Fermented Dill Pickles Recipes

Steps:

• Pour 1/2 gallon of water into a large container or pot. Cover loosely and allow to sit for 24 hour to allow dissolved chlorine to escape.
• Crisp cucumbers by storing in the refrigerator or soaking in very cold water for 1 hour.
• Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan. Add salt and stir to combine. Set aside to cool.
• Wash cucumbers in cold water and remove any blossoms that may be clinging to them. Quarter large cucumbers lengthwise. Cut medium cucumbers in half lengthwise. Leave gherkin-sized cucumbers whole.
• Peel and gently crush garlic cloves, but don't splinter them into fragments.
• Pour cooled salt water into a 1/2-gallon Mason jar. Add cucumbers, garlic, dill, and dried chile peppers, arranged attractively. Pack cucumbers tightly; they will shrink as they pickle. Fill the jar with the dechlorinated water until cucumbers are just covered to avoid overly diluting the brine.
• Loosely cover the jar and set aside at room temperature. Set the jar on a dish if it is very full, to catch any dribbles. Give the pickles 12 to 24 hours to begin fermenting. Refrigerate them, in brine and loosely covered, as they approach the stage of pickling you prefer: new, half-sour, or sour. Don't overshoot the mark, as refrigeration slows, but does not stop, fermentation.

Steps:

• Combine the salt and water in a pitcher and stir until the salt has dissolved.
• Rinse the cucumbers thoroughly and snip off the blossom end stem. Set aside.
• Place the peppercorns, pepper flakes, garlic, dill seed and fresh dill into a 1-gallon crock. Add the cucumbers to the crock on top of the aromatics. Pour the brine mixture over the cucumbers in order to completely cover. Pour the remaining water into a 1-gallon ziptop plastic bag and seal. Place the bag on top of the pickles making sure that all of them are completely submerged in the brine. Set in a cool, dry place.
• Check the crock after 3 days. Fermentation has begun if you see bubbles rising to the top of the crock. After this, check the crock daily and skim off any scum that forms. If scum forms on the plastic bag, rinse it off and return to the top of the crock.
• The fermentation is complete when the pickles taste sour and the bubbles have stopped rising; this should take approximately 6 to 7 days. Once this happens, cover the crock loosely and place in the refrigerator for 3 days, skimming daily or as needed. Store for up to 2 months in the refrigerator, skimming as needed. If the pickles should become soft or begin to take on an off odor, this is a sign of spoilage and they should be discarded.

Steps:

• Grape leaves keep the pickles crisp. Ask for them at a farmers' market, or as an alternative, add 1/2 teaspoon alum powder to each jar before filling.
• Sterilize the jars: Wash the jars, lids and bands in hot soapy water and rinse well. Place a canning rack or folded kitchen towel in the bottom of a stockpot and fill halfway with water. Add the jars, making sure they are submerged. Bring to a boil and boil 10 minutes. Remove with a jar lifter or tongs and place on a clean towel. Put the lids and bands in a saucepan of simmering water until ready to use.
• Make the brine: Combine 13 cups water with the pickling salt in a large pot and bring to a boil, whisking to dissolve the salt. Set aside.
• Fill the jars: In the bottom of each sterilized jar, add a layer of cabbage leaves, 1 garlic clove, 1 grape leaf, 2 chiles and a tuft of crown dill. Pack the jar with cucumbers, standing them upright and getting in as many as you can. Top each jar with another garlic clove, grape leaf, chile and tuft of crown dill.
• Add the brine: Ladle the hot brine into each jar (use a funnel if you have one), leaving 1/8 inch headspace. You may not need all of the brine.
• Close the jars: Wipe the jar rims with a cloth dipped in boiling water. Screw the sterilized lids on tight-as tight as you possibly can.
• Ferment the pickles: Once the jars cool, transfer them to a warm place (75 degrees For so) and let the pickles ferment 1 week. This is the warm jump-start period; the brine should get cloudy and the lid tops should become tight with pressure. Then transfer the jars to a cool, dark place and wait at least 6 weeks and up to6 months before eating.
• Be careful opening the jars-fermentation causes the brine to carbonate and it may spray. And don't worry if the garlic changes color; it's still edible.

Steps:

• Pour a small amount of spring water out of the bottle. Add sea salt, put the cap back on, and shake until dissolved; set brine aside.
• Inspect a gallon-sized jar for cracks. Sterilize in simmering water.
• Cut off the blossom ends (opposite the stem ends) of cucumbers. Cut into thick rounds or spears, or leave whole. Slice each piece of horseradish root into 4 pieces. Mix peppercorns, mustard seeds, and pepper flakes together in a small bowl.
• Lay 2 heads of dill in the bottom of the sterilized jar; top with 1/3 of the onion rings, 1/3 of the garlic cloves, and 1/3 of the cucumbers, then pack down tightly. Sprinkle in 1/3 of the peppercorn mixture and 1/3 of the horseradish pieces. Repeat these layers twice more; jar will be fully packed except for top 1 to 2 inches. Fold up mustard greens and pack them tightly at the top. Pour in brine until completely full and covering mustard greens. Make sure there are no bubbles stuck inside the jar. Reserve excess brine.
• Place a small plate at the top of the jar to keep the contents weighed down. Cover with a towel and wrap jar top with a rubber band or twine to keep in place. Store in a cool location (60 to 80 degrees F, 16 to 27 degrees C) for 1 week; check brine level daily, adding more as needed to keep everything submerged.
• After 1 week, sample pickles for flavor. Cover and continue to ferment to desired flavor, up to 3 more weeks.
• Once pickles are done to your liking, divide into smaller, sterilized Mason jars and seal tightly. Store in the refrigerator. If taste is too strong, pour out part of the brine and add spring water.