8 cl Garlic
8 c Water
2 c White vinegar
1/2 c Pickling salt
1/2 ts Crushed red pepper
4 ts Whole mustard seed
For whole pickles, select cucumbers that are 3" in length or less. If
you can only get larger cucumbers, quarter them lengthwise into
spears for best results. You should not use cukes longer than 6" for
these pickles. Wash and dry the cucumbers. If making whole pickles,
prick each cuke a few times with a fork. Place half the dill in the
bottom of a scrubbed and sterilized gallon jar. Bruise the garlic and
drop the cloves into the jar and add the crushed red pepper and
mustard seed. Pack the whole cucumbers or spears into the jar and top
with the remainder of the dill. You may have some cucumbers left over
when you're done here; depending upon the size of the cukes, there's
a chance that not all of them will fit.
Meanwhile, bring water, vinegar, and salt to a boil in a large
saucepan. Boil for a few minutes, then allow to cool to room
temperature. When the brine is cool, pour it over the cucumbers
making sure they are completely covered. Screw the lid on the jar and
put it in the back of the refrigerator to cure.
How long to cure:
For classic deli half-sour dills, allow the pickles to cure for 3
weeks. For the taste of a fine Polish dill, allow to cure for at
least 6 weeks. Because the pickles are never cooked, they're nice and
crunchy!
This recipe will also be successful if the ingredients are divided
among smaller containers. I prefer having one gallon jar in the
fridge over several smaller jars; it takes up less shelf space.
A note about the dill:
I make these pickles right through the winter because the
supermarkets here carry "baby dill", small dill plants which get
barely 8" tall before they are harvested. You can use 2 baby dill
plants in place of each dill head and the recipe comes out just as
fine.
Sterilizing the jar:
My pickle-curing jar is a big plastic jug. I cant boil it to
sterilize it, so after scrubbing it in hot, soapy water and rinsing
it well, I put in a splash of chlorine bleach, fill the jug half way
up with cold water, screw on the lid, and shake it around. Then I
pour off the bleach water and rinse well again. Using this method,
I've never had a batch of pickles "go bad" on me
