I just love this dill pickle recipe given to me by my friend Jill. I like to call them Jill Pickles.This is the first time I had ever made pickles, and the beautiful thing about these little dillies is that…
1) it’s a really easy pickle recipe.
2) You can make one jar if you want…or a whole fridge full.
3) They saved my honor.I put these together the night before a family get together because I had promised pickles from my garden. Oops! As a novice pickle maker, I didn’t realize that you were supposed to let the pickles sit for weeks or months for the flavors to soak in.So I went with the Jill Pickle recipe, and she totally came through for me in my moment of need. The pickles were packed with flavor and got rave reviews the very next day!Jill tells me that you can pickle all sorts of things with this recipe, including squash, zucchini, okra and even peppers! The brine recipe is very versatile…you can add in a couple of t. (per quart) of celery seeds, mustard seeds, or even hot pepper flakes if that floats your boat. If you like your pickles strictly sour, and not sweet, just leave out the sugar, or cut it down to about 2 T per batch. You can also sub with your favorite stevia or alternative sweetener if you want. As it stands, it’s a nice blend of tart, salty, sour and sweet.Let’s get started!
I made one quart jar full of pickles, but you can just as easily make a huge batch by multiplying the recipe.
1) it’s a really easy pickle recipe.
2) You can make one jar if you want…or a whole fridge full.
3) They saved my honor.I put these together the night before a family get together because I had promised pickles from my garden. Oops! As a novice pickle maker, I didn’t realize that you were supposed to let the pickles sit for weeks or months for the flavors to soak in.So I went with the Jill Pickle recipe, and she totally came through for me in my moment of need. The pickles were packed with flavor and got rave reviews the very next day!Jill tells me that you can pickle all sorts of things with this recipe, including squash, zucchini, okra and even peppers! The brine recipe is very versatile…you can add in a couple of t. (per quart) of celery seeds, mustard seeds, or even hot pepper flakes if that floats your boat. If you like your pickles strictly sour, and not sweet, just leave out the sugar, or cut it down to about 2 T per batch. You can also sub with your favorite stevia or alternative sweetener if you want. As it stands, it’s a nice blend of tart, salty, sour and sweet.Let’s get started!
I made one quart jar full of pickles, but you can just as easily make a huge batch by multiplying the recipe.
Dill Pickle Recipe
You’ll need:
One clean, sterilized jar and lid (fresh out of the dishwasher works for me.) One 8-10″ dill pickle and a small onion cut into slices or spears…or even diced relish! Several sprigs of dill or dill flowers, 3-5 cloves of garlic, peeled.
Note: If you love crunchy pickles, then soak your sliced cucumbers in a bowl of ice water for several hours. Once your brine is ready, turn off heat, pack jar with cold pickles as described below, and pour brine over them.
Layer your jar with 3-5 cucumber slices*, a couple of onion slices, a garlic clove, and a sprig of dill. Repeat the layers, filling the jar. The goal is to get all the flavors layered in against one another.
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Now for the brine:
Blend together 2/3 cup of water, 2/3 cup of vinegar, 2/3 cup of sugar (or about 30 shakes of stevia extract or equivalent amount of sugar sub), and a 2 teaspoons of coarse salt (Kosher or sea salt both work well). Stir to blend, and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
Pour brine over your veggies, filling up to about 1/2 inch from the top. Put lid on, and flip jar. Allow to cool, and store in the fridge.*If you like crunchy pickles (like Claussen’s) then you’ll want to chill the cucumbers first in ice water for a few hours. I stuck them in a bowl of water in the fridge.So there you have it. A super simple pickle recipe that has become a family favorite recipe in our house. Thanks Jill!
Dill Pickle Recipe
…or Jill Pickles, in honor of my friend Jill who shared this awesome recipe with me. Yields: 1 quart of pickles This recipe is very versatile. You can pickle garden squash, zucchini, onions, peppers, okra…anything that will sit still. The brine can be dressed up with a variety of spices to your taste: hot pepper flakes, mustard seeds, celery seeds, etc.
Author: Gwen
Recipe type: Appetizers & Snacks
Ingredients
- 1 medium (8-10”) cukumber sliced, or about 2 c. sliced cukes*
- 1 small sliced onion of any color
- 3 cloves garlic
- Dill head and a few sprigs of fresh dill
- ⅔ cup sugar** or ⅛th teaspoon stevia extract, or equivalent sugar sub
- ⅔ cup vinegar
- ⅔ cup water
- 2 t. salt
Instructions
- Layer cucumbers, onion, dill and garlic in a sterilized jar until almost full.
- Boil sugar-vinegar-water-salt mixture in a medium saucepan, and remove from heat
- Stir additional spices into the brine if desired. (You may also just add them to the jar with the veggies).
- Pour brine into filled jar, leaveing ½ inch at the top.
- Seal with lids and rings
- Turn jar upside down on the counter for a few hours until warm to the touch to seal the jars.
- Keep in the fridge. You can eat them right away, but they get even more flavorful in a few weeks.
Notes
*If you prefer a crunchy Claussen’s style pickle, then chill the cucumbers in the fridge for a few hours in a bowl of ice water. This makes them SUPER yummy and crunchy! **If you’d prefer a classic dill flavor without the sweet overtones, then cut the sugar back to 2 T per batch, or about 8-10 shakes of stevia.
I made two half-gallon jars of these pickles last year. They were wonderful and lasting me a good while–til the kids found them! No time flat we were out! I’ll make more this year. The only drawback is they take up so much of my fridge space.
I’ve always wanted to try cultured dills, but haven’t had success yet. 🙂 I was hoping they’d give me more fridge space.
Do you chill them whole or sliced?
Either way. I think I did whole, and then sliced them, but you really can slice then chill.