This is my first go at trying to make pickles.

We will see how it turns out.

cajun style dills are da sh!t !!! ate some last night

these are going to be half-sours

lemme know how dey come out... might have ta do me some

You posed to wash the grass and sticks off first.

I make up a bunch of kosher dills every summer. On some of them I throw in a split jalapeno to give it a little kick.

After about a 24 hour sit, I tried the pickles and they were good. I put the lids on and refridgerated them and they are even better cold.

I still need to tweak them a little -- a little less salt and a little more garlic for the next batch.

how about a recipe?

Here's the recipe I used (and on my next batch, I am going to use about 1/2 cup of salt and add some additional garlic)


Ingredients

12 Kirby pickles (approximately 4″ long) (I quarter them into spears)
Lacking kirbys use firm smaller cucumbers
3/4 cup pickling spice
6 cloves of garlic (cut in half)
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup kosher salt
cold water (not chlorinated tastes yucky)
3 celery stalks (optional I leave it out most of the time)
2 roots of dill (approximately) or 1 tbl dill weed (not seed)
BIG glass jar (about a gallon size or mix liquid and a use a bunch of small jars)

Directions

1.wash pickles and celery and arrange in a jar in an upright position along with half of the pickling spice, cloves of garlic and half of the dill. Set aside.
2.Mix 6 cups of cold water with kosher salt and white vinegar.
3.Place in a large bowl and stir until salt is melted. The vinegar is what you need to adjust for flavor usually not the salt
4.Taste. Should be sort of sour but not really salty
5.Put water and salt mixture and vinegar into the jar until the mixture covers the pickles.
6.Add the balance of the pickling spice and the dill.
7.Seal and shake like crazy for a few seconds to blend all ingredients.
8.Let this stand on the counter at room temperature, uncovered, or with the top just sitting on the jar but not closed, for one full day (24 hours).
9.Check by tasting and if it is satisfactory, let it stand for an additional 2 days, uncovered. Adjust vinegar as necessary.
10.. When the pickles turn dark greenish, cover and refrigerate.
11.They will keep for 2 weeks in the frig… if they last that long.
12.For sour tomatoes use 12 small green tomatoes, use the same ingredients above except increase the salt to 1 cup
13.Tomatoes take longer to sour. Leave them on the counter for 2 days, uncovered, then cover and leave on the counter or outside for another 2 to 3 weeks.
14.Tomatoes are ready when they change color from light green to dull olive green.

I love me some home canned pickles !!!! Lots of folks don't realize you can put the can on them all year long ifin' you wants to !!!

Hey Capt ~ Next batch .... tho's a couple boil eaigs in there !!!!!

That's a fantastic idea, Brooks -- I LOVE me some pickled eggs. Quail eggs especially.

What I need to do is find me some larger jars. The ones I have now only hold 4 cukes (and just barely that).