Big A$$ Cucumber Project = Big A$$ Pickles

[SheilaAnn]

Hopefully!

mods, I put this here because it’s a ferment, which is like a cure or brine? Move if needed. 🙌🏼

So this project is starting today. Big a$$ cucumbers from csa. They were almost the size of my forearm. Salt, dill, garlic and mustard seeds. Cold fermenting in the fridge. Too hot to leave in the garage or on the counter, per my recipe. The author (and my boss) says the cold ferment will be fine, it will just take longer. Air is the enemy, so they are weighed down with a zip top bag with salt solution.

[mnavarre]

Let 'em go at room temp overnight so all the friendly little bugs can get a toehold and it should speed things up a fair bit.

[texastweeter]

Fermented pickles are so dang good. The cakes didn't "melon out"or get mushy on the inside once they got that big?

[SheilaAnn]

texastweeter no! They were super firm. I snacked on the ends I trimmed off 😀

[barelfly]

Yum! There is nothing better than a homemade pickle!

[RiverJeff]

I really like a great cucumber/onion vinegar receipt, do you have one to share?

[SheilaAnn]

RiverJeff this recipe does not use vinegar. But, her bread and butter pickles do. And they are awesome. Putting up the recipes in the recipe section.

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/recipes-technique-food-cooking/vegetables-fruits-herbs-salads-salsas-and-slaw-recipes/1454457-ferment-and-brine-recipe-for-pickles#post1454457

[RiverJeff]

Thank you!

[SheilaAnn]

Following up….. these pickles are delicious!!! And my boss, who is a master preserver, said I nailed it. Yay me!

[DTro]

Nice! How long did it take?

[SheilaAnn]

DTro I kept them in the fridge the whole time, so about 3 weeks. We are just nibbling away at them. The original recipe has them on the counter for two weeks. I felt it was too hot for that and opted for the fridge.

[JGrana]

How funny! I started doing self fermented dill pickles a month ago (along with canning some). My grandkids can't get enough of them so it's becoming a weekly thing. Today I am trying not only typical fermented (~3% to 4% brine) but also trying a 5% brine that needs to ferment much longer (3-4 weeks) - but then can be canned (water bath ~10 mins).

I have settled on a 3.5% brine for around 5 days @ 74F- seems to be the best balance between sour and salty the kids like. I then put the quart jar in the fridge to really sloooow down the ferment. One quart lasts the week while the next batch is fermenting.

I also have a batch almost done fermenting that is about 80% Armenian cucumbers and 20% pickling cukes.



You can see the cloudy brine on the right and some bubbles when I juggle the jar. Ill put those in the fridge any day now.

As SheilaAnn said, you can always ferment in the fridge - just takes quite a bit longer.

Last, I weigh my salt and water to get the correct brine %. As Meathead has taught us, a tablespoon of fine granulated salt is quite a bit more than a tablespoon of canning/kosher salt.

For the 3.5% batch above, I weighed a few cups of water (860g by weight) multiplied by 0.035 and then weighed out 30g of salt.

Put the cut up cucumbers into the quart jar along with a few cloves of garlic, lots of heads of fresh dill and maybe some mustard seeds and/or black peppercorns. Even a hot pepper if you like it spicy.
Pour on the brine, put a weight on the top to make sure all are submerged, put on a mason jar fermenting lid and set in my cupboard (this time of the year the house is around 74F) for 5-6 days. You can go longer if you like the pickles more sour.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=fermenting+lids+for+mason+jars&crid=YNBHQ252BKEG&sprefix=Fermenting%2Caps%2C291&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_8_10

[Thunder77]

If you have or can get them, oak leaves used as a cover for the brine can add tannins, which help retain crispness. Grape leaves also work. Those look good!