Nature has a way of mocking the gardener’s folly: Just a few days after I lamented that our cucumber crop seemed doomed, we’ve had a growth spurt. The harvest should be robust after all. Perhaps I’ll open a roadside farm stand?
So what to do with these slender cukes right off the vine? As they say on Portlandia: “We can pickle that!”
This super easy recipe for homemade pickles yields a pickle that’s bright, crisp, more cucumber-y than dill-y, if that makes any sense. If you like your pickle slices more deeply flavored and softer, then by all means leave these in the brine for several days, even a week, and they’ll develop those characteristics. Want a bit more spice? Add a clove or two of garlic (peeled) and some red pepper flakes. Save the brine and continue adding cucumber slices and dill, and you’ll have an ongoing pickle factory in your fridge all summer long.
quick refrigerator dill pickle recipe
In a quart jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Cover and shake very well until the sugar and salt dissolve. Add several sprigs of fresh dill fronds to the jar. Add 4 small or 3 medium cucumbers, sliced. Add more dill. Shake gently to combine and refrigerate at least several hours before serving. Pickles keep, refrigerated, up to a week, softening and gaining deeper flavor over time.
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