Lainie's Dill Pickles

Yield: 22-24 quarts

Ingredients:

• 25 lbs cucumbers (baby gherkins) from Sauvie Island Market, Oregon

• 1 1/2 bunches fresh dill, 2 sprigs per jar, 1 on bottom, 1 near top

• 4 heads of garlic, 2 cloves per jar

• 1/2 cup pickling spice, 1/4 tsp per quart jar

• approximately 24 dried hot peppers (optional), 1-2 per jar

  For Brine:

• 4 1/2 quarts water

• 1 1/2 quarts white vinegar

• 1-1 1/4 cup salt

Tools:

• 24 wide mouth quart canning jars and lids

• 21.5 quart water bath canning pot with rack

• jar tong/lifter of jars from bath

• tong for lifting rings and lids from pot of hot water

• ladle for adding brine to jars after stuffing with cuc's, etc. see below

• Clean cloth to wipe edge of jars

Here's How:

1. The day before you plan to make your pickles, you need to soak the cucumbers overnight in cold water.

2. Start heating the water in the canning pot and make sure that it goes about 2” above jars when they are all submerged. The jars will raise the level of the water once submerged. Every so often, you will need to keep adding water to be sure that the jars are 2” under the water.

3. Prep jars by cleaning, sterilizing in the dishwasher. Keep the jars heated until using and take them straight from the dishwasher.

4. Prepare your canning area.

5. Peel all the garlic cloves without crushing them and set aside.

6. In a large soup pot, bring to boil, then simmer the brine ingredients.

7. Soak the cucumbers in cool water in a big tub.

8. Start with a clean, hot jar from the dishwasher and place 1 sprig of dill, garlic and dried hot pepper (if using) in the jar and start packing the larger cucumbers in the bottom layer of the jar standing tall, then add the second sprig of dill, garlic, pepper and the second layer of cucumbers, using the smaller ones in both layers to pack as tightly as possible.

9. Sprinkle in the pickling spice and carefully pour the hot brine up to the beginning of the lip of the jar, which will leave about 1/2-3/4” at the top.

10. Wipe clean and dry the edge of the jar and quickly, using the lid tongue,place the sealing lid (that has been simmering on the stove top) on top, and then screw on the ring tightly.

11. Carefully place filled jars two at a time in the canning pot, opposite each other to keep it balanced on the edge of the pot before submerging all the jars in already boiling water for 15 minutes. Set a timer.

12. Keep filling more jars, following the same process.

13. When your pickles are ready to come out, very carefully lift the rack back to the top of the rim of the pot, and using the jar lifter, carefully remove them and place them on your counter to cool, being sure to remove them in the same balanced fashion you put them in.

14. My favorite part is hearing the “pop” sound of the lids as the jars cool.

15. Store the pickles for a month before eating, and then enjoy!