Archive for the ‘dill pickles’ Tag
Needless to say we here in New England love the Fall. It’s harvest time for most crops but especially cucumbers which we wait for all year. This is pickle season for those of us who love hot pickles. I don’t mean just spicy hot, I mean hot enough to make your head sweat. My better half and I make pickles every year at this time because the demand for them is high with friends and family. Our time yesterday was spent making 15 pints of hot Bread & Butter pickles and 9 additional pints of smoking hot dill pickles. These pickles are made with our family recipes but we add the additional heat. We add a mixture of sliced jalapenos, serranoes, and my all time favorite, habaneros. Here’s how we get started.
Our preparation actually starts the night before with the slicing of many cucumbers. My better half usually handles that chore because she cuts a much more uniform slice than I do. She also handles slicing the hot peppers because in past years I’ve almost blinded myself by putting my bare hands near my eyes after forgetting to wear gloves.
First we get our lids, rims, and jars sterilized in boiling water. Then we mix a concoction of herbs and spices to make what we call the syrup that will do the actual pickling. We also add three large bottles of jalapeno vinegar which I made earlier this Spring. Just a friendly tip if you’re going to make hot pickles . . . wear thick rubber gloves. Not those flimsy latex gloves because the oils from the hot peppers migrate right through the latex. Once it gets on your bare hands you’re in trouble.
It’s really not a difficult process once you’ve done it a few times. We completed this entire job in 2 hours minus the preparation done the previous day. When you have a good product people want it which is why we have a long list of folks waiting for these pickles. In a normal year we’ll process 35 to 40 pints of a variety of pickles. Then we can get started with our hot pasta sauces, BBQ sauce, salsa, chili, and wing sauces.
It really is a lot of fun and will keep our family and friends well supplied until Spring. You should give it a try.
Every summer about this time I donate one day of my time to the making of dill pickles. I’ve loved dill pickles for most of my life and if I do say so myself, I make one helluva pickle. Mine are a bit different from the store-bought variety since I pickle the cucumbers in a dill brine accompanied by a selection of sliced habanero’s and jalapeno’s. The results have the best dill flavor I can supply with enough heat to make your head sweat.
My better-half isn’t a big fan of the dill flavor so I’m relegated to making one small batch each summer that will usually last me most of the winter. I have a couple of other people in the area who are also big fans of dill and I make enough to keep them supplied as well.
The process begins with a 48 hour bath for the cucumbers in lime water. This will help keep the pickle slices crisp after the canning process has been completed. While the cukes are soaking I slice up a sufficient amount of habaneros and jalapenos to add to the mix. I was able to pick up a package of fresh dill yesterday and I’ll place a small sprig in the top of each jar. It’s mostly for decoration purposes but in addition to that I also add dried dill to the brine.
After the cucumber slicing, dicing, and jar packing, the final product is covered with dill brine and capped. Then into a boiling water bath to help seal the jars and to precook the pickles. Then it’s on to the cooling rack for a few hours and here’s the finished product.
Thirteen pints of some truly hot and tasty dill pickles. Good for any occasion or you can just sit and eat a jar while watching a movie. If possible and if we have a good supply of cucumbers I may make a second batch of Kosher Dill pickles later this fall. It’s a totally different flavor of dill and I love it as much as these.
* * * NEWS FLASH * * *
Today is a big day for us. Today is our Independence Day from cable TV. All of the companies equipment has been removed and will be shipped back in a few days. The account was closed after the typical games these companies insist on playing. They offered me a 50% reduction in my monthly rate if I would reconsider and stay with them. I asked only one question. If they could afford to do that so easily now it must mean they’ve been overcharging me for years. We agreed to disagree and that was that. Good-bye, Good Luck, and get the hell out Dish Network.
* * * HOORAY FOR US * * *
everyuselessthing.com 