The Best Ever Deli-Style Sour Pickles Recipe. Ever. Seriously. - Garden Therapy (2024)

Tags canning, Month July Week 3, pickles

If you like old-fashioned fermented sour pickles then you will want to learn this recipe. Real deli-style pickles cost around $7 per jar in my area, but I can make 10 pounds of organic sour pickles for just $20! I did not invent this recipe, but it seems to be the most commonly used methodology out there and it works every time without fail. The pickles are garlicky, crunchy, and delightfully sour.The Best Ever Deli-Style Sour Pickles Recipe. Ever. Seriously. - Garden Therapy (1)

Many years ago I acquired some beautiful old pickling crocks and I was eager to put them to use. After lugging home a giant bag of fresh cukes, I followed a recipe for pickling them in the crock. It was a disaster. My brine turned into a stinky, moldy mess and the cucumbers turned out soggy. I ended up throwing out the whole batch, discouraged.

Each year, I would see ten-pound bags of pickling cucumbers and a bouquet of dill in the arms of people leaving the farmers’ market. Green with envy, I asked the market vendor to please give me some tips on making sour pickles so I could try again. I did my best to remember the recipe and ran home to try it right away. I’m so glad that I did because this is now my go-to pickle recipe that I can’t wait to make year after year.

The Best Ever Deli-Style Sour Pickles Recipe. Ever. Seriously. - Garden Therapy (2)

Ingredients

Makes 10 quart-size jars, adjust recipe accordingly

  • 10 pounds fresh-picked pickling cucumbers
  • 2/3 cup ofkosher salt
  • 16 cups of boiling water (non-chlorinated or filtered)
  • 8 cups cold water (non-chlorinated or filtered)
  • 10 clovesof fresh garlic
  • A bunch of fresh, flowering dill
  • 5 teaspoonscoriander seed
  • 5 teaspoons whole black pepper
  • 10 chili peppers (optional)

Equipment

The Best Ever Deli-Style Sour Pickles Recipe. Ever. Seriously. - Garden Therapy (3)

Make it!

  1. The key to crunchy pickles is to be sure that you are using very fresh cucumbers. They should go from farm to canning jar in no more than 24 hours and it’s essential to keep them chilled if you aren’t pickling right away. Size doesn’t matter for flavor, just for preference.
  2. Fill the sink with cold water and wash the cucumbers well. Remove any discolored, bruised, or soft cucumbers. Be sure to get cucumbers that are not waxed.
  3. To make the brine, bring 20 cups of water to a boil and add 2/3 cup of kosher salt. It’s important to use water that is non-chlorinated or filtered because you don’t want the minerals or chlorine to prevent fermentation.
  4. Stir the salt to dissolve. Set the brine aside to cool while you pack the jars.
  5. A cucumber has two different ends, thestem and the blossom end. Cut the blossom end off the cucumbers, or cut off both if you can’t figure it out. You can also slice the cucumbers if you choose. I like them whole.
  6. Divide the garlic, dill flowers, dill leaves, spices, and optional chili peppers among the jars.
  7. Pack the cucumbers into the jars tightly, leaving enough headspace that the brine will cover the them. The idea is to pack them into to jar so tightly that they won’t float up when the brine is added. You can also press a cucumber lengthwise across the upright pickles to pin them down.
  8. Add the cold water to the brine to cool it down more. It should be room temperature before pouring it on the cucumbers.
  9. When cool, pour the brine over the cucumbers, herbs, and spices. Screw a plastic canning lid loosely onto the jar and set them on a counter to ferment.
  10. “Burp” the pickles daily by loosening the cap and letting the air escape, then replacing the lid (loosely) again.
  11. After three days, check the pickles for flavor. Keep fermenting them on the counter until you get the sourness you like, then move them to the fridge to slow down the process. Consume the pickles within a month.

The Best Ever Deli-Style Sour Pickles Recipe. Ever. Seriously. - Garden Therapy (4)

You May Also Like These Pickling Recipes:

  • Super Simple Pickled Radishes
  • My Famous Pickled Golden Beets with Ginger and Star Anise
  • Tarragon Pickled Beets
  • These Printable Canning Labels are the Essential Party Dress for Your Jam!

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Comments

  1. Plastic jars or glass jars? Which are you using?

    Reply

  2. I am just doing a batch of these today and hoping they work out. Is the refrigerator best for storing them (I can’t each all within a month and want some mid winter and spring). You mentioned in responding above to another comment that they could be stored in a cool place… so I am guessing it does not have to be the frig., correct?

    Reply

    • Hi Terry, yes, the fridge is best after the original ferment.

      Reply

  3. So, you’re saying you have to eat 10 quarts of pickles within a month? I think not.

    Reply

  4. Can I divide this down to a 2 quart recipe?

    Reply

    • yes

      Reply

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The Best Ever Deli-Style Sour Pickles Recipe. Ever. Seriously. - Garden Therapy (2024)

FAQs

What makes deli pickles different? ›

Real deli pickles are fermented in the brine in large barrels with lots of garlic and pickling spices and dill (never, EVER vinegar). I used to grab a pickle from the Epicure's barrel on the way into work, just to start my day. Nothing like garlic for breakfast!

How to pickle cucumbers for gut health? ›

  1. Combine water and salt, stirring to dissolve.
  2. Place garlic, dill seed, peppercorns, fresh dill and chilies into the jar. ...
  3. Slice an extra cucumber in half and use it as a weight to keep the spears submerged in the water.
  4. Pour salt water over the cucumbers and spices, leaving 1 inch at the top.
Jul 3, 2015

What's the difference between a sour pickle and a dill pickle? ›

The biggest difference between dill and sour pickles is that the former includes fresh dill weed (and occasionally dill seeds or oil) for a boost of herby flavor. Also, dill pickles nowadays are typically vinegar-based, while sour pickles are always fermented in a salt brine.

What makes a pickle more sour? ›

Sour pickles are one of the pleasantly sour types of pickles that are actually lacto-fermented instead of pickled. This means that there is no vinegar in their brine like in a dill pickle brine, and instead solely relies on salt, water, and time to achieve the desired flavor.

Are deli pickles healthy? ›

On the plus side, pickles (which are made from cucumbers) are generally a low-calorie, low-fat food. They're a source of fiber, as well as vitamins A and K. And, like all vegetables and fruit, they have antioxidants.

What is the difference between polski ogórki and dill pickles? ›

Polish dills contain more spices and garlic than either traditional dill pickles or kosher dill pickles. These pickles tend to be peppery and may be flavored with mustard seeds. Their flavor is similar to the kosher dill and they are served in the same way.

What is the best pickle for gut health? ›

However, if you're looking for a pickle to support gut health, you'll have to select from the pickles in the refrigerated aisle. “The pickles that are beneficial for your gut health are the fermented ones, made by brining them in salt rather than vinegar,” says Dr. Oppezzo.

Why do you soak cucumbers in salt water before making pickles? ›

This salt treatment draws water out of the cucumbers and flavors them, so it's critically important. After layering or mixing in plenty of sea salt, I cover the salted cukes with ice cubes and a tea towel and forget about them for a few hours.

Is it OK to eat pickled cucumbers everyday? ›

Pickles are very high in sodium because it's an important part of the brining process. Consuming too much salt in your daily diet can contribute to high blood pressure. Anyone who is on blood pressure medication or looking to reduce their sodium intake should eat pickles in moderation or look for low sodium options.

What is the 321 method of pickling? ›

An easy pickling recipe to follow is the 3-2-1 method; three parts water, two parts vinegar, and one part sugar. This 3-2-1 pickle brine is on the sweeter side, making it great for bread and butter pickles or spicy pickled beets. For a more savory pickle, use less sugar.

What is the most sour pickle? ›

Our Warheads flavored pickle is an extreme sour pickle! No sugar coating here! We packed all the sour flavor we could into this WARHEADS Extreme Sour Dill Pickle, built for super sour fanatics. Available in Jumbo size.

What brand makes sour pickles? ›

Tart, tangy, salty, and especially sour, Best Maid Sour Pickles deliver the flavor and the crunch you love. Enjoy the smiles that arrive after the powerful pucker that Texas-sized sourness brings in every bite. Reach into a Best Maid Sour Pickles jar and pull out the best sour pickle you have ever tasted.

How do chefs pickle so quickly? ›

Quick pickling is simply the act of storing fresh produce in a brine of vinegar, salt, water, and sometimes sugar, in the refrigerator. These pickles are not canned and are ready to eat mere hours after making, though I usually wait at least a day or two.

Why do my homemade pickles taste so vinegary? ›

This happens when you use old spices, cook too long in vinegar, or you use too much spice. Use fresh spices – use whole spices within 3-4 years of purchase. Use the processing time and method recommended in the tested fresh preserving recipe. You may have used vinegar that was too strong.

What is the best acid for pickles? ›

so Sodium Bisulfate is approx 10x more acidic than citric acid and almost 1000 x more than Acetic Acid…which is why we like it for pickling…

What's the difference between refrigerated pickles and regular pickles? ›

Refrigerator pickles, on the other hand, are not heat-processed and need to be kept cold. They can be made with a hot brine (which extends their shelf life) or a cold brine. Unsurprisingly, you'll find these guys in the refrigerated section.

Why are refrigerated pickles better? ›

Even in two hours, pickles' texture can start to change. Warm temperatures cause pickles to soften and lose their crunchy texture. Keeping them cool keeps them crisp. Fridge-cold temperatures prevent mold and yeast from forming in the pickle jar, but other factors can affect the contents, too.

Are deli pickles fermented? ›

Are Pickles Fermented? Quick pickles are not fermented, but lacto-fermented pickles are fermented. Quick pickles, the most common type of pickle found in grocery stores, are not fermented because they use an acid, such as vinegar, in their pickling brine.

What kind of pickles are sandwich pickles? ›

Usually in New York delis they are large garlic dill pickles, fermented in brine, mustard seed, and bay leaf. They are never cooked, which can be told from their light color. Often they purchased in 5-gallon buckets, but for sandwiches they are cut in slices.

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