We’re a pickle family – every one of us likes pickles on sandwiches and burgers. I do make traditional pickles, both dill and bread & butter type. It can be a whole big production. Start by finding the right little (Kirby) cucumbers, then cleaning and slice them. Stuff them into jars, which of course you have cleaned and sterilized. Then make a proper brine, fill the jars, and seal them. Whew! Sometimes I just want quick and easy. That’s where these quick refrigerator pickles shine: slice ’em, stick ’em in a jar, add salt, herbs (we like dill) and vinegar, cover, shake. They’re ready to eat in a few hours.
These pickles are fresher tasting than the typical dill pickle, with a lighter flavor – this is not at all a bad thing. Quick refrigerator pickles are good on burgers or sandwiches of all types, in a salad, or all by themselves as a quick snack. Any time you want a hit of salty crispy flavor, these pickles are perfect.
Be sure to use clean utensils when fishing pickles out of the jar – never double dip! Under ideal conditions, the pickles will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 weeks, but a jar has never lasted that long around here.
Quick Refrigerator Pickles
Ingredients
- 8-10 Kirby (pickling) cucumbers
- 3½ tsp kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal, if you use Morton's, reduce to 3 tsp)
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
- 1 small dill 'umbel' if you have one (optional)
- ½ cup white vinegar
Instructions
- First, get out a quart Mason jar. Make sure it's scrupulously clean.
- Remove both ends of the cucumbers, and then slice them very thinly. I like to use a mandoline, this makes the process very fast.
- Layer the cucumbers in the quart jar. I like to put in 1/3 the cucumbers, then a teaspoon of salt and some chopped dill, and then another batch of cucumbers, and repeat until all the cucumber slices are in the jar. Add in any salt or dill that are left over. Pour the half cup of vinegar over everything. Close the jar tightly, and shake it a few times: this starts mixing all the ingredients.
- Let the jar stand on the counter for about a half hour. Give it a shake every 10 minutes or so, then put the jar into the refrigerator. Continue to shake the jar when you think about it. By 2-3 hours, the salt will have drawn liquid from the cucumbers, and the liquid in the jar will be a normal pickle brine.
- The pickles are edible at about the 2 hour mark, but improve over the 1st day. Pickles will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks (though I predict they won't last that long)