Crunchy, sweet, and spicy dill pickles with just 10 total ingredients.
Course Snack
Keyword Pickles
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 5 minutesminutes
Total Time 15 minutesminutes
Equipment
3 Quart ball jars
1 Medium Sauce Pan
Ingredients
For the jars
8pickling cucumbers
6Thai chiliesor other hot red chili
10sprigsfresh dill2-3 per jar
6clovesgarliccrushed
1tbspwhole mustard seed
1tbspblack peppercorns
For the brine
2cupswhite vinegar
2cupswater
¼cupsugar
2tbspsaltsea or kosher
Instructions
Filling the jars
Slice the cucumbers into the desired shape (chips or spears). If making spears, make sure they will fit vertically inside your jars.
Slice the hot peppers open to release the flavor and heat.
Add the hot peppers, crushed garlic, mustard seed, and peppercorns to the glass jars. Then, stuff in the fresh dill sprigs (about 2-3 sprigs per jar).
Tightly pack the sliced cucumbers into the jars, filling to within ½ inch of the top.
Making the brine
Add the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt to a sauce pan. Heat over medium high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar and salt.
Once boiling, immediately remove from heat.
Finishing the spicy dill pickles
Pour the hot brine over the cucumbers, filling the jars to about ½ inch of the top.
Cover the jars with sealing lids and allow to cool completely at room temperature. Do not put in the refrigerator until cooled!
After cooling, refrigerate for 2-3 weeks before opening. This infusion period adds so much flavor!
Once opened, enjoy the pickles within 2 weeks.
Notes
Always keep the pickles refrigerated. This is not a canning recipe, so it is important to always keep the pickles refrigerated.
For the best flavor, allow the pickles to sit in the fridge for at least 2 weeks after making them. During this time, the brine will infuse into the cucumbers, drastically improving flavor!
Make sure to use pickling cucumbers, not European cukes. Kirby cucumbers are a popular pickling type, but look for light green, shorter cucumbers rather than the thick-skinned slicing types.