Sour Pickles

Time
  • 1 to 4 weeks
Equipment Needed

Ingredients

  • 3 to 4 pounds of unwaxed cucumbers (small to medium size)
  • 6 Tablespoons of sea salt
  • 3 to 4 Tablespoons of fresh dill, or one bunch of fresh dill leaves
  • 2 to 3 heads of garlic, peeled
  • 1 pinch of black peppercorns

Preparation

  1. Rinse cucumbers, making sure not to bruise them, while also removing their blossoms. 
  2. Dissolve sea salt in 1/2 gallon of water to create brine solution. Stir until the salt is thoroughly dissolved.
  3. Place the dill, garlic, black peppercorns, and cucumbers inside the clean jar.
  4. Pour the brine over the cucumbers. Add water, as necessary, so that there is enough water to fully cover the ingredients. Some of the cucumbers will float, so it will be impossible to fully submerge all of the cucumbers. 
  5. Close the top of the jar and seal it using the airtight clamp. 
  6. Allow to sit and ferment for as little as one week or as much as four weeks. You can remove a cucumber throughout the fermentation process to test for your preferred level of sourness. Make sure to reseal the jar after removing a cucumber.
  7. Once the pickles are fermented to your liking, transfer the pickles to the refrigerator to slow the ongoing fermentation process.