My brother, Matt (the Doctor!) left these at our cottage this summer. I had a couple on a burger, and then fished a few out of the jar and ate them raw. Then I ate a few more. Then...well, long story short, by the time dinner was done, the pickles were all gone. And I was considering drinking some of the juice left in the jar.
*Thanks, Matt!
I received a bunch of pickling cucumbers from my CSA, and then I bought some more, to make a jumbo batch of pickles. I put them in the crisper drawer in my refrigerator, and they sat. I did all the other pickle recipes for Pickle Week first. I found, much to my dismay, that cucumbers don't keep well. By the time I got to them, all the pickles had turned bad. One batch was furry; the other was slimy. What I have since learned is cucumbers don't keep well; after 24 hours they start to deteriorate. Make your pickles as soon as you can!
This recipe is based on one from my hero, Alton Brown.
*Technically, it's from his evil twin brother, B.A. On the "American Pickle" episode of Good Eats, Alton did a sweeter bread and butter style pickle, while B.A. did one very similar to this...
📖 Recipe Card
Pickled Sorta Sour Cucumbers
- Total Time: 24 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 quart 1x
Description
Sweet and sour refrigerator pickles - sliced cucumbers, onion and garlic in a spiced cider vinegar brine. Adapted from Alton Brown.
Ingredients
Vegetables
- 2 pickling cucumbers (about 5 inches long), sliced ¼ inch thick
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ onion, thinly sliced
Pickling Liquid
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- ½ cup champagne vinegar (or more cider vinegar)
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
- 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon pickling spice
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
Instructions
- Prep the vegetables: Pack the sliced cucumbers, onion and crushed garlic into the jar.
- Make the pickling liquid: Combine the pickling liquid ingredients in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes to open up the flavor of the spices.
- Pour the liquid over the cucumbers: Carefully pour the hot pickling liquid into the jar until the vegetables are covered. (For a less rustic look, pour it through a fine mesh strainer to strain out the herbs and spices.)
- Refrigerate: Let cool to room temperature, close the lid, and refrigerate. They're best after at least 1 day in the refrigerator, and even better after a week.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
Equipment: A clean quart jar with a tight fitting lid - canning jars or flip top gasket jars are the usual choices. I pour the pickling liquid into a Pyrex 2-quart measuring cup first, then into the jar - the spout makes it much less messy.
See my pickling vegetables basic technique for more details.
Pickle your cucumbers as soon as you can - they start to deteriorate after about 24 hours.
The pickles will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. If you see fur or fuzz growing on top of the liquid, throw them out.
Bread and butter pickles: Alton Brown's sweeter version skips the garlic, uses half the spices, and uses 1 ½ cups of sugar.
Adapted from Alton Brown's Kinda Sorta Sours.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Refrigerate: 1 day
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
Questions? Comments? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts:
Click here for my Pickled Vegetables basic technique.
Adapted From:
Alton Brown's Kinda Sorta Sours [foodnetwork.com]
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