A healthy dose of fresh, peeled garlic cloves, homemade pickling spice, and chili peppers give these homemade pickles a seriously delicious spicy kick.
Course Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword pickles
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Total Time 40 minutesminutes
Servings 5-6 quart jars
Calories 114kcal
Ingredients
For the Homemade Pickling Spice
2tablespoonsblack peppercorns
2tablespoonsmustard seeds
2tablespoonscoriander seeds
2tablespoonsdill seed
1tablespoonallspice berries
1teaspooncrushed red pepper flakes
10-12bay leaves, crumbled
For the Spicy Garlic Dill Pickles
10-12poundspickling cucumbers, scrubbed clean and kept whole or sliced
2cupsapple cider vinegar
2cupswhite vinegar
4cupswater
5tablespoonspickling salt
Homemade pickling spice (recipe above), 2-3 tablespoons per jar
Dried dill weed from a 2-ounce package, 2-3 fronds and stalks per jar
10-18small Thai red peppers, split down the middle but not separated, leaving seeds intact (2-3 per jar)
20-30whole garlic cloves, peeled and lightly smashed (4-5 per jar)
Instructions
For the Homemade Pickling Spice
Add all of the ingredients to a small bowl and stir to mix.
For the Spicy Killer Garlic Dill Pickles
Prepare your jars and lids for canning. I run my jars through the dishwasher to sterilize and remove them while still warm. Add the lids to a small pot of simmering boiled water to pull from for the canning process.
In a large stock pot to avoid contaminationbring the vinegars, water and salt to a simmer.
To each sterilized jar add: 2-3 tablespoons of pickling spice, 2-3 fronds and stalks of dried dill weed, 2-3 Thai red peppers depending on your preference and 4-5 whole garlic cloves to each jar. Pack the whole or sliced cucumbers into the jars so they are tight but aren't damaged in the process. The cucumbers should sit below the neck of the jar. Trim the cucumbers if they're poking up too high.
Pour the brine into the jars leaving ½ inch headspace, just covering the cucumbers.
Wipe the rims of the jars and use tongs to place the lids and rings (that have been sterilized in simmering water) on top of the jars. To avoid contamination, do not touch the lids where they sit on the jars with your fingers.
Process in a canner water bath of boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove the jars from the pot and allow them to cool on a dishtowel on the counter. As the jars cool you will hear them pop as they seal. Sealed jars should feel solid when tapped and be concave in shape.
Store in a dry cool place. Pickles will be ready to try in about 7-10 days but get even better over time. They can be stored for up to 1 year.
Notes
To make these as refrigerator pickles, skip the hot water bath and place the jars directly into the fridge instead where they will last for 1-2 months.
Did you know in Eastern European cuisine, vinegar and bay leaves are not traditionally used in pickling recipes? Reader DML kindly wrote us to let us know and I was so surprised! All my life I've always thought you couldn't make pickles without vinegar. But you can, and the natural fermentation process is called "lacto-fermentation." The more you know!