Canned Dill Pickles

This dill pickle recipe has been passed down to me from my mom. For as long as i can remember, my mom only stuck to this pickle recipe because it was a family favorite. I looked no further, we keep canning our cucumbers by this recipe year after year because even the large variety of pickles in the grocery stores still don’t satisfy us. That said, this recipe is probably over 20 years old for sure.

 I know everyone has their own taste preference when it comes to canned goods, some like them more savory then sweet, this recipe is semi salty, semi tangy with a touch of sweetness. The brine is so easy and perfect, we end up using it for other recipes after we eat the pickles such as making lazy cabbage salad. (I’ll post recipe in the future)

Canning pickles or preserving cucumbers doesn’t have to be complicating. Skip the water bath hassle, we bake ours in the oven instead, it is much better and faster for me. You know what else i love about this recipe? You don’t even need to boil the brine. It’s as easy as it gets.

Ingredients:

Cucumbers

Fresh garlic (sliced)

Fresh horseradish root (Sliced)

Fresh dill (Matured)

Pickling salt

White vinegar

White Sugar

Water

Step 1: Prep work: Wash the jars so that they’re clean, Chop the dill, slice fresh garlic, slice horseradish root.

Step 2:

• Fill the bottom of the jar with dill, garlic and horseradish root
• Tightly fill the jar with washed cucumbers

Step 3: Make the brine

6 cups of water

1 cup white vinegar

1 cup white sugar

2 Tbsp Pickling Salt

• Combine all of the brine ingredients together until the salt and sugar have completely dissolved.
• Pour the brine into the jars filling all the way to the top to cover all the cucumbers.
• Apply the center lids and bands onto the jars and adjust to fingertip tight.
• Preheat oven to 350F, place the jars in the center rack of the oven and bake until the cucumbers change color. (Time varies from oven to oven and size of the jars you’re using)
• Carefully take the hot jars out of the oven and firmly tighten the band.
• Flip jars on a toweled surface and let them stand like that until they cool off.

Tips:

• Using fresh picked cucumbers will help the pickles be more crunchy.
• Do not over bake, take out as soon as they change color, this will also help them be more crunchy.
• Place a large baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven to catch any dripping for easier clean up or foil on the bottom of the oven will do also.
• Make sure that each jar is sealed, properly sealed jars can stand in room temperature for over a year. 
• For best flavor, allow the pickles to stand for couple weeks before eating.