Easy Delicious Fermented Pickles
You have not tasted a good pickle until you have had fermented pickles! They are easy, crunchy, and you will not be sorry.
Equipment
- One 64 oz mason jar
- 1 Fermentation Lid
- 1 Pickle weight
Ingredients
- Enough cucumbers to pack the jar You can choose to quarter them, slice them, or leave them whole.
- 3 TBSP Salt You can use canning salt, Pink Himalayan salt or similar. Avoid iodized salt.
- 6 Cloves Garlic
- 4 cups Filtered water
- 2 heads Fresh dill (the flower on top)
- 1 TBSP Black Peppercorns
- 1 TBSP Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp Celery Seeds
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes More if you like spicy. You can also use one small fresh pepper such as jalapeno or Thai chili, chopped with seeds included.
Instructions
- Prepare your salt brine by dissolving the salt in the appropriate amount of water until fully dissolved.
- Add half of all dry ingredients, and half of the garlic to the bottom of the jar
- Add one bay leaf to the bottom of the jar
- Add cucumbers to the jar packed in tightly
- Add the rest of the garlic, and dry ingredients on top of the cucumbers
- Slowly pour the brine over the cucumbers until it covers them, leaving about 1" from the top of the jar
- Lay the 2nd bay leaf on top of the cucumbers
- Place your cleaned pickle weight on top of the veggies and push down to fully submerge all cucumbers under the brine.
- Screw on your fermentation cap tightly
- If using the recommended lids, use the included pump to pump out the air until a little liquid escapes
- Sit your jars in a cool place out of direct light, but where you will not forget about them. I like to use the top of my pantry closet.
- Check your jars daily for any signs of mold, or food raising above the weight. Stop the ferment when you are happy with the taste and texture. For me I think this is 4-6 days.
Notes
Fermenting is easy, but it does take some knowledge and practice. Do a bit of reading, and learn the ins and outs of what to watch out for.
Keep a close watch on your ferment. Healthy, white lacto-fermentation film is normal and may settle on top of your brine. Black mold is not good. If you see black mold, you should discard the contents.
If you do not have bay leaves, you can use Ball Pickle Crisp or similar. I have used both the Ball and Mrs. Wages versions with success.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!