Uncle John’s Garlic Dill Pickles
By: Emily Heston
Published: Thursday, December 10, 2009 - 5:38pm

Ingredients




3 qts. Water
1 quart vinegar
1 cup canning salt
Pickling cukes, as fresh as you can find 

garlic

fresh dill

yellow hot peppers or slices of jalapeno

Preparation

1 Pickling cukes – wash thoroughly. Pack in jars, as full as possible. 2 Add 1 yellow hot pepper. (I couldn’t find small enough peppers, so I used slices of jalapeno peppers), 3 cloves garlic and as much fresh dill as possible. 3 Brine – mix water, vinegar and pickling salt in a large pot and bring to a boil. (we found this to be enough brine for about 10 pounds of pickling cucumbers. We bought mostly small pickles, which we pickled whole. We also bought a few large pickles, which we sliced before pickling.) 4 Pour hot brine over jars of cukes, etc.. Fill as close to the top as you can and seal. 5 We sealed or processed our packed jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes, with at least 2 inches of water above the top of the jars. 6 Store processed jars in a cool, dark place. 7 Pickles should be ready to eat in 14 days.

About


After years of disappointing batches of pickles, I contacted my uncle to see if he still had the recipe for making the pickles I remember from childhood.  I was so thrilled when he promptly responded with "color me surprized..." and this recipe.  
It is a splendidly simple recipe.   I've added a few comments.  Being a lover of tarragon, I also packed some of the jars with tarragon and white onions in place of the dill and garlic -- with wonderful results!!