Half-Sour Pickles (Salt-Brined)

I love pickles.  I LOVE THEM.  I am especially a fan of cold-packed kosher dill pickles (think Claussen) with a ton of garlic.  I am the one who will ask you if you’re going to eat the pickle that comes as a side with your sandwich.  Good deli pickles are fantastic.  However, years ago when I had a real, salt-brined, “half-sour” pickle on a relish plate at a fantastic pile-sandwiches-super-high delicatessen, everything else became relegated to second place, at best.  Half-sour is the way to go.

I am sort of half sour pickle cursed — I live in Oklahoma, where I have not been able to find an actual, real, true, half-sour pickle.  I even bought a jar of “half-sour pickles” recently and cracked them open the MINUTE we got home … Only to notice that the label said half-sour, but the lid said “Kosher dill.”  They were kosher. Foiled again.

Looks like I’m just gonna have to do it myself!  Let’s do some picklin’!

Earlier this week, my guy saw a produce stand when he was out and about and stopped to check it out.  He came home with a some medium sized pickling cucumbers, citing my recent lamentation (read: bitching) over my  horrifying lack of half-sours.  I had bought some big jars a few weeks ago — sort of a if you build it, they will come moment.  If I buy these big-ass jars, somehow the pickles will be created!  Science!  Magic!  Spontaneous pickilization! Then I found more cukes at the farmers market, and I couldn’t ignore the signs.

I took what I know about pickling (which is some) and what I know I LIKE about pickling (a lot) and set to doing onlines with the Google to try to put together a recipe based on the chemistry and flavor profile.  The salt-to-water ratio averaged about 1 tablespoon of pickling salt to 1 cup of water.  The ratio is different for different types of salt (like Kosher salt, sea salt, pink salt)  but you definitely can’t use iodized salt.  It wrecks the pickles.

The great thing about this, and most pickle, recipes is that once you have the basics of your brine (salt and water) you can adapt the recipe to your own taste with different spices.  Crushed red pepper for some spice, dill if you like dill, celery seed, ginger, more onions, extra pepper — the sky is the limit, really.  Who needs to be at the mercy of pickle makers?  LOOK HERE, VLASIC STORK, IVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR SHENANIGANS.

I can’t wait to crack into these bad boys in a few days.  I also can’t wait to hoard the jar to myself and see how many cukes I can get so I can make more.  Mine!  You can make your own!  (And you CAN!)

On the advice if my friend Anjanette, I have put an actual real recipe with actual, real measurements (science food)  and a thingy that should let you collect, print, and maybe even save it.  I’m here for your comfort, and I live to serve.  All the pics are in the recipe thingamabobber.

Also, pickles.

 

 

 

Half-Sour Pickles
Print Recipe
A deli-style, crispy cucumber pickle like a Kosher Dill, made with no vinegar. Cucumbers are brined at room temperature in salt water and seasonings and are ready-to-eat in 3-4 days.
Servings Prep Time
1 64-oz (half gallon) jar 15 Minutes
Passive Time
3-4 Days fermentation
Servings Prep Time
1 64-oz (half gallon) jar 15 Minutes
Passive Time
3-4 Days fermentation
Half-Sour Pickles
Print Recipe
A deli-style, crispy cucumber pickle like a Kosher Dill, made with no vinegar. Cucumbers are brined at room temperature in salt water and seasonings and are ready-to-eat in 3-4 days.
Servings Prep Time
1 64-oz (half gallon) jar 15 Minutes
Passive Time
3-4 Days fermentation
Servings Prep Time
1 64-oz (half gallon) jar 15 Minutes
Passive Time
3-4 Days fermentation
Ingredients
Servings: 64-oz (half gallon) jar
Instructions
  1. This recipe is written to fill one half-gallon, wide-mouth glass jar. If you don't have one of these, you can split the recipe down the middle and put half of the ingredients into each jar. Wash cucumbers and onions (if applicable). Trim the root ends off the green onions and cut most of the green tops off. Save for use in salads, on potatoes, in dips, etc.
  2. Into a very clean glass jar, put the bay leaves, dill, mustard seeds, peppercorns, coriander and garlic cloves.
  3. Start packing the cucumbers into the bottom of the jar, so they are standing vertically in the jar. Fit as many cukes as you can so they are snug in the jar (this will help them stay submerged). Repeat this process until the bottle is full. Tuck green onions in where they can fit in the gaps.
  4. When you near the top of the jar, fill in any loose gaps with cucumbers cut into spears or slices, keeping the jar tightly packed.
  5. In a microwave-safe container, warm half of the water (1.5 cups) for 60 seconds. Stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds. Add all of the pickling salt to the warm water and stir it until the water is 100% clear, which means the salt is completely dissolved. Mix this salt water with the remaining 1.5 cups, which can be room temperature or chilled. We don't want to pour hot brine on these pickles, so this method should yield a salt brine close to room temperature.
  6. Slowly pour the salt water brine into the jar. When the jar is about 2/3 full, re-check to make sure the cucumbers are snugly packed so they don't float. Top off the jar with more of the brine until the cukes are completely submerged. Reserve the remaining brine to top off the jar during fermentation if needed.
  7. It is very important that the cucumbers stay 100% submerged in the salt water, because exposure to air will cause them to rot. This is where a small jelly jar, cup, or other non-metal item will be handy to weight down the cucumbers into the brine. Then put the jar on a plate or in a bowl (to catch any bubble-overs in fermentation) and cover gently with something that will let the jar breathe (fermentation will cause some gas to escape). For example, I use a small custard cup to weight down the cucumbers and cover that with a plastic to-go coffee cup lid that has holes in it.
  8. Place the jar in a cool place out of direct sunlight and check it twice a day for brine level, topping off if needed. If the brine has bubbles, turns slightly cloudy (white), or shows foam on top of the jar, this is completely normal. Skim the foam off the top if that happens. It's a normal byproduct of the fermentation.
  9. On the third or fourth day, test a pickle. It should be very crispy and fresh, slightly salty, and very lightly sour. If you are happy with the taste of the pickles, put the real lid on the jar and put them in the fridge. You've got half-sour pickles! Your pickles will continue to ferment and become more sour over time, but I doubt you will have that issue since they're so delicious you'll be snarfing them down and planning your next jar!
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