Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

dad's garlic dill pickles

(2 ratings)
Recipe by
Lou Kostura
Belmont, CA

I grew up waiting for these every summer. I learned to make them from dad and have even gotten a fairly close rendition. I still can't get them exactly, but I have finally figured out the issue. It's the water. I grew up in Cleveland and everything was made with Lake Erie tap. I keep a bottle of these on the counter year round. Eat 2 a day to keep the doctor away.

(2 ratings)
yield serving(s)
prep time 45 Min
method No-Cook or Other

Ingredients For dad's garlic dill pickles

  • 25-30
    whole pickling cucumbers. ( 4-5 inchs long quarter size round)
  • 3 c
    white vinegar
  • 9 c
    water
  • 8 Tbsp
    kosher salt
  • 10-12 clove
    garlic
  • 1 bunch
    dill (baby dill ok if regular is out of season)
  • 6 Tbsp
    pickling spice
  • ?
    optional additional dried hot peppers for spice

How To Make dad's garlic dill pickles

  • 1
    scrub cucumbers with vegetable brush
  • 2
    clean and sanitize a 1 gallon jar for pickles or use a crock
  • 3
    mix vinegar, water, salt, and pickling spice in a none reactive bowl until salt is dissolved. ( I cold brine my pickles )
  • 4
    start packing jar a few cloves of peeled garlic, dill, cucumbers, continue layers until jar is packed
  • 5
    ladle cold brine into jar making sure to get plenty of the pickling spice in.
  • 6
    loosely cap jar and leave sit for 3 days to a week before giving them a test.
  • 7
    I do not refrigerate mine but you can after they have sat out to pickle if you choose.
  • 8
    the batch in photo was put up in a 2 1/2 gallon container. Like I said I really like pickles. The above recipe is for 1 gallon. You can adjust the amounts for larger or smaller batch's. Just remember water to vinegar ratio is 3:1.
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