Alton Brown Makes Homemade Dill Pickles | Good Eats | Food Network

Learn how to make your own pickles at home and never look back!


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Dill Pickles
RECIPE COURTESY OF ALTON BROWN
Level: Easy
Total: 10 days 15 min
Prep: 15 min
Inactive: 10 days
Yield: 3 pounds pickles

Ingredients

5 1/2 ounces pickling salt, approximately 1/2 cup
1 gallon filtered water
3 pounds pickling cucumbers, 4 to 6-inches long
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon dill seed
1 large bunch dill

Directions

Combine the salt and water in a pitcher and stir until the salt has dissolved.

Rinse the cucumbers thoroughly and snip off the blossom end stem. Set aside.

Place the peppercorns, pepper flakes, garlic, dill seed and fresh dill into a 1-gallon crock. Add the cucumbers to the crock on top of the aromatics. Pour the brine mixture over the cucumbers in order to completely cover. Pour the remaining water into a 1-gallon ziptop plastic bag and seal. Place the bag on top of the pickles making sure that all of them are completely submerged in the brine. Set in a cool, dry place.

Check the crock after 3 days. Fermentation has begun if you see bubbles rising to the top of the crock. After this, check the crock daily and skim off any scum that forms. If scum forms on the plastic bag, rinse it off and return to the top of the crock.

The fermentation is complete when the pickles taste sour and the bubbles have stopped rising; this should take approximately 6 to 7 days. Once this happens, cover the crock loosely and place in the refrigerator for 3 days, skimming daily or as needed. Store for up to 2 months in the refrigerator, skimming as needed. If the pickles should become soft or begin to take on an off odor, this is a sign of spoilage and they should be discarded.


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Alton Brown Makes Homemade Dill Pickles | Good Eats | Food Network

[keithkimsten]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE DILL PICKLES!

I'll surely give this method a try, always willing to learn and try a new recipe.

Here's my favorite way of pickling.

For the crunchiest pickles/veggies here's what I was taught by my old granny born in 1898. I'm almost 70 now so you do the math how long this method has been used by her and I.. LOL

I've done hot packing for a long long time, for pickles, any peppers, dilly beans, carrots, celery etc for decades and they always seal completely(at least for me).

Hot jars, boiling hot brine and room temperature veggies all ingredients close at hand...

Work fast putting the ingredients into the hot jars, keep the hot parts hot and fill jars to 1/4 inch from the jar top with the brine as air always gets trapped in the jar and will be pushed out during sealing lowering brine level. Screw lids on fairly tight after wiping the jar rim set on towel, keep jars apart to cool and seal. If you have a jar that doesn't seal use it first.

It's my way, of course you do you and your way it is what it is.. have a great day!

Oh and... CRUSH THE GARLIC CLOVES! LOL...

[BiggMo]

Seams like a kid friendly project to accompany our small family garden

[wioletaklajnert]

Originally pickles are made in wood or stoneware barrels and just need to stay slightly open in cold place. Should be thick ground salt, dill with "flowers", horseradish root with leaves, garlic, oak, currant or cherry leaves. Such 3 days we call "małosolne" but for winter mostly have such at least 2 weeks pickled and soup from them is life 😁 there's no Poland without pickled cucumbers and cabbage (and you can pickle almost every veggie you wish even mashrooms)

[Remu]

Pickles ain't lasting 2 months in my house. I made like 20 jars last time I did a pickling bonanza and they brined for a week and they were gone in the next 2 weeks. lol

[NancyTroutman]

Thank you for this video! My pickles went from "cheap store-brands are better" to "these are the best pickles ever!" Hubby is increasing the cucumber plants from 4 to 16 this spring. We are already out of the pickles I made last year with this recipe.

[garrettw]

I have made these and they are amazing I did add about three bay leaves to help keep them crunchy and they did not last that long everyone said they were great. I told them to look for this segment on how to do it. I love Alton Brown your awesome thanks for your show.

[MsTinaDiane]

I’ve made these several times in the last few weeks. They are some of the best pickles.

[creightonstephens]

There was an old lady named Perkins, whom was incredibly fond of sweet gherkins. She went to a tea, consumed 23, which pickled her internal workins!

[mikeking]

The enzyme that softens pickles is in the blossom end not the stem end, I trim both.

[Silmerano]

Alton Brown Scientist of chefs often gives extremely detailed explanations.


Also Alton Brown: "It's just stuff"

[ctbram]

The blossom end contains the enzyme, not the stem end. But can always trim off 1/8th inch from both ends when in doubt.

[GingerSnape]

Why is it that whenever I'm looing for ways to make food, I always end up watching Alton.

[laurepapleux]

What a wonderful video! This way nobody ever has any excuse to be without pickles!

[ambrosemclaren]

If I could choose one celebrity chef to spend an afternoon with it would be Alton Brown. What a cool dude!
He is hands down my favorite.

Thanks, man. Got the crock a cleanin' now!

[michaelbruchas]

My late Dad learned to make dill pickles from our late, beloved Polish neighbor - back in the 1950s. We both always grew dill in the backyard. The cuc’s came from HER backyard garden.
Think they were called 5 day dills.
Her pickles were great, Dad always started to eat them too soon.
I remember skimming for scum!
Our crock is somewhere around the house. The basement was the pickle curing area.

[kdkelly]

I find that the ratios aren’t all that specific also it really helps to put the brine in the ziplock because the bags are semipermeable so even there are no leaks it will dilute the brine if the bag is full of regular water

[la]

miss Alton Brown!!!! We only watched the Food Network because of him!

[netic_fx]

I used to hate Dill Pickles and now they are one of my top go-to snacks. A blessing from the food gods for turning 30 and having eating a party-sized bag of Potato Chips make me fat.

[melissademarchi]

I am just starting on my pickle adventure, and this video gave me so much info, and so much confidence. Thanks, AB!

[lukeives]

If you cover the crock with a "cap" of grape leaves it makes your pickles nice and crunchy.