If you like old-fashioned fermented sour pickles then you will want to learn this recipe. Real deli-style pickles cost around $7 per jar in my area, but I can make 10 pounds of organic sour pickles for just $20! And they’re perfectly crunchy, and full of garlic, don’t you worry.
Many years ago I acquired some beautiful old pickling crocks and I was eager to put them to use. After lugging home a giant bag of fresh cukes, I followed a recipe for pickling them in the crock. It was a disaster. My brine turned into a stinky, moldy mess and the cucumbers turned out soggy. I ended up throwing out the whole batch, discouraged.
Each year, I would see ten-pound bags of pickling cucumbers and a bouquet of dill in the arms of people leaving the farmers’ market. Green with envy, I asked the market vendor to please give me some tips on making sour pickles so I could try again.
I did my best to remember the recipe and ran home to try it right away. I’m so glad that I did because this is now my go-to pickle recipe that I can’t wait to make year after year.
And now I’m sharing it with you! This post will cover…
Deli-Style Sour Pickles Recipe
I did not invent this recipe, but it seems to be the most commonly used methodology out there, and it works every time without fail. The pickles are garlicky, crunchy, and delightfully sour.
Ingredients
See recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Fresh-picked pickling cucumbers
- Kosher salt
- Boiling water (non-chlorinated or filtered)
- Cold water (non-chlorinated or filtered)
- Fresh garlic
- Fresh, flowering dill
- Coriander seed
- Whole black pepper
- Chilli peppers (optional)
Equipment
Make It!
- The key to crunchy pickles is to be sure that you are using very fresh cucumbers. They should go from farm to canning jar in no more than 24 hours, and it’s essential to keep them chilled if you aren’t picking right away. Size doesn’t matter for flavour, just for preference.
- Fill the sink with cold water and wash the cucumbers well. Remove any discoloured, bruised, or soft cucumbers. Be sure to get cucumbers that are not waxed.
- To make the brine, bring 16 cups of water to a boil and add 2/3 cup of kosher salt. It’s important to use water that is non-chlorinated or filtered because you don’t want the minerals or chlorine to prevent fermentation.
- Stir the salt to dissolve. Set the brine aside to cool while you pack the jars.
- A cucumber has two different ends: the stem and the blossom end. Cut the blossom end off the cucumbers, or cut off both if you can’t figure it out. You can also slice the cucumbers if you choose. I like them whole.
- Divide the garlic, dill flowers, dill leaves, spices, and optional chilli peppers among the jars.
- Pack the cucumbers into the jars tightly, leaving enough headspace that the brine will cover them. The idea is to pack them into to jar so tightly that they won’t float up when the brine is added. You can also press a cucumber lengthwise across the upright pickles to pin them down.
- Add the cold water to the brine to cool it down more. It should be at room temperature before pouring it on the cucumbers.
- When cool, pour the brine over the cucumbers, herbs, and spices. Screw a plastic canning lid loosely onto the jar and set them on a counter to ferment.
- “Burp” the pickles daily by loosening the cap and letting the air escape, then replacing the lid (loosely) again.
- After three days, check the pickles for flavour. Keep fermenting them on the counter until you get the sourness you like, then move them to the fridge to slow down the process. Consume the pickles within a month.
FAQ About Making Sour Pickles
Yes! When you burp the pickles each day, this will happen. Many table salts will have anticaking agents which can cause the cloudiness, but it won’t affect the taste of your pickles. To avoid the cloudiness, use pickling salt. Hard water can also cause cloudiness, so I use non-chlorinated or filtered water.
It’s very common in pickle recipes to adda grape leaf. It’s believed that the grape leaf slowly releases tannins which help to keep the pickles crispy. In my experience, a grape leaf isn’t need if you use super fresh cucumbers to make the sour pickles.
These pickles are preserved through fermentation, so I like to consume them within a month. I also store them in the fridge to prolong their life.
After thirty days, they’re likely still okay to consume, but they will get more sour the older they are. For less pickles, halve the recipe or adjust as needed.
More Pickling Recipes to Try
Deli-Style Sour Pickles
These fermented pickles are perfectly crisp, sour, and full of garlic. Yum!
Servings: 10 quart-size jars
- 10 pounds fresh-picked pickling cucumbers
- ⅓ cup kosher salt
- 16 cups boiling water (non-chlorinated or filtered)
- 8 cups cold water (non-chlorinated or filtered)
- 10 cloves fresh garlic
- 1 bunch fresh, flowering dill
- 5 tsp coriander seed
- 5 tsp whole black pepper
- 10 chilli peppers (optional)
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Use the freshest, unwaxed cucumbers possible, keeping them chilled when not pickling. Wash cucumbers well in the sink, removing any bruised or discoloured cucumbers.
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Bring 16 cups of water to a boil and add in the kosher salt, stirring to dissolve. Use non-chlorinated or filtered water so the minerals or chorine don’t affect fermentation. Let brine water cool.
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Cut the blossom end (vs the stem end) of the cucumber off. You may also slice the cucumbers if you prefer.
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Divide the garlic, dill leaves, dill flowers, spices, and chilli peppers among the jars.
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Pack the cucumbers tightly into the jars so they don’t float up once the bring is added. Leave enough headspace for the bring to completely cover them.
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Add cold water to the brine to cool it down more. It should be at room temperature before pouring on the cucumbers. Pour brine on the cucumbers, securing them with a lid.
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Set the jar on the counter to ferment. “Burp” the pickles daily by letting the air escape and replace the lid loosely.
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After three days, try a pickle for flavour. Keep fermenting until they’ve reached the sourness you prefer. Move to the fridge to store, and consume within 30 days.
