• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Taste of Artisan
  • Bread
    • Bread Guides
    • Sourdough Bread
    • Yeast Bread
    • Rye Bread
    • Quick Bread
    • Pizza Dough
  • Charcuterie
    • Charcuterie Guides
    • Smoked Sausage and Meat
    • Dry Cured Sausage and Meat
    • Fresh Sausage
    • Cooked Sausage
    • Vegetable Charcuterie
    • Rotisserie Recipes
    • Sous Vide
    • Fish and Seafood
  • Cheese
    • Basic Cheese
    • Advanced Cheese
  • Sweets
    • Sweets Guides
    • Chocolate Sweets
    • Sugar Sweets
    • Flour Sweets
  • Preserves
    • Guides
    • Fermented Vegetables
    • Marinated Vegetables
    • Pickled Vegetables
    • Canned Vegetables
    • Canned Meat
    • Jams
    • Pie Fillings
  • More
    • Drinks
    • Oils and Dressings
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Bread
  • Charcuterie
  • Drinks
  • Cheese
  • Confectionery
  • Preserves
×

Home » Preserves » Pickled Vegetables » Refrigerator Pickles

Refrigerator Pickles

September 13, 2019 by Victor @ Taste of Artisan Leave a Comment

These refrigerator pickles are so good that my kids can't have enough of them. They don’t ask if they can have a pickle, they ask ‘how many can I have?” Bright green, crunchy, lightly salted and exceptionally juicy these pickles are a great accompaniment to various meats and sausages. You can also enjoy them on their own as a quick and delicious snack that packs practically no calories.

Pickles in a large pot with pickling juice, spices and seasonings.

This is an old recipe that has been perfected over many years in our family. Not only does it make ridiculously tasty pickles but it allows preserving pickling cucumbers for weeks.

Making refrigerator pickles

To make refrigerator pickles, simply soak pickling cucumbers in water for a few hours, rinse, submerge in a pickling juice, let sit at room temperature for 6 hours then refrigerate overnight. They will be fully ready to enjoy after that but will get even better and better over time.Pickling cucumber in pickling juice weighed down by a plate.

Many recipes for refrigerator pickles call for slicing pickling cucumbers. This recipe is different. We keep the pickles whole and only cut off small tips on both ends to allow for better pickling juice penetration. Whole refrigerator pickles retain their crunch much better and just look more appetizing. Whole pickles are much easier to snack on too.

Whole refrigerator pickles on a speckled plate with peppercorns and a dill twig.

Batch size

This recipe is for 10 lbs of pickles. If you'd like to make a smaller batch, say 5 lbs, simply cut all of the ingredients in half. It's also perfectly fine to keep the amount of the pickling juice and the spices the same and only reduce the amount of cucumbers.

Beware though, these pickles go fast. In our family we eat them with just about everything. These are perfect for snacks as well. We end up making a few batches during the cucumber season an a large batch at the end of the season to have enough to last a while.

Close up of whole pickles in pickling juice in a pot.

Refrigerator Pickles

The best whole refrigerator pickles.
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American, Eastern European, European
Keyword: pickles, refrigerator pickles
Prep Time: 1 hour
Soaking and pickling time: 16 hours
Total Time: 17 hours
Servings: 40 servings
Calories: 19kcal
Author: Victor

Ingredients

  • 10 lbs pickling cucumbers
  • 5 ½ quarts water spring water
  • 8 Tbsp sea salt plus more to taste (see notes)
  • 2 Tbsp white sugar
  • 1 ½ Tbsp black peppercorns whole
  • 1 Tbsp allspice whole
  • 1 Tbsp coriander seeds whole
  • 6 bay leaves whole
  • 4 cloves whole
  • 1 tsp dill seeds
  • 8 cloves garlic thinly sliced
  • 1 garden dill stalk entire flower head and foliage, cut in pieces; or ¼ bunch fresh dill

Instructions

  • Soak pickling cucumbers in water overnight or at least for a few hours. Rinse and cut off small tips on both ends.
  • To prepare the pickling juice, in a large pot, heat water until just hot but not boiling. Add the salt and the sugar, and stir until both have fully dissolved. Add the black peppercorns, four sliced garlic cloves, allspice, coriander, cloves and dill seeds. Cover and let the water cool down to room temperature.
  • Transfer the pickling cucumber to a large container. Add the remaining four sliced garlic cloves, bay leaves and the garden dill and mix together.
  • Pour the pickling juice over the cucumbers. Weight down by a plate to keep all pickling cucumbers submerged in the pickling juice.
  • Keep at room temperature for 6 hours before refrigerating.
  • Refrigerate overnight (or for at least 6 hours) before enjoying. Keep refrigerated for up to a month. They get better with time.

Notes

The pickling juice needs to be salted a little bit more than 'just right'. Think of 'over-salted' soup.
Recipe updated on Sep 16, 2019

Nutrition

Calories: 19kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 1405mg | Potassium: 165mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 84IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

Related Posts:

  • Pickled Cabbage
    Pickled Cabbage
  • Pickled Red Onions
    Pickled Red Onions
  • Pickled Cherry Peppers
    Pickled Cherry Peppers
  • Cowboy Candy (Candied Jalapeno Peppers)
    Cowboy Candy (Candied Jalapeno Peppers)
  • Pickled Turnips
    Pickled Turnips
Previous Post
Next Post

Subscribe to Taste of Artisan

Thumbs up Taste of Artisan

Liked the post or the recipe? Leave a comment. We'd love to see your feedback.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




 

Primary Sidebar

About

Hello and welcome to Taste of Artisan, a website dedicated to making and enjoying delicious artisan foods at home.
Read More…

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Subscribe to Taste of Artisan

Categories

  • Bread (32)
    • Bread Guides (1)
    • Pizza Dough (1)
    • Quick Bread (6)
    • Rye Bread (2)
    • Sourdough Bread (10)
    • Yeast Bread (19)
  • Charcuterie (79)
    • Charcuterie Guides (7)
    • Cooked Sausage (3)
    • Dry Cured Sausage and Meat (19)
    • Fresh Sausage (5)
    • Rotisserie Recipes (3)
    • Smoked Sausage and Meat (36)
    • Sous Vide (3)
    • Vegetable Charcuterie (3)
  • Cheese (2)
    • Basic Cheese (2)
  • Confectionery (23)
    • Chocolate Confections (6)
    • Confectionery Guides (1)
    • Flour Confections (18)
    • Sugar Confections (1)
  • More (8)
    • Drinks (6)
    • Oils and Dressings (2)
  • Preserves (24)
    • Canned Meat (3)
    • Canned Vegetables (6)
    • Fermented Vegetables (3)
    • Guides (1)
    • Jams (1)
    • Marinated Vegetables (3)
    • Pickled Vegetables (6)
    • Pie Fillings (1)
  • Uncategorized (1)

Copyright © 2023 · Taste of Artisan · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy · Disclosures · Contact