I love spicy pickles!
Bread and butter: this is the first time I've made bread & butter pickles. I used the recipe here:
http://comfortablefood.com/spicy-bread-and-butter-pickles/ . From what I could taste and smell, it seems legit.
Dill: Got this recipe from my aunt, who has the best dill pickles in the world, but I have tweaked it a little for my tastes. It is a pretty standard recipe...
Brine. This will do 9-10 quarts of pickles.
- 3 quarts water
- 1 quart apple cider vinegar (white is fine if you prefer)
- 1 cup canning salt
What goes in the jar:
- 1 slice of yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic from the jar, or 3-4 toes
- 1 head of mammoth dill or use 2 heads of "regular" dill
- Cucumbers (of course!)
- 1 hot pepper, sliced in half - jalapeño or similar, whatever you have or can find, adjust for desired spice intensity
You can add miscelaneous whatever you have in the garden, like carrots, green beans, zuchini, bell peppers, etc. I find the spice intensity can vary greatly between jars. No two peppers seem to be alike, despite being the same cultivar, same harvest time, etc. Some jars are almost too spicy to eat and some have almost no spice at all. That's half the fun! I have considered using Tabasco sauce so the result is more repeatable, but I have not toyed with that much. I do know that 1/8 tsp of Tabasco in a quart jar will yield no spice addition.
Pack in prepared jars, fill with brine, and process for 10 minutes. Let sit for at least 6 weeks before eating.
I use this same brine to can hot peppers.
