3-Hour Dill Pickles
Nobody likes a limp pickle. This recipe makes a crisp & tangy dill pickle in just 3 hours! I use the 1 1/2 lb. jar that spaghetti sauce comes in. They are best eaten within two weeks. - Jenny Jones
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours
Makes: about 12 spears
Ingredients:
- 1 cup water (divided)
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
- 1 clove garlic, crushed or sliced in half
- 3-4 sprigs fresh dill
- 3 firm pickling “Kirby” cucumbers
Instructions:
- Put 1/4 cup hot water into a large glass jar.
- Add sugar & salt and stir until dissolved.
- Add 3/4 cup cold water and add vinegar.
- Add onion, garlic, and dill.
- Scrub the cuces well and slice each one into spears.
- Add cuces to jar and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
Jenny, I’ve made pickles for many years. Canning makes them mushy. So now all of mine are refrigerated. I put the garlic and pickling spice and dill in the jar. Than the sliced or speared pickles. Make sure you cut the blossom end tips off. Add a pinch of pickle crisp to the jar. Then make your brine solution. Bring to a boil and pour over the cukes and seal. Ready to eat in a day or two. If you keep in the fridge they will stay fresh and crispy for a year (but they won’t last that long). Trust me, this is the best and fastest and crispiest way to go
is it possible to keep these on a shelf when finished with the 3 hour refrigeration
I’m on a no salt diet and have used spices instead of salt. I missed my pickled eggs but put in pickling spices with eggs and tastes really good. also make bread and butter and dill pickles with no salt and cider vinegar. you need butter tarts on here. truly Canadian. I’ll say hi from little town north of London.
Jenny,
I just discovered you. I feel I found a treasure. God made you amazing – who are you? Anyway, here is my question. Do I need to slice the pickles? I remember my mother used to insert whole pickles in the jar. Will the 3-hour recipe work with whole pickles?
Julie
p.s. – Thank you for everything and I hope you are well and happy.
I have only made them sliced so you may have to try.
Jenny, can these pickles be canned for later use or have you tried canning them to find out the results of maintaining the crispness ? Thanks so much for any input . Elf
I have never canned anything – sorry I can’t help.
I have tried many dill pickle recipes but will always use yours as it is so easy. I did change it a bit by using less than 1 cup vinegar and no sugar as I do like fermented pickles so much. Once I even put some horseradish in. I found that I could just add another cucumber to the jar when the pickles were finished and it worked just as well. No more than 3 times per jar though. Just used the English-type cucumbers that are available all winter and cut them in thin rounds. Delicious!!!!!!
So enjoy all your recipes. Thank you so much Jenny.
Will this work for thin sliced hamburger dills?
I use your recepies all the time and love them.
Thank you,
You can make them as thin as you like.
Is there way to can the pickles for long term storage without them getting soft?
I don’t know of any way to keep them crisp long term. Even store-bought pickles don’t stay crisp after a couple of weeks.
I was told once by a Chef who was famous for making crispy pickles, for his restaurant, to add grape leaves (the kind packed in water). I added 2 to each jar and it worked for me. There is really no added flavor from the leaves.
Yes there is, you can add a small piece of Horseradish, it makes it crispy and more tastier. I made it several times.
Jenny,
I just recently discovered your blog through the you tube channel on how to make “caramel popcorn”. I loved your bright and full of life videos as well as the quality of each of the recipe. You are a rare jewel that I have discovered. Thank you for your valuable time and talent to cook.
Although I wanted to make cinnamon-raisin bread first-it’s just been too hot. However, I had quite a few baby cucumbers and I a company coming the next day, so I made this recipe. I love it Jenny. I made it like 7pm, before I went to bed at 11:30 PM, I couldn’t go to sleep and had to try it or I won’t be able to sleep. The cucumber tasted good. Then I tasted the next day, and it was WOW, Amazingly good!!!!!! Thank you again and again, I will be making this often.
I’am wondering with the sugar are these a sweet tasting pickle?
They are not sweet tasting at all.
They are a tad. Not like a traditional dill pickle if you were to compare. Taste the liquid(combined everything except for the cukes). If you are worried, bring the water and vinegar to less than a simmer and add a tablespoon, or whatever you are comfortable with, at a time. Dissolve completely and taste. Use a bit less liquid than called for. For this reason, after you poor over your onions garlic, let it sit and taste again. If you want a little more salt or sweet, heat up a little more water or vinegar and dissolve a bit more salt and or sugar. That way you have a little wiggle room and can tweak to your preference. Cooking is about having fun and adapting to your tastebuds. Enjoy!
I love the crispness of fresh cold pack dill pickles. As a variation to the basic dill pickle, I have added whole garlic clove and sometimes adding a pinch of crushed red peppers for a little zip. The garlic picks up the dill flavor and I have found myself eating it also.
I’ve made these before. Delicious!