Speedy & Straightforward Refrigerator Dill Pickles

A few summers ago, we dipped our toes in the canning and preserving waters with some blueberry jam. We've also made canned dill pickles, refrigerator bread and butter pickles, and zucchini pickles. We absolutely love the canning process; it makes us feel a little bit like Donna Reed, and we're not going to lie… we're pretty convinced that if we had to live in another decade, the 1950’s and we would get along evenly well. We loved making the dill pickles last summer, but we wasn’t totally in love with the flavor and texture. We've been seeing refrigerator pickles pop up on countless sites over the last couple of years, and decided to give a version of that a shot. Being able to keep them in the fridge for up to 2 months is more than enough for us, and we love the ability to make as little or as much as we need.

If we're putting a pickle on a deli-style sandwich, we always, always go for bread and butter; we love how zesty they are! However, if we're having a cheeseburger or just want a pickle spear to snack on, then dill is our preferred go-to (and don’t forget the burger sauce!). Since we loved the refrigerator version of bread and butter so much, we had high hopes for the dill variety. We're happy to report that we were not disappointed.

We would typically use pickling cucumbers for, well, pickles, but we didn’t grow any this year and the store only had a few sad-looking stragglers left. However, regular cucumbers work just as well – you’ll just have larger slices! You can cut these however you’d like – spears, circles, thin slices (a la sandwich stackers) – the choice is yours.

We did a little experimentation and did half of our jars with the standard garlic and dill; the other two we added some black peppercorns and crushed red pepper flakes. After doing a taste test, we thought that the pickles with the peppercorns and red pepper flakes had much more of a punch of flavor (though we wouldn’t call them spicy). Those without were still good, albeit much more mild. This is totally a matter of personal preference; feel free to play around with different seasoning combinations to find your personal sweet spot.

We love that we've discovered a speedy and straightforward way to enjoy our dill pickles. We love how crisp and flavorful they are, and how little time it takes to make a fresh batch.

If you’ve been feeling daunted by canning, this is a great first step!

Watch How to Make Refrigerator Dill Pickles:

One year ago: Crab Bisque
Two years ago: Beer-Battered Zucchini Fries
Three years ago: S’mores Brownies
Five years ago: Zucchini Bread

• Yield: 4 pints of pickles
• Prep: 20 minutes
• Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 large cucumbers, or 4-6 pickling cucumbers, cut into spears or sliced
• 16 sprigs fresh dill, divided
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed, divided
• 4 teaspoons black peppercorns, divided
• 4 pinches red pepper flakes, divided

For the Brine:

• 4 cups ( 1000 ml ) water
• 8 tablespoons white vinegar
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt, or pickling salt

Method

1. Add 1 crushed garlic clove, 1 teaspoon of peppercorns, 1 pinch of red pepper flakes and 2 springs of dill to the bottom of four pint-size canning jars.
2. Add the cut cucumbers to the jars, packing them tightly and adding as many as you can without forcing them into the jars.
3. In a 4-cup measuring cup or small bowl, stir together the water, vinegar and salt until the salt has completely dissolved. Pour the brine mixture into each jar, completely covering the cucumbers. Add 2 additional sprigs of dill to each jar and affix the lids.
4. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours, but preferably up to 2 days before eating (this allows the flavors to fully absorb). If you remember, give the jars a gentle shake every now and then during this initial chilling time. The pickles will last up to 2 months in the refrigerator.