Refrigerated hot and spicy pickles
Today, I am making two quarts of homemade refrigerated hot and spicy pickles. My recipe is for two quart jars. It's easy and requires no canning. However, I still sterilize everything before I pack my cucumbers. Since I am not canning these jars of pickles, they will have to be stored in the refrigerator. However, the heat from the hot brine usually seals the lid tight. This is an awesome recipe to make homemade pickles fast, and it comes in handy when your cucumber plants aren't producing enough to process a bunch of pickles at once.
Ingredients:
12-16 pickling cucumbers, the amount depends on the size of your cucumbers
2 garlic cloves, halved, or minced
1 large onion, finely diced
8 chili peppers, finely diced
4 teaspoons of dried dill seed
1 tablespoon of black peppercorns, cracked
2 teaspoons of mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon of allspice
1 teaspoon of cloves
2-½ cups vinegar, both apple cider vinegar, or white vinegar will work
2-½ cups of water
4 tablespoons of pickling salt
Instructions:
First, wash your jars, rings, lids, canning funnel, and ladle with hot soapy water and rinse well. Place your jar in a 200 degrees F oven to sterilize it. Allow the jar to get super hot. Then take them out of the oven with canning tongs when you're ready to fill them. (The second step isn't absolutely necessary for refrigerated pickles, but I like doing it for the added reassurance.)
Now, wash and scrub your cucumbers. (Slice off the ends of each cucumber if you prefer crispier pickles.) Then prepare your pickles by either slicing them, cutting them into spears, or leaving them whole.
Once that's finished, add your dill, minced garlic, diced onion, diced chili peppers, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, allspice, and cloves to the jar. Now, begin packing your cucumbers inside the jars.
Next, to prepare the pickling brine, you'll need to add the vinegar, pickling salt, and water to a pan. Bring the brine to a boil. Then reduce the temperature and allow it to simmer for five minutes.
Place a canning funnel into the opening of the jars and use a ladle to pour the brine over your cucumbers. Leave a quarter inch of headspace in the jars.
Using a clean kitchen towel, or paper towel, wipe the rims of your jars. Place a sterilized lid on both jars. Allow your pickles to cool, then place them inside your refrigerator.
Note:
You can use pickle spice if you prefer. I use a little over half the ingredients that's in store-bought pickle spice. These spices aren't necessary to add, but they'll add additional flavor to your pickles. For the best quality pickles, use pickling salt when pickling cucumbers. Don't confuse pickle spice for pickle seasoning. They're not the same thing.
It is safe to use regular table salt when you're making pickles. However, using non-iodized table salt will turn your pickle brine cloudy. While regular iodized table salt will darken the appearance of your pickles.
Remember to place your refrigerated pickles inside your refrigerator. I allow my pickles to sit in the refrigerator for a few days before I open them. Doing this allows them to marinate in the spices and have a better flavor.
The pickles will last for three months before going bad. After that length of time, I don't know. My pickles are generally eaten pretty fast.