Sunday, April 10, 2011
Sarah's Bread & Butter Pickles
You will need:
3 english cucumbers (approx. 2lbs)
2 large onions
1/4 cup morton kosher salt
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups distilled white vinegar
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1/2 tsp celery seeds
2 TB mustard seeds
Makes 2 Quarts
These are English aka Hot House Cucumbers. They are seedless and the skin is not thick and tough like your normal cucumber. I ♥ them. You should be able to find them at your local grocery store, but you may not notice them right off.
They aren't tossed in a bin all together; normally they are on a top shelf in the refrigerated produce section and they are individually wrapped in plastic wrap.
Go ahead and get to slicing. Try to keep your cucumber and onion slices about 1/4 inch thick. If you're lucky enough to have a mandolin slicer - which obviously I'm not - this should be a breeze for you.
Once you have them sliced, separate the onion rings, and add them in a dish or big bowl along with the cucumbers. Measure out your salt, and sprinkle it over everything.
Then, you'll want to get your hands in there and mix them up really good to make sure everything is coated in the salt.
Get a bunch of ice and pour it over the top of the mixture and let it sit about an hour or until ice has melted most of the way.
Then, pour the mixture into a strainer and let it drain for a few minutes, make sure you remove any pieces of ice that have not melted.
While you're waiting for your ice to melt, go ahead and get started on the pickling juice.
Measure out your spices, sugar, and vinegar; then pour them all in a heavy pot together.
Bring the pickling juice to a boil.
Add your drained cucumber and onion mixture.
Bring it back to a boil.
Remove from heat - you do not want to cook these.
Stir all the nomminess around really good to make sure everything is coated.
Using a pair of tongs or a slotted spoon, fill up two quart size jars with the pickle and onion mixture. Then, using a ladle, spoon the pickling juice into each jar until it's about an inch from the top. You will most likely have some juice leftover, and you can do whatever you want with it.
I found these white lids at Walmart in the canning section. They seemed to be more practical for me since I had no intentions of sealing this jar. I would tell you how long these last in the refrigerator, but I don't know.
I can't keep them longer than about a week so far, they get eaten up pretty quickly - you'll be thinking of how many ways you can eat them.
Condensed Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers, onion and salt. Mix well. Cover the mixture with ice. Let stand at room temperature until the ice has melted most of the way. In a dutch oven or heavy sauce pan, mix sugar, vinegar and spices to a boil. Strain the cucumber and onion mixture - removing any pieces of ice that haven't melted. Add to vinegar mixture and bring back to a boil. Remove from heat and slightly cool. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer onions and cucumbers to two quart size jars, filling them evenly. Then, using a ladle, fill both jars with the pickling juice until it reaches one inch or so from the top of the jar. Refrigerate. It doesn't take long before they start tasting pickled, but I'd let them sit overnight if you can wait that long.
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