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 1/4 inch thick
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
Pickling Liquid
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup champagne vinegar (or more cider vinegar)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 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 1/2 cups of sugar.
Adapted from Alton Brown's Kinda Sorta Sours.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Refrigerate: 1 day
- Cook Time: 10 minutes