Uncle Bills Dill Pickles In A Crock Food

DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• Combine the salt and water in a pitcher and stir until the salt has dissolved.
• Rinse the cucumbers thoroughly and snip off the blossom end stem. Set aside.
• Place the peppercorns, pepper flakes, garlic, dill seed and fresh dill into a 1-gallon crock. Add the cucumbers to the crock on top of the aromatics. Pour the brine mixture over the cucumbers in order to completely cover. Pour the remaining water into a 1-gallon ziptop plastic bag and seal. Place the bag on top of the pickles making sure that all of them are completely submerged in the brine. Set in a cool, dry place.
• Check the crock after 3 days. Fermentation has begun if you see bubbles rising to the top of the crock. After this, check the crock daily and skim off any scum that forms. If scum forms on the plastic bag, rinse it off and return to the top of the crock.
• The fermentation is complete when the pickles taste sour and the bubbles have stopped rising; this should take approximately 6 to 7 days. Once this happens, cover the crock loosely and place in the refrigerator for 3 days, skimming daily or as needed. Store for up to 2 months in the refrigerator, skimming as needed. If the pickles should become soft or begin to take on an off odor, this is a sign of spoilage and they should be discarded.

UNCLE BILL'S DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• PREPARATION OF DILL CUKES THE NIGHT BEFORE.
• Remove blossom ends and stems and discard.
• Place dill cukes into a large tub or a clean laundry tub.
• Cover with cold water.
• Add 2 bags of ice cubes or 1 block of ice.
• Let chill overnight.
• BRINE.
• In a cooking pot, add water, vinegar, pickling salt and brown sugar and bring to boil.
• Boil for 2 minutes.
• Prepare 4- 1 quart wide mouth canning jars by washing well with soap and water and then rinsing well with hot water.
• Place jars upside down on the rack in the oven and heat at 325 F for about 15 minutes.
• Wash and drain dill cukes.
• Place 1 dill head and stem in the bottom of each jar.
• Stuff the jars with cukes, vertically.
• Stuff a few sliced carrots, 5 garlic cloves and 4 horseradish pieces in the voids between the cukes in each jar.
• Stuff one Jalapeno pepper into each jar.
• Place another dill head and stem on top of the cukes in each jar.
• Fill jars with hot brine to within 1/2" of top of jars.
• Make sure that none of the dill head is touching the top of the jar.
• Push the dill heads down if necessary.
• Wipe tops of jars clean.
• Prepare canning lids according to manufacturers instructions.
• Place lids on jars and screw on screw tops finger tight only.
• Prepare a canner and bring water to a boil.
• Place jars in rack with lids up and immerse in the boiling water.
• Boil or process for 10 minutes.
• Remove jars onto a dish towel and cover with another dish towel to cool.
• Jars are sealed when the lids pop and are concave (curved down).
• Should any jar not seal, just remove the lid and discard and place another prepared lid and repeat the process.
• When cooled and sealed, label jars and store in a cool, dark place.
• Allow 4 to 5 weeks for flavors to develop before using.
• This recipe makes 4- 1 quart jars and requires 12 to 16 dill cukes for each quart depending on the size of the cukes.
• Dill cukes should be 4" to 5" long and as fresh as possible.

OLD-FASHIONED PICKLE BARREL PICKLES

Steps:

• Gently scrub pickles with a vegetable brush and rinse with cool water. Dry thoroughly. In a large stoneware crock or a deep enamel kettle sprinkle in half of pickling spices, dill and garlic over the bottom. Layer cucumbers in crock, filling to within 3 inches of top. Sprinkle with remaining pickling spices, dill and garlic. Mix vinegar with salt and 2 quarrts of water. Pour over cucumbers, to cover. Weight with a plate and cans, making sure cucumbers are completely submerged. Cover loosely with cheesecloth. Check pickles each day and skim off scum as it forms -- it may not begin to form until fifth day. Do not stir pickles, but make sure they remain completely submerged in brine at all times. If necessary, add additional brine. Leave for 3 to 4 weeks. Pickles will turn an olive-drab color and texture will be soft-crisp and be uniformly translucent. Let stand or an additional month to develop flavor, replacing brine as necessary.;

NO-VINEGAR DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• Put the quart jar (s) in a large pot, cover and bring to a boil.
• Boil them for 10 minutes.
• Remove and empty them.
• Put the salt, spices and garlic in the bottom of a sterilized quart jar.
• The amount listed is for one jar.
• Add a little water to dissolve the salt.
• Pack- I say PACK!
• -with cucumbers and a couple heads of dill, as tightly as possible, without breaking the cucumbers.
• Leave a little headroom.
• Fill up with water, leaving 1" headroom at the top.
• Cap lightly for 24 hours, then tighten and store for 6 weeks in a cool dark place.
• Use sterilized lids and rings to cap.
• (Boil both for 5 minutes.).
• Place on newspaper in case they leak while fermenting.
• Store in a cool dark spot- a basement is ideal.
• I make these every year for fear that my father might disown me if I failed to make him 6 or 8 jars for his Christmas present.

GOOD EATS DILL PICKLES (FROM ALTON BROWN 2007)

Steps:

• Rinse the cucumbers thoroughly and snip off the blossom end stem. Set aside. Combine the salt and water in a pitcher and stir until the salt has dissolved.
• Place the peppercorns, pepper flakes, garlic, dill seed and fresh dill into a 1-gallon crock. Add the cucumbers to the crock on top of the aromatics.
• Pour the brine mixture over the cucumbers in order to completely cover. Pour the remaining water into a 1-gallon ziptop plastic bag and seal.
• Place the bag on top of the pickles making sure that all of them are completely submerged in the brine. Set in a cool, dry place.
• Check the crock after 3 days. Fermentation has begun if you see bubbles rising to the top of the crock. After this, check the crock daily and skim off any scum that forms. If scum forms on the plastic bag, rinse it off and return to the top of the crock.
• The fermentation is complete when the pickles taste sour and the bubbles have stopped rising; this should take approximately 6 to 7 days. Once this happens, cover the crock loosely and place in the refrigerator for 3 days, skimming daily or as needed. Store for up to 2 months in the refrigerator, skimming as needed. NOTE: If the pickles should become soft or begin to take on an off odor, this is a sign of spoilage and they should be discarded.

UNCLE BILL'S MUSTARD PICKLES

Steps:

• Wash and finely chop cucumbers.
• Seed and dice sweet red and green peppers.
• Place chopped cucumbers and peppers in a large bowl.
• Sprinkle over with pickling salt, cover and let sit overnight.
• The next morning, drain off the liquid and discard.
• Finely chop cauliflower, onion and celery and mix in with the cucumbers and peppers.
• Transfer vegetables to a large cooking pot.
• Add vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until vegetables are just tender, DO NOT OVERCOOK.
• In a small bowl, mix mustard and turmeric in a half cup of cold water.
• When vegetables are nearly done, mix in mustard mixture and stir until well blended and bring mixture back to just boil.
• Sterilize and prepare canning jars of your choice.
• Fill jars to within 1/4" of the top of the jars.
• Apply lids and screw tops and process according to the method you are most familiar with.
• When jars are sealed and cooled, label and store in a cool, dark place.

POLISH DILL PICKLES MADE IN A CROCK

Steps:

• Place ingredients in bottom of crock with cucumbers.
• Pour mixture (water, vinegar, salt) over cucumbers.
• Throw in a few more pieces of dill.
• Submerge pickles under water by placing a plate on top weighed down by a jar of water.
• When a film appears, just skim it off.
• Try tasting smaller pickles after 5 days.

HOMEMADE DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• Place water, salt, and garlic into a large saucepan. Add cloves, bay leaves, coriander seeds, and black peppercorns. Stir until salt is dissolved. Heat over low for just a few minutes to bring water to room temperature. The water should not be warm.
• Place some dill flowers in the bottom of a jar or crock large enough to hold the cucumbers, spices, and some brine. Place a few of the cucumbers on top of the dill weed. Alternate layers of dill flowers and cucumbers, ending with a layer of dill. Pour pickling brine into the crock. Gently tap or shake the crock to eliminate any air bubbles. Weigh down the pickles with a small ramekin to ensure they stay below the surface of the brining liquid. Top with more brine. Reserve any extra brine to add if necessary during the fermentation process. Cover crock.
• Place crock where it can ferment at a temperature between 65 and 75 degrees F. Let pickles ferment for a week, checking every day to ensure pickles remain submerged. Small bubbles may appear; this is a normal product of the fermentation process. Add more brine if necessary.
• After about 8 days, you can skim off the foam. Test a pickle for flavor and crunch. You can continue fermenting them for a couple more days or, if you like them at this point, transfer pickles to a large jar. Fill jar with the brine from the fermentation process. Cover and store finished pickles in the refrigerator.