Karen’s Zesty Quick Dill Refrigerator Pickles

Ingredients

• 1 pound Persian Cucumbers*, about 5, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ cup sweet onions, thiny sliced
• ½ cup carrots, yellow and orange, thinly sliced
• 1 large fresh clove garlic, peeled, thinly sliced
• ⅔ cup rice vinegar, (can also use apple cider vinegar)
• 3 tablespoons natural cane sugar, or up to 4 T.
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, (I crush my own from whole chiles)
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds (more pungent than yellow ones)
• ⅛ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• ½ cup fresh dill, cleaned, dried and coarsely chopped

Instructions

1. For the crunchiest pickles, select firm, dark-green cucumbers with no soft spots. * Can use Fresh Kirby Cucumbers when in season.
2. Salt Cucumbers (to remove moisture): Scrub the cucumbers and slice them thinly, about 1/8". Place them in a colander with the salt, rub in to coat the cucumbers. Set in the sink. Add paper towels to cover, then add a heavy object help to drain. (A full tea kettle works great.) After 20 minutes place the cucumbers in a clean tea towel (or paper towels.) Squeeze the cucumbers dry. The salt helps to pull the moisture out of the vegetables and makes them crisper.
3. Add the cucumbers to a large bowl with the sliced onions, carrots and garlic.
4. Make Pickling Solution/Brine: In a non- aluminum 2 quart pot, bring vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes, mustard seeds and black pepper to a boil. Boil until the sugar has dissolved, stirring, about 10 minutes. Pour over cucumbers in the bowl. Add dill.
5. Ladle the cucumbers and brine into sterile glass canning jars (I use a canning funnel) and seal with tops. Set aside to cool. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
6. Alternately, store cucumbers and their brine in a clean glass container, seal and store in the refrigerator.

See BLOG for more information and photos.

This recipe may not be reproduced without the consent of its author, Karen Sheer.