Culinary Chronicles: Refrigerator Dill Pickles

As I mentioned the other day, I've been using this recipe from Sharon Spain on Design*Sponge.  Its super easy and fast.  I always add garlic because I just prefer a garlicky pickle.  Its also tasty to throw a little red chile pepper in the jar if you like things spicy.  Mustard seeds?  Whatever, they are your pickles, go to town!  Here is what you need:

20 - 30 pickling cucumbers (small, about the length of your palm or a little bigger)

a big bunch of fresh dill

2 heads of garlic (you need at least one clove per jar)

2 quarts water

1 quart vinegar

3/4 cup salt

10 - 12 pint size canning jars, I prefer wide-mouthed

1 big pot of boiling water to sterilize your jars and utensils (especially tongs to pull the jars, etc. out of the boiling water)

Make the brine and bring to a boil.  (1 quart of vinegar,  2 quarts of water, 3/4 cup of salt).

Sterilize the jars and lids in boiling water.

After washing your cucumbers thoroughly, slice as thin or thick as you'd like your pickles to be, and pack each jar pretty tightly.  These are wide-mouth pint jars.  There is also a big sprig of fresh dill and a clove of garlic in each jar.

Once the brine has boiled and your jars have been packed fill the jars to about a quarter-inch from the top.  These are refrigerator pickles, so you can fill the jars a little more than if you were going to pressure can.  Clean the edges of the jar and screw on the lids tightly, and refrigerate. 

The following morning the pickles are already looking good.  We got seven pints out of this batch, which takes up a fair amount of refrigerator space.  Since they must be refrigerated until opened and eaten you need to plan for storage, or give them away!  

What are your favorite kinds of pickles?