Spicy Bread and Butter Pickles
These spicy bread and butter pickles are a fiery twist on the classic sweet pickle.
Servings 4 pints
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pickling cucumbers sliced into 1/4" rounds
- 1 small yellow onion thinly sliced
- 2 jalapeño peppers de-seeded and sliced
- 2 Tbsp. pickling salt
- 1 cup water
- 3 cups apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 Tbsp. whole yellow mustard seed
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp whole clove
- ½ tsp celery seed
- ½ tsp pickle crisp optional
Instructions
- Slice cucumbers into ¼ inch rounds. Quarter onion and slice thin. De-stem jalapeño peppers, de-seed, and slice into ¼ inch rounds.
Sweating the vegetables
- Toss sliced cucumbers, onion, and jalapeño pepper in a large bowl along with the pickling salt. Refrigerate for 3 hours, then drain in a colander (without rinsing). Pat dry with paper towels.
Making the pickle brine
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, combine 1 cup of water with the apple cider vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, turmeric, clove, and celery seed. Bring to a boil. Cover, then remove from heat.
- Add ⅛ tsp pickle crisp to each jar. Then, fill each jar with the salted cucumber mixture, packing it down tightly.
- Ladle or funnel hot brine over vegetables, making sure the spices distribute evenly. Leave ½ inch of headspace in each jar.
- Cover the jars and allow them to cool completely at room temperature. Allow 1-2 days in the fridge for flavors to develop before eating.
Notes
- Salting the cucumbers. One of the most important steps to this recipe is salting the veggies before processing. Yes, it takes additional time, but it removes some of the moisture from the cucumbers and peppers before adding the brine. This leads to crunchier pickles that don't go limp as quickly.
- Canning this recipe. This recipe can be canned in a waterbath. Processing times vary based on elevation, with 15 minutes being the minimum at sea level. If using larger jars, you may need to can for longer. Learn more here.