Wash 20 lbs pickling cucumbers.

Trim off ends.

Note: I never can THAT many dill pickles, so I usually only wash and brine as many as I think I want to can.

But if you are a dill pickle connoisseur, then by all means go with 20 lbs 🙂

 

Place cucumbers in a stoneware crock. I don’t have a crock, so I just use a large stoneware bowl.

Cover with 3/4 c. pickling spice and 2-3 bunches fresh dill.

Mix together 2 1/2 c. vinegar, 1 3/4 c. salt and 2 1/2 gallons water. Pour over the cucumbers. I cut the recipe in half to accommodate the fewer cucumbers that I used.

Place a plate over the top of the cucumbers to keep them completely submerged.

Note: I found that this mixture will actually eat away decorative painting on your plate, so either use a very plain plate, or place plastic wrap between the plate and the cucumbers.

 

After a couple of days, it starts to look like a science experiment. It’s okay – fermented food looks odd 🙂

There will be some scummy mold type stuff that appears. Just scrape it off.

In this picture, you can see some areas of bright green. These cucumbers have not been submerged under the solution. So I had to smoosh them around to make certain that the cucumbers were all getting immersed in the brine.

Remove the scum as it appears.

Allow cucumbers to brine for 2-3 weeks. Taste occasionally to check for flavor.

The brine will appear cloudy, which is fine. This is from the natural yeast which forms when fermenting your food.

When you are satisfied with the dill flavor of your pickles, strain the brine and heat the liquid to a boil.

Fill canner half full of water and start it to heating up.

Get lids into hot, but not quite boiling, water.

Pack pickles into clean jars.

 

I like to add in a clove of garlic and a pinch of dill seeds. But you can also add in peppercorns or whatever you like.

Make sure to check for soggy/mushy spots as you are packing. You don’t want mushy pickles.

Heat up brine. Fill jars with hot brine.

If you don’t like the look of the cloudy brine, you can make fresh brine by using 1/3 c. salt, 4 c. vinegar and 1 gallon water. The strained brine has blended with the cucumbers and spices so it has a fuller, more rounded flavor, but the fresh brine isn’t cloudy.

This is entirely up to your preference.

Wipe edge of jar with clean damp cloth or napkin.

Seal with lid and ring.

Set jar into elevated rack in canner.

Water should be steaming. I like to add 2 Tbsp white vinegar to my canner water to help avoid water stains on my jars.

Elevated rack holding the jars.

 

 

 

 

 

Lower jars into hot water. Bring water to a boil. Once water starts boiling, start timing. Process for 15 minutes.

Remove canner from heat, remove canner lid. Allow jars to set in canner for 5 minutes before removing them to cool.

After jars have completely cooled, remove rings to check seals on lids.

After the pickles have set for a few days, the yeast will sink towards the bottom of the jars, so the brine will not appear as cloudy as it was at first.

Note: I have tried recipes for unbrined dill pickles where you just put the cucumbers into the jars, along with some spices and brine, but Andy always complains that the pickles aren’t “dilly” enough. Often, with these old-fashioned brined pickles, he is ready for them to be canned after about a week and a half of brining.