DIY Homemade Dill Pickles
 
 
Pickles are easy to make and delicious to eat -- especially when you make them yourself.
Serves: 4 pints
Ingredients
  • 16 - 4" long cucumbers, sliced into ¼" slices*
  • 12 large garlic cloves, peeled
  • 4 heads fresh dill with stems
  • 2 hot red peppers or 1 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
Brine
  • 2½ cups white vinegar
  • 2½ cups water
  • ¼ cup pickling salt
Instructions
  1. PREPARE and process home canning jars and lids according to safe canning practices.
  2. Chill clean cucumbers in the refrigerator overnight, if possible. Remove, slice into ¼" slices and place in large pan of iced water. Leave for about 2 hours, replacing ice as necessary.
  3. Make the brine: Mix vinegar, water, and pickling salt in a stainless steel saucepan (not aluminum) and heat to boiling point.
  4. Pack the chilled cucumbers into 4 hot sterilized jars. To each pint, add 3 whole peeled cloves of garlic, 1 head of dill, and ¼ teaspoon pepper flakes.
  5. Pour hot brine over the cucumbers in the jars. Leave ½" space at the top. Seal and place in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Mark the time as soon as you put the jars in the boiling water. Boil for only 5 minutes, leaving the jars in the boiling water bath any longer will soften the pickles.
  6. Store processed pickles for several weeks before using.
Notes
If jars do not seal, store in refrigerator and eat within a couple weeks.

Please refer to the website for National Center for Home Food Preservation for additional information about safe home canning. Another of my favorite canning sites is Pick Your Own.org

http://nchfp.uga.edu/
http://pickyourown.org/allaboutcanning.htm
Recipe by Pray Cook Blog at https://praycookblog.com/diy-homemade-dill-pickles/