The Best Ever Deli-Style Sour Pickles Recipe. Ever. Seriously. - Garden Therapy (2024)

Tags canning, Month July Week 3, pickles

If you like old-fashioned fermented sour pickles then you will want to learn this recipe. Real deli-style pickles cost around $7 per jar in my area, but I can make 10 pounds of organic sour pickles for just $20! I did not invent this recipe, but it seems to be the most commonly used methodology out there and it works every time without fail. The pickles are garlicky, crunchy, and delightfully sour.The Best Ever Deli-Style Sour Pickles Recipe. Ever. Seriously. - Garden Therapy (1)

Many years ago I acquired some beautiful old pickling crocks and I was eager to put them to use. After lugging home a giant bag of fresh cukes, I followed a recipe for pickling them in the crock. It was a disaster. My brine turned into a stinky, moldy mess and the cucumbers turned out soggy. I ended up throwing out the whole batch, discouraged.

Each year, I would see ten-pound bags of pickling cucumbers and a bouquet of dill in the arms of people leaving the farmers’ market. Green with envy, I asked the market vendor to please give me some tips on making sour pickles so I could try again. I did my best to remember the recipe and ran home to try it right away. I’m so glad that I did because this is now my go-to pickle recipe that I can’t wait to make year after year.

The Best Ever Deli-Style Sour Pickles Recipe. Ever. Seriously. - Garden Therapy (2)

Ingredients

Makes 10 quart-size jars, adjust recipe accordingly

  • 10 pounds fresh-picked pickling cucumbers
  • 2/3 cup ofkosher salt
  • 16 cups of boiling water (non-chlorinated or filtered)
  • 8 cups cold water (non-chlorinated or filtered)
  • 10 clovesof fresh garlic
  • A bunch of fresh, flowering dill
  • 5 teaspoonscoriander seed
  • 5 teaspoons whole black pepper
  • 10 chili peppers (optional)

Equipment

The Best Ever Deli-Style Sour Pickles Recipe. Ever. Seriously. - Garden Therapy (3)

Make it!

  1. The key to crunchy pickles is to be sure that you are using very fresh cucumbers. They should go from farm to canning jar in no more than 24 hours and it’s essential to keep them chilled if you aren’t pickling right away. Size doesn’t matter for flavor, just for preference.
  2. Fill the sink with cold water and wash the cucumbers well. Remove any discolored, bruised, or soft cucumbers. Be sure to get cucumbers that are not waxed.
  3. To make the brine, bring 20 cups of water to a boil and add 2/3 cup of kosher salt. It’s important to use water that is non-chlorinated or filtered because you don’t want the minerals or chlorine to prevent fermentation.
  4. Stir the salt to dissolve. Set the brine aside to cool while you pack the jars.
  5. A cucumber has two different ends, thestem and the blossom end. Cut the blossom end off the cucumbers, or cut off both if you can’t figure it out. You can also slice the cucumbers if you choose. I like them whole.
  6. Divide the garlic, dill flowers, dill leaves, spices, and optional chili peppers among the jars.
  7. Pack the cucumbers into the jars tightly, leaving enough headspace that the brine will cover the them. The idea is to pack them into to jar so tightly that they won’t float up when the brine is added. You can also press a cucumber lengthwise across the upright pickles to pin them down.
  8. Add the cold water to the brine to cool it down more. It should be room temperature before pouring it on the cucumbers.
  9. When cool, pour the brine over the cucumbers, herbs, and spices. Screw a plastic canning lid loosely onto the jar and set them on a counter to ferment.
  10. “Burp” the pickles daily by loosening the cap and letting the air escape, then replacing the lid (loosely) again.
  11. After three days, check the pickles for flavor. Keep fermenting them on the counter until you get the sourness you like, then move them to the fridge to slow down the process. Consume the pickles within a month.

The Best Ever Deli-Style Sour Pickles Recipe. Ever. Seriously. - Garden Therapy (4)

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  • Tarragon Pickled Beets
  • These Printable Canning Labels are the Essential Party Dress for Your Jam!

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Comments

  1. Plastic jars or glass jars? Which are you using?

    Reply

  2. I am just doing a batch of these today and hoping they work out. Is the refrigerator best for storing them (I can’t each all within a month and want some mid winter and spring). You mentioned in responding above to another comment that they could be stored in a cool place… so I am guessing it does not have to be the frig., correct?

    Reply

    • Hi Terry, yes, the fridge is best after the original ferment.

      Reply

  3. So, you’re saying you have to eat 10 quarts of pickles within a month? I think not.

    Reply

  4. Can I divide this down to a 2 quart recipe?

    Reply

    • yes

      Reply

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The Best Ever Deli-Style Sour Pickles Recipe. Ever. Seriously. - Garden Therapy (2024)

FAQs

What makes deli pickles so good? ›

Real deli pickles are fermented in the brine in large barrels with lots of garlic and pickling spices and dill (never, EVER vinegar).

What makes full sour pickles sour? ›

Through the process of fermentation, without vinegar, these pickles achieve a tangy flavor and crunchy texture. Half sours, which have a milder taste, ferment for roughly six to eight weeks. For fully sour pickles, the cucumbers are fermented twice as long for a lip-puckering tartness.

What is the sourest pickle brand? ›

Our Warheads flavored pickle is an extreme sour pickle! No sugar coating here! We packed all the sour flavor we could into this WARHEADS Extreme Sour Dill Pickle, built for super sour fanatics. Available in Jumbo size.

What's the difference between a sour pickle and a dill pickle? ›

Sour pickles are one of the pleasantly sour types of pickles that are actually lacto-fermented instead of pickled. This means that there is no vinegar in their brine like in a dill pickle brine, and instead solely relies on salt, water, and time to achieve the desired flavor.

What flavor are deli pickles? ›

The spices involved can vary a lot, too. Dill, mustard, cloves, bay leaves, horseradish, allspice, and garlic are all popular choices.

What keeps pickles crisp? ›

The best way to keep your pickles crisp is by taking an extra moment to remove the blossom from the end of the cucumber. By adding this extra cut, you have a crisper pickle. Other ways to ensure a crisp pickle is by adding grape leaves to your jar. I tend to cut off both ends of the cucumber as I quickly process them.

What are half sour pickles called? ›

Fresh brine, dill pickles, also known as “half sours,” because the pickling brine uses salt without boiling vinegar, are also known as “kosher dills.” They are uncooked, and preserved by refrigeration.

Why are my pickles too sour? ›

You may have used vinegar that was too strong. Always use vinegar with 5% acidity for fresh preserving. Using a salt substitute in place of Ball® Salt for Pickling & Preserving could be the problem.

What kind of pickles does McDonald's use? ›

McDonald's uses dill pickles in their burgers including in the Big Mac®.

What is the healthiest pickle? ›

“The pickles that are beneficial for your gut health are the fermented ones, made by brining them in salt rather than vinegar,” says Dr. Oppezzo. “While vinegar pickling is a common method, true fermentation in brine enriches them with beneficial probiotics for your gut.

What is the 321 method of pickling? ›

An easy pickling recipe to follow is the 3-2-1 method; three parts water, two parts vinegar, and one part sugar. This 3-2-1 pickle brine is on the sweeter side, making it great for bread and butter pickles or spicy pickled beets. For a more savory pickle, use less sugar.

Why do deli pickles taste better? ›

Historically, deli pickles are saltier and prepared with garlic. As Freddie Jansen writes in her book, "Pickled," the New York Jewish deli pickles are immersed in saltwater brine instead of being fermented in vinegar. The deli pickle recipe starts with slicing cucumbers and putting them in a jar.

What pickles are used in burgers? ›

If you like to keep things traditional, look for bread & butter pickles. They're one of the most popular types of pickles and a classic topping for burgers! These small pickles are sliced crosswise (coin-shaped) instead of lengthwise as spears, so they fit perfectly on top of a beef burger patty.

What's the difference between deli pickles and regular pickles? ›

Historically, deli pickles are saltier and prepared with garlic. As Freddie Jansen writes in her book, "Pickled," the New York Jewish deli pickles are immersed in saltwater brine instead of being fermented in vinegar.

Why are refrigerated pickles better? ›

Even in two hours, pickles' texture can start to change. Warm temperatures cause pickles to soften and lose their crunchy texture. Keeping them cool keeps them crisp. Fridge-cold temperatures prevent mold and yeast from forming in the pickle jar, but other factors can affect the contents, too.

Are deli pickles good for you? ›

The healthiest pickles, according to the experts, are going to be probiotic-rich fermented varieties, such as a deli-style kosher dill. Making pickles at home — whether fermented or pickled in vinegar — may also be the healthiest option because it allows you to control the amount of sodium, the experts note.

Why are pickles served at Deli's? ›

The sharp, briny taste of pickles provides a refreshing counterpoint to the rich, savory flavors of deli meats and cheeses. This contrast helps balance the palate, preventing the sandwich from becoming too heavy or monotonous.

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