Dill (Refrigerator) Pickles

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb small pickling cucumbers (like Kirby), cut in half lengthwise
2 cups white distilled vinegar
2 cups cold water
4 cloves garlic, sliced
3 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon dill seed*
1 tablespoon mustard seed*
1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon celery seed

fresh dill

Directions:

Evenly divide the garlic, dill and cucumbers among four wide mouthed pint jars. In a large bowl, mix together vinegar, water, red pepper flakes, celery seed, salt, mustard seed and dill seed. Use a funnel to fill each jar with brining liquid.**The spices may float to the bottom, so use a spoon to evenly divide anything that is leftover into the jars. Cap tightly and refrigerate at least one week before eating.


*Before adding the mustard seed, red pepper and dill seed, I crushed them slightly in my hand.

**I suggest you do this over a large bowl. The cucumbers start to float and displace liquid. Add the overflow back into the brining mixture before you fill up the next jar.

My thoughts:

I have always wanted to make dill pickles at home but traditional canning always seemed a little scary. Refrigerator pickles seemed to be the logical solution. These pickles came together super fast and look so pretty in their jars. Judging by how delicious they smelled going into the jar and how pickle-y my hands smell now, they should be fantastic.