Quick pickling is a fast way to have tangy, crispy and crunchy pickles in as little as an hour without any special equipment. Besides eating pickles straight from the jar as a snack, serve with sandwiches or cheese and meat trays. I do a lot of pickling during the summer months and take advantage of all the best garden and farmer’s market veggies before they go bad.
Ingredients:
Kosher or pickling salt
6 Kirby or small cucumbers, trimmed and halved
8 sprigs fresh dill
1 jalapeno, sliced
2 cups water
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 slivered onion
6 cloves garlic
4 tsp. Kosher salt
1 Tbsp. dill seeds
2 tsp. black peppercorns
2 tsp. mustard seeds
Sprinkle kosher or pickling salt over cucumbers in a colander; set aside to let drain 20-30 minutes. Rinse salt from cucumbers and blot dry with paper towels; tightly pack in a clean jar, crock or glass bowl with dill springs and jalapeno.
Boil water, vinegar, onion, garlic, 4 tsp. salt, dill seeds, peppercorns and mustard seeds in a medium non-reactive saucepan, 5 minutes. Pour mixture over cucumbers; let cool to room temperature. Cover container and chill until cold. Ready to serve! Refrigerate up to 1 month.
