Refrigerator Pickles

I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I have been told that my refrigerator pickles are on par with the best commercial pickles on the market. (My friend Kelly is one of my biggest pickle fans, and I take it as a HUGE compliment as she is quite the aficionado of sauces and crispiness of food!)

The best part about my refrigerator pickles is that they are so easy to make. I just made my first batch this morning. I picked the pickling cucumbers from my garden, the dill from my herb garden, and had some garlic from the CSA. I personally love refrigerator pickles over traditional canned pickles because you can make them in small batches and there's no need for boiling and canning.

The hardest part about refrigerator pickles is waiting the 7 days for them to cure!

Here's the recipe:

Refrigerator Dill Pickles
3 cups water
6 tablespoons vinegar
3 tablespoons canning salt
Cucumbers, cut into spears
Garlic cloves
Fresh dill sprigs
Dried red pepper flakes

Combine water, vinegar and salt; stir until salt is completely dissolved.

Cut cucumbers as desired (spears, chips, etc.)

Place 1 clove garlic, 1 spring dill and dried red pepper flakes (to your liking) in each jar. Fill jar full of cucumber pieces. Pour brine into the jar, making sure all cucumber pieces are covered. Cap and refrigerate for 5-7 days before eating.

It's that easy. Enjoy!