I love pickles. All forms. All vegetables. Pickled onions, turnips, cucumbers, peppers. Bring. Them. On. Until last week the only thing I pickled on a regular basis was red onions, which I love on salads and on top of tacos and other Mexican dishes. (I love this [1] recipe for quick pickled onions) Then I found this super fast and easy recipe for spicy dill pickles and am currently on my second jar of them in less than two weeks. They are perfect.
They are refrigerator pickles— no heat involved. I know that this is the mildest summer I have ever experienced in Chicago, but it is still nice to not have to turn on the stove. Summer makes me lazy. Just combine the ingredients and let them do their magic overnight. You will be rewarded with a jar of seriously addictive pickles. You can vary the heat by how many and what kind of peppers you include. I used a couple of jalapenos and ours had a pleasant heat that increased as they aged. We’ve been eating these with everything and you should be too. Bring them to the next BBQ and your friends will be quite impressed.
Quick Spicy Dill Pickles (adapted from Food & Wine, August 2009)
- 12 oz kirby cucumbers, quartered or halved depending on size
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 cups distilled white vinegar
- 1 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 4 large garlic cloves, halved
- 2 long red or green hot chiles, halved lengthwise (some or all seeds removed depending on taste)
- 8 dill sprigs
Pack vegetables into a clean 1-quart glass jar. In another jar, combine the salt, sugar, vinegar, coriander and garlic. Shake until the salt and sugar dissolve. Add 1 cup of water and pour the brine over the vegetables. Tuck the chiles and dill between the vegetables. Add enough water to keep the vegetables submerged. Close the jars and refrigerate overnight or for up to 1 month.
***These are best the first week. They get less crunchy as they sit and I like them crunchy.