Modern Bushman

Home Made DIY Pickles That Anyone Can Do

So I have a wonderful problem. My container garden is pushing off a ton of organic cucumbers. Now I love cucumbers as much as the next guy but after a while I need to give my taste buds something new. Enter pickling. I decided to give a try at cold pickling. While cold pickling products don’t last as long as the boiling method for canning, the similarities are interesting. So here we go on the path to a serious method for getting your cucumbers to last a bit longer off the vine and introduce something new to the table.

First, we start with the supply list. All you need is some distilled vinegar, kosher salt, purified water (not from the sink) and some cucumbers. This is the basic consumables list but you can add garlic, peppers, onions, pepper corns, dill or anything else you want to flavor your brew. You will also need a jar. I used canning jars for my brew but it is not necessary. Any jar will do. So here we go.

1. Go out to the garden and cut yourself some good cucumber specimens.
   

   One of my favorite edible garden vegetables

2. Give them a good washing.
   

   Get all the foreign matters off the vegetable to be pickled

3. Cut them. I go for the “spears” but you can slice them. It’s up to you. I cut off the ends and slice them short enough to fit in the jar with some room to spare.
   

   Cut the cucumber so fit the pickling jar

4. Stuff them in a jar. Clean the jar and lid thoroughly with soap and water. Also be sure to rinse the jar and lids completely. Don’t want your pickles to taste like dish soap.
5. Add one table spoon of kosher salt. This is the point where you add all of the other “flavor” stuff you want. I’ve added garlic, green onions, pepper corns, chili’s and even whiskey. Use your imagination.
   

   I spiced mine up with some of my favorite chilis

6. Add the vinegar. I fill up the jar to about one inch from the top of the jar. Fill the remainder with water. It is important to fill the jar up as much as possible. The less air the better.
7. Cap it and give it a shake. This distributes all of the ingredients and allows the salt to dissolved.
8. Now all you have to do is place the jar on the top shelf of the fridge (coldest part of the fridge) and wait 24 hours. The next day. flip the jar over on its lid and let it sit for another 24 hours. This will allow all of the flavor to distribute evenly.
   

   Finished product

9. After 48 total hours you can chow down on your pickles. They last about a month in the fridge but I doubt you will have them around that long. They are just that good. You will notice that after about a week the best flavors come out. It’s hard to wait that long but believe me, if you wait seven days you’ll be rewarded with some serious goodness. Again, don’t eat the pickles more than a month after jarring. They will start to get limp and may not be safe for consumption.

Just to give you some ideas about the things I’ve added to the brew, my Mom gave me some Thai chili’s from her garden and I added them to the mix. This made for an exciting pickle that I have never seen the likes of. I decided to get brave and made a batch that had a shot of whiskey in it. Just let your imagination and taste buds write the recipe. The basic ingredients are the same. As long as you add the salt, vinegar and keep them brewing in the fridge you are OK. Just be sure to eat them within a few weeks and no longer than a month. Heck, pickles never last more than a week in my fridge and it sure is cheaper than buying the dills from the grocery store. Let us know if you have a crazy cold pickle recipe you would like us to try and as always…

Stay hungry my friends.

~ Adam, Modern Bushman