pickled tink

Just a little spoonerism for youse guys on this balmy Monday morning.

Also, some pickles. Pickles made to taste something like the Claussen variety, to be more specific. As someone who hasn't yet learned to enjoy the taste of pickles that aren't at least slightly sweet, I had to rely on my #1 taste tester and main squeeze to determine if these were, in fact, similar to Claussens, and he felt that they were.

I may have overdone it with the dehydrated onion in the first batch, as after a month or so, the brine turned cloudy and developed an off-odor and gave my fella's tongue a tingle. Always one to try to learn from my mistakes, I used about half as much onion in the second and third batches, but I processed those*, so we'll just have to wait and see if the onions were indeed the culprit.

*If you do process your pickles in a hot water bath and that whole rigmarole, be sure to squish as many cukes into the jars as possible--they shrink up considerably!

These pickles are a great way to preserve an abundance of cucumbers! Just keep your onions in check--nobody likes a tingly tongue.

Claussen-esque Pickles
Makes 4 quarts

Ingredients:
Brine:

• 1-1/2 quarts water
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup canning or pickling salt
• 2 tablespoons dehydrated minced onion
• 1-1/2 tablespoons peppercorns
• 1/2 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Pickles:

• 6 pounds cucumbers, scrubbed clean and cut length-wise either in half, quarters, or eighths
• 6 heads fresh dill (3 teaspoons dill seed may be substituted, but added to the brine above)

Directions:
Sterilize your jars by immersing them in boiling water.
Remove from the boiling water and place on a clean, dry towel.
In a large, nonreactive pan, place the water, vinegar, salt, minced onion, peppercorns, mustard seeds, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Bring the brine to a boil to dissolve the salt, then allow to cool.
Add the fresh dill and cut cucumbers to the sterilized jars, cramming in as many as pieces as possible.
Carefully add the brine to the jars, filling to 1/2-inch below the lip.
Try to distribute particulates in the brine evenly among the jars.
Put the lid on the jar, and turn the pickles a few times to distribute the seasoning through the pickles.
Loosen the lid and allow to sit on the counter for three days, shaking or turning them occasionally,
On the fourth day, refrigerate the pickles.
Alternatively, you can process the jars for longer preservation. Instructions here.