I used to think my father in law was a bit out there when he would use the old pickle juice to add onions and cucumbers to, pickling has to be more complicated than that was the rational I had. But after some experience in making refrigerator pickles I realized that reusing the liquid from your pickles over and over not only is an easy way to keep a never ending jar of pickles in your refrigerator but it is an excellent use of resources.
It has been impossible to keep pickles in our house for any length of time since both my husband and dd are capable of demolishing a jar of pickles in less than a day, but with these pickles I can keep them on hand for a fraction of the price of buying dill pickles.
I started out with a refrigerator pickle recipe that was in and of itself very easy to make. This recipe makes one jar of pickles and I doubled it to put it in a larger jar since my family goes crazy over pickles. I started the jar of pickles at the beginning of the growing season, and each time the jar was emptied or getting close to empty I simply filled it back up again, let it sit for a few days and my family had fresh pickles to eat again. Ok it is not traditionally fermented pickles, I know it is not the “right” way to do it, but it is a super easy way to keep my family in healthy snacks they love and a great way to use up extra pickles.
The Recipe
This recipe is about as simple as it gets, and the pickles it makes are great, I even like them and I am NOT a pickle fan. I use them in the potato and pasta salads as well letting my daughter (the pickle monster of the house) have free reign.
I used an old pickle jar to make these; it was approximately 2 quarts, so I doubled this recipe. You can use any size jar you want; this recipe is based on a one quart Mason jar so just adjust your amounts to suit the size of your jar.
When you finish the pickles (they do not last long in our house) simply add more cucumbers to the brine and let them sit for a couple of days. You can also add onions, sweet peppers and even hot peppers to the mix. The hot peppers will spice up your mix bit, so use caution in how many you choose to add.
- 6 Small Cucumbers ( you can use either pickling cucumbers or regular cucumbers for this recipe I have used both.)
- 3 Cloves of Garlic
- 8 pieces of dill
- ⅔ cup White Vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1½ Tablespoons Canning Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Pickling Spices
- Make sure the jar and lid you plan to use is clean and dry, you do not need to sterilize as you might with canning because this is a refrigerator recipe and there is no processes involved.
- Cut your pickles as desired, you can slice them in rounds, make spears or cut long thin sandwich slices; this is simply a matter of preference. Cut Garlic in halves lengthwise.
- Mix together the remaining ingredients except dill in another covered container; shake until the sugar and salt are completely mixed in with the vinegar mixture.
- Pack the cucumber slices, garlic in dill in the jar you have chosen and then pour your vinegar mixture over the top. Let sit in the refrigerator for 48 hours before trying. These pickles will last for up to one month if kept refrigerated.
I’ve been making refrigerator dills for years now and they’re great! What I was wondering is could I use a basic “bread and butter” brine to make pickles in the refrigerator? I can’t think of any reason why this wouldn’t work. What do you think? I just love getting your emails….they’re always full of great ideas. Thanks so much!
Peggy thanks 🙂
There is no reason why you could not try your brine, keep in mind that a refrigerator brine is specially formulated to make the pickles taste good and not to preserve them for a long period of time, so you results may vary, but there is no reason why you could not try. Because they are refrigerator pickles there is not such a concern about food spoilage so you have a bit of latitude in what you do.
I say give it a try.
My mom and I just made these yesterday — they were so easy! Can’t wait to try them — thanks for the great recipe!
thanks Heather I am glad you could use it!
I was wondering if you had a recipe for refrigerator sweet pickles? I really like those to and they are super exspensive in th stores. thank you.
I made freezer pickles can I freeze them in jars with less chance of freezer burn
Just made my first jar and it’s in the fridge for 48 hrs…will let you know how it turned out. Aug/23/2016 at 6pm
Hi… tried this recipe…it was great. Wouldn’t change a thing.
I would never have thought to try this! My gals are going to be really excited. Thanks for the great post.