Gardens are a testimony in patience. You spend hours planting, watering, weeding, and loving your garden. And then you wait and hope there will be a favorable outcome. Well, I’ve been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for my garden to start producing some veggies. And I had waited long enough, because it seems that high temperatures combined with a TON of rain, create an environment prime for cucumbers (and a bunch of green tomatoes – but that’s a different story).
I love garden cucumbers. When picked young they have a sweet, non-bitter taste that is a great addition to many salads – from green to pasta. But at some point, you can only have so many cucumbers on a salad and need to find a new use for them in the kitchen.
One of our favorite recipes is the following refrigerator pickle recipe. It is easy because it requires no real “canning” (however, we will be doing some canning later), the pickles don’t take long to “cure”, and they are crunchier than Claussen. So they are like a lot of California Wines – ready to be consumed now. Even if you don’t have a garden, you can find cucumbers for dirt cheap at Farmers Market or in your CSA.
Step #1: Get Your Ingredients
For refrigerator pickles, you’ll need some pickling cucumbers (these are smaller in size and little softer – I have approximately 12 here), jars (any jar with a lid will do), vinegar, minced garlic, sugar, kosher salt, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, dill seed, and water.
Step #2: Cut Your Cucumbers
Wash your cucumbers. Then cut off the “knob” (or thing that attaches to the vine) and slice it into spears – between fourths and eighths, depending your cucumber size. Set aside.
Step #3: Fill Jars with Spices and Cucumbers
Take an inventory of how many cucumbers you have and the size of jars you are using. Determine how many jars you think you will use and then wash those jars. Place the following spices into each jar:
- 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
- dash of red pepper flakes (more or less depending on your level of spicy)
- 1 tsp dill seed
- 1 clove minced garlic
Then place speared cucumbers in jars on top of spices. You want them tight enough to get the most in per jar, but spacious enough to let the brine take its course.
Step #4: Making the Brine
Combine 3 tablespoons kosher salt, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar. Mix until sugar and salt are dissolved. Then add 2 cups of cold water and mix again. Pour mixture over cucumbers until cucumbers are submerged in liquid. If you need more mixture – make another full or half-batch and pour until submerged. (Unfortunately, this isn’t a science. And don’t you love the hand-on-my-hip stance. I need to hire a better photographer.)
Place lids on jars and screw fairly tightly. Place in refrigerator overnight. Pickles will be good for up to a month. Enjoy!
You had me at “crunchier than Claussen.” Do they also taste like Claussen pickles? They’re my favorite, and I might have to try this if they do.
Is that a Wusthof knife? 🙂
I think the taste is amazing. I would say exactly like Claussen, but pretty darn close.
And the knife is old school Henckels – Hubs got them as a college graduation present, so they are like 15 years old. But they are stronger than an ox and stay pretty sharp after Hubs sharpens them.
Seriously, if you don’t have good knifes. Please think about investing in some – they make a HUGE difference for kitchen prep.
Do you have a recipe for half sour pickles and for bread and butter pickles?
Nope. I don’t.
My garden cucumbers were a flop. I can’t figure out how to grow cucumbers. But my tomatoes are doing well:)
These look great. Will have to pick up some cucumbers at the FM tomorrow.
I LOVE this post! I have been wanting to make pickles, but just didn’t get around to figuring out how. Thank you so much for posting (and linking up). I can’t wait to try it. Pickles are a big hit in my house 🙂
I used to love making (and eating) refrigerator pickles – but it has been about 25 years since my last batch. Your post made my mouth water, and made me want to make some again. I cheated when making mine, because I would use the cucumbers from my garden (not pickling) and cut them into slices (about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick) and place them in a tupperware container (spices on bottom, then the liquid) – seal it up and stick in the fridge. It made measuring easier. Although, I put them in jars to give out to friends who were always anxious to get some refrigerator pickles.
Thanks so much for the post and the memories … I see pickles in my near future.
Carol – Thanks for the great comment. We love them in our house and it is a great alternative to traditional canning. I’m glad you are thinking about making a batch, I’m sure they will turn out awesome.
Kelly-thank you for sharing this recipe. I plan on heading to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday and buying a bushel of cucumbers. My kids and husband will love the homemade pickles!
Nikki –
I’m so glad you are going to make them. They are super good, healthy, and go with about any meal in the summer time. Thanks for commenting. I appreciate the support.
I AM going to make pickles THIS YEAR. I keep wanting to try. My mom’s were never good, so I am afraid, but maybe refrigerated ones!
I’ve been wanting to try refrigerator pickles, but I can’t keep them in the house! My family prefers them to regular cukes for eating.
Can you use fresh dill instead of dill seed? This will be my first time making pickles and I have lots of fresh dill from my CSA.
Ann –
Fresh Dill works too. Use a “sprig” per jar.
I made my first ever refrigerator pickles last weekend, but the recipe I used (from allrecipes.com) called for a lot of fresh dill, and I’m a bit worried that it is too much! I made 11 pints of pickles and used 3 cups of fresh dill (sound like too much to anyone?). I read your recipe and I got worried because it doesn’t call for any fresh dill, and I also used dill seeds. The recipe said to wait 10 days, so I’m hoping in 10 days that they are going taste great. I like the idea of putting the spices in the jars and then pouring in the brine, because once I had mixed it all up, it was difficult to get an even amount of the spices in all of the jars. I think I will use your recipe for the remainder of the cucumbers from my garden and compare the two! What size jars did you use?
Sarah,
I believe they are one quart canning jars. I don’t know about the dill vs dill seed, but you know they will have a dill flavor. 🙂 Let us know how they turned out.
That looks really easy! I am a really busy person but I never thought that making pickles is that easy!My husband is a garden lover and has a lot of cucumbers for harvest and he tends to get them for pickles. But ever since I never saw him make his “family-famous” pickles! LOL. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I will try to surprise him with the pickles that i will make.
I’ve used your recipe for dills for several years…and they are a HUGE hit!!! My kids won’t eat any other kind. Thanks!
Awesome! I took some new pictures, so thought is was time to share the post again. 🙂
Those look so good! I’m going to make some a little later 🙂
So, just to clarify again – these are ready to eat the next day but only last a month? I have seen other refrigerator pickles that say they last 3 months….
Yes. That is correct. i guarantee that these pickles taste better than any other recipe, however. 🙂
Do you know if this recipe will work for peppers?
We’ve used it before with carrots, but not peppers. So I’m not sure.
Do you think I could process these pickles (boiling bath) so I could keep them on the shelf? Just curious if anyone has tried it – or why I shouldn’t try it. I love, love, love this recipe. Thanks!
You could try. (We never have, though.) I would definitely add a little alum to keep the crunch factor.
What is alum?
LET ME KNOW IF YOU DO THIS! I WOULD LOVE TO MAKE THESE SOME FOR NOW AND SOME FOR LATER TO STORE ON THE SHELF. LET ME KNOW IF IT WORKS OUT FOR YOU! THANKS
I am going to make these tonight. My son loves pickles. I know that pickles require salt but my boyfriend is on a limited salt diet. Think I could half the salt? Thanks 🙂
You can, but they won’t taste the same.
How soon are they ready to eat
Thank you so much for this recipe Kelly! I love making pickles, particularly refrigerator pickles! They are so easy! I’m so excited to try these. Thank you for sharing!
Kelly, I am about to make a batch , do I need to boil the water. Why don’t you boil the brine mixture, water salt , sugar vinegar before pouring into jar? Thanks
Yelsha
I have been following this recipe for the last 3 years and it is a huge hit. Everyone loves them and is always asking me to make them pickles. Just wanted to say thanks for the recipe.
Still the most amazing recipe around…so easy and my family can’t get enough of them. I have been making them for years. I am bringing them to a guys BBQ and Poker weekend. Can’t wait to share the joy our family has had.