Although making brined pickled cucumbers takes some time, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at that great ‘sitting on the front porch’ summertime flavor. Use the excess cucumbers from the vegetable garden, or fresh store bought cucumbers to brine into pickles.
Start off by choosing the best looking cucumbers without dents, wrinkles, odd shapes and free from cuts, bruises or insect damage. Brining your cucumbers may take up to six weeks to complete, but you will be glad you took the time. It’s important for you to be precise with your measurements so you end up with a quality tasting pickle.
When brining your cucumbers, make sure you keep them under the brine at all times. Check them on a daily basis as scum forms occasionally. You’ll need to remove this scum so as to prevent spoilage. If you don’t remove the scum, it will decrease the acidity level of the brine. At the end of the brining process, you’ll need to desalt your cucumbers. The desalting process is listed below.
Use the following recipe to get cucumbers brined and canned up. You’ll need a large enough container to accommodate this recipe. I use a two gallon clear glass cookie jar with a lid.
8-10 lbs. of cucumbers no longer than 6 inches
4 bunches of fresh dill weed (you can use an equal amount of dried if you don’t have access to fresh)
8 cloves of garlic
1 cup of pickling spices (Loose when brining. Placed in a cheesecloth bag when cooking canning brine)
2 cups of salt (do not use iodized salt)
2 cups of white vinegar
1 gallon of cold water
Clean and dry your cucumbers. Cut off the blossom end of the cucumbers. Place some of the dill, garlic and pickling spice in the bottom of your container. Layer your cucumbers and then add the rest of your garlic, dill and pickling spices. Add one final layer of cucumbers to the container, leaving approximately 2-4 inches of space at the top.
Place a plate or something flat on the cucumbers to weight them down below the liquid. Keep them weighted down at all times. Make sure you check your brine each day. If scum forms, remove it. Add ¼ cup of additional salt after removing scum or at the third day of brining. In one week, add an additional ¼ cup of salt. Add an additional ¼ cup of salt at the end of each week for up to an additional 4 weeks.
Cut a cucumber lengthwise to check for completeness of the brining process. White spots or white areas in view indicate the need for more brining time.
To desalt your cucumbers, remove them from the brine. Discard the brine at this time. Rinse and place cucumbers in a large plastic or glass container of very hot (not boiling) water and let them sit for about 2 hours. Repeat this process 4 more times or when the cucumbers no longer taste too salty.
Combine the above dill, garlic, pickling spices (placed in a cheesecloth bag), salt, vinegar and water once again to prepare your brine for canning the pickles. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes. Sterilize your quart jars lids and bands. Heat up your canning water to just under boiling. Place pickles into hot jars and fill with your brine, leaving ½ inch of headspace. Remove any trapped air bubbles in the jars. Place lids and bands onto jars. Put into a hot water bath canner and bring to a boil. Start cooking time of 15 minutes once canner water is rapidly boiling.
Remove from water and place on a cooling rack. Once jars are cooled, check for a proper seal. Store jars in a cool dry place for a few weeks allowing flavors to work into the pickles.
Source: Steven Coyne’s Kitchen and Garden, and the “Gardeners Guide” blog.
