Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

4 lb Pickling cucumbers 2 c White vinegar
8 ea Dill heads 1/2 c Pickling salt
6 ea Cloves of garlic (or more) 1/2 ts Crushed Red Pepper
8 c Water 4 ts Whole mustard seed

------------------OPTIONS (PERSONAL TASTES-----------------------
1 ts Alum (option) (option)
2 tb Whole mustard seed 3 ts Crushed Red Pepper (option)

Wash and dry the cucumbers; prick a few holes in each with a fork, or
quarter them lengthwise. Peel and break the garlic cloves.

Place half of the dill heads in the bottom of a clean 1-gallon jar.
Add the garlic, crushed red pepper, and mustard seed. Pack loosely
with cucumbers and top with the remaining dill. Refrigerate while
preparing brine.

Combine water, vinegar, and salt in a saucepan. Heat to boiling,
then cool to room temperature. Pour the cooled brine over the
cucumbers, making sure they are covered. Screw a lid on the jar and
store in the fridge for about 4 - 6 weeks before serving. If you've
quartered the cucumbers instead of leaving them whole, they will be
ready somewhat sooner (two or three weeks instead).

Ingredients can also be divided between four 1-quart widemouth jars.
I find it more convenient to make a gallon jar batch (takes less of a
footprint in the refrigerator) and then divide up the pickles later
into separate jars when they're ready to eat. (That frees up the jar
for the next batch, too...these pickles are really popular with my
family and friends, and we are never without a gallon in the back of
the fridge "curing.")

Enjoy!

Dave

The options given above are from personal experimentation.

The addition of a small amount of alum makes a marked improvement in
the flavor of the pickles. The slight bite provided by the alum is
appreciable. A spicier pickle can be made by increasing the pepper
flakes to 2 or 2 1/2 tsp. Increasing the mustard seed to 2 Tb.
makes a nice mustard pickle. A mild mustard flavor becomes more
pronounced in the flavor of the pickle.
Submitted By JOHN PRATHER On 11-03-95

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