How to Make the Perfect Pickles

One of the vegetables we love to grow in our garden is cucumbers. And oh boy, do we get a lot of them! I like to just eat them as a snack or put them in my water, but we also love making pickles! Today I wanted to share with you my favorite pickles recipes, as well as some other kinds of pickling.

Related Post: How to Use & Store Your Produce

Last year was my first year trying pickles & relish, and my results were mediocre. My sweet relish turned out well, but my dill relish was just so-so and my bread & butter pickles (Levon’s favorite) definitely left something to be desired.

But I did my research, learned a few things, and picked up a few tricks, and this year my pickles turned out great!

Here are some of the best tips that I learned:

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Tips for Pleasing Pickles

• Choose the right cucumbers

  Good pickles can only come from good cucumbers. You will want to choose pickling cucumbers that are small and fresh. Don’t let them get too big (I use the bigger ones for my relish, since they get chopped up), and don’t let them sit out too long. You’ll want them as fresh and crisp as possible.

  

• Get the right thickness

  This was my biggest mistake last year. My Pampered Chef mandoline only had one thickness setting, and it was too small. My pickles just fell apart, especially after being cooked.

  But my OXO Mandoline Slicer has adjustable thickness settings, and I love it! I use the 1/4″ setting for my pickles, and that works perfectly for us.

• Get the timing right

  This was the other contributing factor to my limp and soggy pickles last year — I cooked them too long.

  I had not planned things out very well, and my pickles were finished cooking long before my water bath was ready!

  This brings me to my #1 canning tip: plan ahead and make a plan of action! Have everything out, lined up, and ready to go, and know when you’re going to complete each step.

  I now know that I should not start cooking the brine and adding the cucumbers until my jars are sterilizing. That ends up being perfect timing – the jars are ready right as the pickles are cooked!

• Keep trying new recipes

  If at first you don’t succeed, try a new recipe! We’ve tried several different recipes over the years. Some we’ve liked, some we haven’t. Trial and error is the best way to find those beloved family recipes!

Here are some of our favorites:

Our Favorite Bread & Butter Pickles

Ingredients

• 16 cups sliced small-medium pickling cucumbers (about 4 1/4 lbs)
• 8 medium white onions, sliced
• 1/3 cup pickling salt
• 3 cloves garlic, halved
• 4 cups sugar
• 3 cups apple cider vinegar
• 2 T mustard seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp celery seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric

Directions

In an 8-10 quart nonreactive pot, combine cucumbers, onions, pickling salt, and garlic. Add 2 inches of ice. Cover. Chill for 3-12 hours.

**Note: Following the advice of another canner, I covered the mixture with a tea towel and put the ice on top. It made removing the ice really easy!

**Second note: I did this step the night before I was going to can and let it chill overnight. It made things so much faster in the morning – I had everything canned by 9:00am!

Remove any ice remaining in pot. (See note above.) Transfer cucumber mixture to a large colander and drain well. Discard garlic.

In the same pot, combine sugar, vinegar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and turmeric. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Stir in cucumber mixture. Return to boil. Remove from heat.

Pack hot cucumber mixture and liquid into hot sterilized pint canning jars (I did quarts), leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims. Adjust lids and screw on bands.

Process filled jars in hot water canner from 10 minutes. (15 for quarts)

Makes 8 pints or 4 quarts. 

**Note: If you’re new to canning, I recommend that you read my post from last week to learn more about the canning process! 

Sweet Pickle Relish

Ingredients

• 8 cups cucumbers, deseeded and chopped
• 4 cups onions, chopped
• 2 cups green bell peppers, chopped
• 2 cups red bell peppers, chopped (can substitute more green if you don’t have red)
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 3 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 T celery seed
• 1 T mustard seeds

Directions

Put all the vegetables in a large nonreactive pot or bowl. Sprinkle the salt over the chopped vegetables. Cover with cold water and let stand for 2 hours.

Drain vegetables well, then press out as much liquid as possible.

In a large pot, combine sugar, vinegar, and seeds. Bring to a boil.

Add cucumber mixture. Return to boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, pack into hot sterilized pint jars.

Process in hot water canner for 10 minutes.

Makes 6 pints

Dill Pickles

Ingredients

• 3 to 3 1/2 pounds pickling cucumbers
• 4 cups water
• 3 cups white vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup pickling salt
• 6 Tbs dill seeds
• 6 pint canning jars

Directions

Clean cucumbers, and remove stems and blossom ends. Cut cucumbers into quarters or slice with a mandoline to 1/4″ thickness. 

In a 4-5 quart pot, combine water, vinegar, sugar, and pickling salt. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. 

Pack cucumbers loosely into a hot sterilized pint jar, leaving 1/2″ headspace. Add 1 Tbs dill seeds to the jar. Pour hot vinegar mixture into the jar, maintaining 1/2″ headspace. Wipe the jar rim, adjust lids, and screw bands. Lower into hot water canner. 

Repeat with the other five jars. 

Process in hot water canner for 10 minutes.

Makes 6 pints

Note: For crisper pickles, I recommend using Mrs. Wages Xtra Crunch (I use more than the recommended amount — up to 1/2 tsp or more per pint.)

Pickled Okra

Ingredients

• 3 cups water
• 3 cups white vinegar
• 1/3 cup pickling or canning salt
• 2 tsp dill seeds
• 3 1/2 lbs small, whole okra pods, trimmed
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 small hot red peppers (we use jalapeños), stems removed, halved lengthwise and seeded

Directions

In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine water, vinegar, pickling salt, and dill seeds. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve salt. Reduce heat to low and keep hot until ready to use.

Pack okra into hot jars to within a generous 1/2″ of top of jar. Put 1 clove garlic and 1/2 pepper in each jar. Ladle hot pickling liquid into jar to cover okra, leaving 1/2″ headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding more pickling liquid. Wipe rim. Screw band down.

Process in hot water canner for 15 minutes.

Makes 4 pints.

Levon’s Special Jalapeno Pickled Eggs

Ingredients

• 2 cups white vinegar (Levon actually uses 3 cups, but he loves a strong vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 jalapeños, sliced (you can adjust for personal taste – we like them spicy!)
• 5-7 whole cloves
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 bay leaf
• 18 eggs

Directions

Put all ingredients except for eggs in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for a couple minutes – just long enough to dissolve sugar and bring out juices in jalapeños.

Put eggs in a large jar. Pour hot liquid over the eggs. Seal container and store in the refrigerator.

Eggs will be ready to eat after 2-3 weeks. Keep refrigerated.

Refrigerator Pickles

Ingredients

• 1 gallon water – do not use softened water!
• 1 cup pickling salt
• 2 qts vinegar
• 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped, per jar
• Fresh dill – several large pieces per jar
• Pickling cucumbers ~3-4 inches long

Directions

Boil water and salt, then cool to room temperature. Add vinegar. Pour mixture into quart jars (we’ve used gallon jars, too!). Add garlic & dill to each jar. Keep jars in the refrigerator and add cucumbers as they are available, making sure they are covered with the brine.

Pickles will be ready in 2-3 weeks. They will keep up to a year in the fridge.

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Let’s vote! What’s your favorite pickled item to eat or make? Share with us in the comments below!

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My Favorite Canning Resources:

• Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving – This is an indispensable resource for every canner, from the novice to the expert!
• Better Homes & Gardens Complete Canning Guide – I love this one, too!
  
  
• Ball FreshTech Electric Water Bath Canner – (read last week’s post for more information about this AMAZING canning appliance that has changed canning for me forever!)
  

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If you enjoyed this post, check out one of these other related guides!

• How to Make the Best Peaches Ever
• How to Use & Store Your Produce
• 10 Simple But Delicious Ways to Prepare Asparagus
• My Best Tips & Tricks for Instant Pot Success