This past Monday, I was compelled to pick up some cucumbers and make my own pickles. To be truthful, the compulsion was probably chiefly driven by the "3 for $1" sign above the mound of ENORMOUS cucumbers. I couldn't resist. I love pickles. And I love having my own pickles in the fridge to shamelessly munch on when the mood strikes, or even when it doesn't. (Otherwise, I'm snacking on the pickles which are meant for tuna salad and hamburgers.) I plan to do a little more tweaking to the recipe to get a punchy but a bit more subtle flavor. Right now, the vinegar hit is unrelenting. But I love it. I'm a vinegar lover, even if it often catches me unprepared most times and causes my throat to seize up and my eyes to tear. Here is the one and only recipe that I've used to make pickles over the past years. These are refrigerator pickles and so last in the fridge for a couple of weeks. (They're not preserved so they need to be eaten relatively quickly.) I found this recipe in the New York Times Food section about 5 years ago. Although I cut the recipe out of the paper, I don't have an author to attribute it to. However, this author adapted it from "Blue Hill at Stone Barns" (which is meaningless to me, but I figured I should include it). I too have made some changes/additions (see what I did in italics below) and I look forward to playing around some more. But for now, here's the recipe:
8 medium Kirby cucumbers
This Monday, I got the three for a dollar good-sized regular cucumbers and 2 were used to fill the 3 jars I used.
For the brine:
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
I use less (slightly less than 1/4 c.) since I like a more savory pickle.
1/4 cup Kosher salt
2 cups water
I'm thinking of upping the water and reducing the vinegar ratio in the future, maybe 2.5 cups water to 1.5 cups vinegar. Just fyi.
2 cups Champagne vinegar
We didn't have any, I used what I did have on hand: 1 & 3/4 cups white wine vinegar and 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar.
Infusing flavor in the jars:
I completely eyeball the following ingredients. I'm certain I use more of everything below, plus I added mustard seed in comparable amounts as the peppercorns this time around. Also, I never add the chiles, but I'm a baby about heat.
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
4 sprigs of dill
3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
2 whole dried chiles (optional)
1. Boil a stockpot of water as deep as the shoulder of a quart jar (or of the jars your using; I use a hodge podge of saved glass jars of all different sizes, so I usually have to boil in batches and adjust the water level accordingly.)
2. Wash cucumbers and slice into 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick rounds.
3. In a small saucepan bring sugar, salt, vinegar and 2 cups water to a boil over high heat; remove from heat and set aside.
4. Distribute peppercorns, dill, garlic, and chiles equally between 2 sterilized 1-quart jars, then pack jars with cucumber slices. (I layer pickles, then spices, then more pickles, etc., since I think it helps disseminate the flavor. However I have no research to back that up.) Fill each jar with brine to 1/2-inch from rim.
5. Partly close jars, leave gap for steam to escape, and place in boiling water for 10 minutes. Carefully remove jars with jar lifter or 2 tongs and close lids tightly. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for up to two weeks.
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