It’s common knowledge that I have a salty tooth rather than a sweet tooth. When the weather does what it has been doing lately (making us all do our best Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego impersonations) I can’t think of a single thing I find more refreshing than an icy-cold, salty, crunchy pickle. Oh yes. You can keep your popsicles* and those icy squeezy pop things whose name currently escapes me. I’m on deck with the pickles.
*I will, however, fight you for fudgesicles. That’s just the way it is.
It’s not just me, it’s my whole family: mother, sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts, grandparents, kids, husband… I married a man who loves pickles so much he eats the pickles and then drinks the juice from the jar. In fact, in an attempt to show my husband just how much she loved him, my mom made a special pickle juice drink for him at our wedding. And he drank it*. Happily.
*He drinks pickle juice regularly in hot weather. He claims it is “Gatorade for people who don’t like sweets.” I love him.
I grew up eating my Grandma’s homemade dill pickles like the supply was endless and moved on to canning my own pickles as soon as I had a kitchen of my own. My little sister, Jessamine, and I compare our homemade pickles from year to year the way some people compare wine vintages. But there is one pickle that stands head-and-shoulders (were pickles to *have* heads and shoulders) above all others. I’m talking about the pickles you see here.
These are homemade refrigerated deli pickles, also known as Lithuanian half-sours, also known (in the commercial equivalent) as Claussen dill kosher pickles, also known as the best pickles ever known to mankind.
Here’s the thing. While I do love my other homemade pickles dearly (otherwise why would I continue canning ninety-something quarts year after year after year), these are by far my all-time favourites. CRUNCH. That’s what you hear when you bite these. There is no flop, no squish, no slime. These things almost bite back.
Claussens were long the benchmark for which I aimed in pickle making. No matter what, a canned pickle is not going to end up like that lovely Claussen: crunchy to the point of making noise when you bite it, cold, and seriously garlicky. Canned, shelf-stable pickles can be chilled, maintain some crunch and be as garlicky as you want them to be, but they are never, ever going to be the same thing because of science. When you heat process a jar of pickles you are, in actuality, cooking it and a cooked pickle just plain can’t be as crunchy as an un-cooked one.
Here’s where we get into bonus happy territory. You don’t have to cook anything to make these pickles; not one single thing. The brine is stirred together, the cucumbers are rinsed, trimmed and stuffed into a jar with garlic cloves and spices. Please, please, please give these a go even if you have never made a pickle before. There is nothing scary or intimidating here. (Do you hear me Saint Tigerlily? No spectre of THE BOTCH!) Wash, slice, stuff, stir, pour, sit, wait. Okay wait. Yes. That last bit is hard. The waiting is hard. On the plus side, the wait is only two to four days which is significantly less than the six week wait of the canned pickles. Besides, as I said, there is the crunch factor.
Get on the homemade pickle train, my friends, there’s plenty of room for all of us and if you don’t know what to do with the leftover brine, just pass it to my husband. He’ll “dispose” of it for you. Crrrrrrrrrrunch!
Always crunchy and garlicky, this perfect homemade pickle requires no special equipment, no canning experience and tastes just like Claussen's refrigerated kosher dill pickles.
Ingredients
- 35 to 40 small to medium pickling cucumbers
- 1 gallon cold water
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons mixed pickling spices
- 2/3 c. canning or kosher salt (Do NOT use iodized salt!)
- 4 cloves garlic or more, to taste
- 4 fresh dill heads ~or~ 4 tablespoons dried dill seed (not weed!)
Instructions
Wash cucumbers but do not scrub them.
Trim 1/8-inch from the blossom end of each cucumber and slice in half lengthwise or into quarters, depending on how large your cucumbers are and how big you want them to be when they're done.
In a gallon jar (or large, wide-mouth, food-safe container) layer the dill heads or seed, garlic cloves and sliced cucumbers.
In a separate pitcher or bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients until the salt is dissolved.
Pour the brine over the cucumbers, taking care to make sure all of them are fully submerged. If needed, place a plate or mug or other non-reactive heavy item on the cucumbers to weigh them down and keep them under the brine!
Cover lightly with a lid just perched on top or secure a piece of cheesecloth over the jar with a rubber band to keep fruit flies away.
Leave out of direct sunlight on the counter for two to four days*, or until the cucumbers taste like pickles throughout.
Fix your lid onto your jar or container and chill. These can be stored in the refrigerator for up to six months provided you keep them covered with brine.
Hi! I Made these and the look great! I used a flat canning lid to keep the pickles down in the brine. On the second day they looked fine, on the third there was a little white fuzz above the lid, but not underneath on the pickles. Are these ok to eat if I get rid of the fuzz and refridgerate them right away?
The reciepe for the claussen pickle was followed but the juice turned cloudy after three. They also taste a little like perfume. Don’t know how else to describe the taste.
Hi Kellie… The cloudy is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a natural by-product of fermentation. As for the perfume, I have NO idea what happened there!
My boyfriend and I made these, after day 3 they needed another day….after day 4 they were moldy.
I saw your recipe for the pickles on the Pioneer Woman’s website. I made them last Monday – let them sit on the counter until Friday. I did four jars and let me say they are fantastic. I’ve only tasted one jar so far and we just love them. After I made them my husband (who loves pickles informed me he doesn’t like homemade pickles) well he does now! Now I’m going to try your Pickle Dip – I’ve never heard of it either….I’m really enjoying your blog!
Another dumb question. What is in “mixed pickling spices” or is such a mixture available at stores.
So after I make these pickles, I leave them on the counter for 4 days, taste, and if they are perfect, I then keep them in the frig, up to 6 months?.. thank you so much, looking forward to making these tomorrow…
Just a note on an old wives tale. Kosher salt is the same thing as table salt. One is fine grind one is course grind. Iodized salt is usually kosher (approved by rabbis for observant Jews to consume) too; the iodine is made from kelp and in such trace amounts you can’t tell the difference. All salt except canning salt have additional minerals… occurring naturally, or added to help the salt from clumping. Pure canning salt usually isn’t designated kosher ( look for a K,P or U symbol or the words Kosher for passover) but I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be approved. Ps, Kosher Pickles (Like Kosher salt) is a style of pickle and not necessarily “Kosher” or approved by the rabbi’s for consumption. Yup, another fun fact!
My Brother makes these puts them directly into the fridge, and they turn out just fine.
I think putting them in the frig is a great idea…..i do it with mine and they’re delicious……….Crispy too with the cold brine.
I have the juice and jars from 3 jars of the claussen pickle slices…they were on clearance…any chance I could use that juice to make a follow up batch? Should I add some things? The juice tastes fine..heck I’m considering pickle juice martini’s as I type.
I’ve never tried that but I’d love to know what happens if you do!
Any suggestions as to where I could buy pickling cucumbers in the off season? They are easy to find during the summer, but not in March!!!