I've always loved good, deli-style dill pickles. I typically eschew the vinegar cured dills so prevalent in the marketplace. Following my axiom, "you can never have too much garlic", these really delivered. Also known as "half sours", fermented pickles are crisp and tart. There are some recipes which use a much stronger brine which require rinsing or soaking in fresh water before they can be consumed; but maybe we'll look into these some other time.
The pickling cucumbers I got were rather large, so I was only able to get about 4 pounds into the crock. It was warm while I cured them, so I went a bit heavy on the salt, and only cured them for two weeks.
THE RECIPE
3-5 pounds pickling cucumbers, based on the volume of your crock; washed and stems trimmed
Cloves of one head of garlic, crushed and roughly diced
1 large bunch dill (flowering if possible)
8-10 dried bay leaves
1T mustard seed
1T coriander seed
1T whole black peppercorns
Brine to cover approx. one inch above the weights -- This ratio was 1.25 T salt per cup of water
Pierce one end of each cucumber with a skewer (this allows the release of gases); I don't know what would happen if one of these babies explodes, but I don't want to find out! Place the cucumbers into the fermenting vessel horizontally or vertically, based on volume. Work the spices in evenly. Cover with brine, place the weights on top of the produce and seal the container.
Check the pickles after 5 days; adjust the salt if needed and nick off a piece of pickle to check flavor and texture. Remove and store the pickles (while still crisp) with some of the brine in refrigerator.
Last month, I made another batch of pickles using some Persian cucumbers I found at an Asian market. I managed to fit in about 6 pounds into the crock using basically the same formula. Flight - great taste. Flub - I kinda forgot to pierce them. I lost some presentation points, but they made great spears. Two weeks of fermentation did the trick; and here they are -- give them a try!
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