Garlic Dill Pickles

Ingredients (to make one pint jar, so multiply as needed):

• 2 cucumbers
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. dill seed
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar (I used a mixture of both)
• 2 1/4 tsp. pickling salt

Tools needed:

• wide mouth pint canning jars, lids, and bands
• 16 qt. pressure canner (there are other methods you can use for a recipe this simple, but this is what I used)
• jar lifter

First, prepare your cucumbers. Wash them, then cut them. We cut off the ends, then cut them in half and then in quarters. Basically, we cut them into your traditional pickle spears.

Next, we sterilized our jars. Wash them with really hot water, run them through your dishwasher and use the hot dry, do as you wish. Some people skip this step all together.

Then, we put the garlic and the dill seed in the bottom of each jar. And proceeded to pack our cucumbers in very tightly.

Next, we prepared our brine. In a large saucepan, we combined our vinegar, water, and pickling salt. Bring this to a boil and then pour into jars, being mindful to leave a 1/2" of headspace in each jar.

Make sure all your lids and bands are on correctly and tightened. At this point, you can proceed to making refrigerator pickles. Just throw these in the fridge right away, wait a couple days to eat, and try to consume in the next week or two.

However, if you'd like to preserve the pickles for longer, continue reading.

Next, I read the directions carefully on the difference between using my canner for water bath canning, pressure canning and pressure cooking. I was able to use a simple water bath can for these pickles, so I made the necessary adjustments to the canner.

Whatever you are using, be sure to follow the directions.

We filled the large pot of the canner with enough water to cover all my jars and have an extra inch of water. Do not add your jars yet! We then covered the pot and brought the water to a boil. Once my water was boiling, we added the jars.

Bring the water back to a boil and then set a time for five minutes. No more, no less. Five minutes.

Once the jars have boiled for five minutes, use a jar lifter to remove the jars from the boiling water.

Our jars started sealing almost immediately, but sometimes they don't. Let your jars sit on the counter for 12-24 hours and then check to make sure they are all sealed. Your lid shouldn't be able to pop in and out. It should be flat and smooth. If your lid isn't sealed, you have some refrigerator pickles. Place in the fridge and eat within the next couple weeks. If your lid is sealed, you've just preserved your pickles! Store at room temp for up to a year. Once opened, place in the fridge and consume within a week or two.