Dill Pickle Spears
Dill pickle spears are easy to make at home, and this recipe works wonderfully for canning or refrigerator pickles.
Ingredients
For the Cucumber Pre-Soak:
- 4 lbs. pickling cucumbers 3 to 5 inches long
- 6 Tbsp. canning Salt
- 1- gallon water
Packed into jars:
- Trimmed soaked cucumbers from above
- 12 fresh dill sprigs or 6 tsp. dried dill seeds
- 6 tsp. whole mustard seeds
- Pickle crisp 1/8 tsp. per pint, optional
Pickling Brine
- 1 quart water
- 3 cups white vinegar 5% acidity
- 1/4 cup canning salt or kosher salt
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 Tbsp. Pickling Spice see note
Instructions
- Wash the cucumbers, gently scrubbing to remove any spines. Cut the cucumbers lengthwise into quarters to form spears.
- Dissolve 6 Tbsp. salt in 1 gallon of cold water.
- Place the cucumbers in a bowl and pour the cold salt water over them. Allow them to soak for 24 hours.
- Drain the soaking water and pack the cucumbers into wide-mouth pint jars. Trim off the cucumber if necessary to ensure they fit, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Add 1 tsp mustard seeds and 2 dill sprigs to each jar. Lacking fresh dill sprigs, you can add 1 tsp dried dill seed to each jar instead. Add pickle crisp if using at a rate of 1/8 tsp per pint jar.
- At this point, prepare a water bath canner if canning.
- Make the pickle brine by bringing the brine ingredients to a boil in a pot, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt.
- Pour the boiling brine over the top of the cucumbers in the jars, maintaining 1/2 inch headspace. Cap with 2 part lids.
- If making refrigerator pickles, allow the jars to cool completely before storing in the refrigerator.
- If canning, process the jars in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the jars sit in the canner for an additional 5 minutes before removing them to cool completely on a towel on the counter.
- Wait 12-24 hours , then check seals. Store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator and use first.
- Properly canned and sealed jars of dill pickle spears will maintain peak quality on the pantry shelf for 12 months, and be safe to eat so long as they're sealed. Refrigerate after opening.
- For the best flavor, allow the jars to sit for at least 1-2 weeks before enjoying, so they have time to properly developed a pickled flavor.
Notes
If you measure in kilograms instead of pounds, that's about 1.8 kg, and the cucumbers should be roughly 7.5 to 12.5 cm long.
Pickling spice mixes usually include whole allspice, coriander, mustard seeds, and cloves, along with broken or crumbled bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. They also sometimes include ginger or red pepper flakes for heat.
You can use a prepared pickling spice mix or make your own. You can also just toss in a pinch of each of the spices listed and call it good. When making pickles, the spice mix is totally up to you and does not impact canning safety. It's totally just a flavor thing, and if you don't like an ingredient in the pickling spice mix, just leave it out.
In this particular recipe, the cucumbers are soaked in salt water for 24 hours before they're packed into jars, and that's to keep them from tasting soggy. The saltwater soak really does make a difference when you're making pickle spears, so don't skip it!
Dill, mustard seeds and pickle crisp is added directly to each jar rather than adding it to the pickling brine. This ensures an even amount in each jar.
Pickle crisp is optional, but it helps firm the pickles. It's Calcium chloride or just a calcium-based salt. The calcium helps strengthen the cell walls of the cucumbers and keeps them crisp during canning (and no, it doesn't taste salty, it's completely tasteless).