This recipe is an old school dill pickle recipe, the pickles come out full of flavor and lightly effervescent. Fermenting pickles produces a much better pickle than hot water bath canning because the pickle is never cooked or heated it retains the crunchy texture of a cucumber with all the flavor of an old-fashioned dill pickle.
There are many ways to ferment food and while I like to experiment, I do have a few rules I prefer to follow when fermenting. Food is expensive and/ or takes time and energy to grow so I don’t like losing a batch of food to contamination or at the very least create an inferior product that doesn’t taste very good or is soft and spongy. Think of like it as cheese or wine, the best artisanal craftsman has a recipe that they follow, and do what they can to minimalize a poor product. I have had the best luck when I follow these three rules.
- When making this recipe it is important to use the proper salt: water solution for the brine. The salt water inhibits the unwanted growth of putrefying microorganisms and allows instead the desired strains of Lactobacilli to flourish, too much salt will inhibit the growth of this as well so this is my main advice to you, watch the salt.
- Keep the temperature consistent. A temperature of 50-60°F keeps the fermentation process going and produces the best flavor. I use my pantry room cupboard to brine vegetables, a fan on the floor keeps the temperature cool and maintains a steady temperature. If you do have higher temperatures keep an eye on your veggies, your fermentation time will be almost cut in half.
- Cleanliness is important as far as bacteria goes, don’t ferment in a room with shoes, a garbage can, compost or the like. While it doesn’t need to be in a sterile room why introduce airborne bacteria that can ruin your food.
I often use a 3 or 5-gallon ceramic crock for fermenting, it works well and since I am somewhat experienced at fermenting food I am able to monitor the process and act accordingly. My sister April has a fermenting crock that I am a bit envious about, I feel the fermenting crocks take the guesswork out of fermenting and can help make a more consistent product.
Spicy Dill Crock Pickles
Crunchy and full of flavor this pickle is an old-fashioned dill pickle that is sure to be a family favorite.
This recipe will fill a 3-gallon ceramic crock.
Ingredients
- 12 lbs Small to Medium Pickling Cucumbers Blossom End Removed
- 1.5 Cups Pure Sea Salt
- 6 Quarts Distilled Water/ Spring Water Non Chlorinated
- 1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 6-8 Heads of Dill
- 12 Cloves Garlic Peeled
- 2 Tbs Pickling spices
- 15 Grape leaves
Instructions
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Crock must be washed and cleaned, rinse well with white vinegar.
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Rinse cucumbers well and trim the blossom end. The blossom end is the one with a small brown "scab" on it. This end piece carries an enzyme that will make your pickles soft.
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Combine water and the vinegar in a separate bowl and stir, until the salt is completely dissolved.
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Line the bottom of the crock with the grape leaves.
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Layer cucumbers, spices, garlic, dill heads, and grape leaves in the crock. Add a layer of grape leaves on the top.
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Pour the brine over layered ingredients completely covering the ingredients. Place a plate weighed down with a sealed jar full of brine. Cover with a clean cloth and store the crock in a cool but not cold room.
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Within a few days, you should see tiny bubbles start to form in the brine. If a white scum forms skim it off and wash and sanitize the plate and jar.
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My pickles take about two weeks in optimal conditions. When the cucumbers are almost completely olive green and have a pleasant zesty taste you know they are done. Do not let your pickles ferment too long, they soften and lose their crunchiness.
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The pickles are now ready to be jarred and stored in the refrigerator. If you want to keep them on a shelf they must be canned.
There are many excellent books on fermenting and preserving but of course, I have my favorites.
An excellent book on the power and health of fermenting. Sandor Katz breaks down the possibilities of fermenting (which is basically anything can be fermented) I enjoy reading his books but occasionally I wish for a more precise recipe.
This is a “cookbook” for fermenting. It has precise recipes for fermenting almost anything. I usually use this book as a base for recipes and I go from there until I get the exact product I want.
