If you want to make some pickles...

Cucumbers are a bit tricky when you want to do a recipe for them. After all, we mostly eat them raw. I’ve been known to slice off the ends and eat a cucumber like a carrot. We regularly just slice them up and sprinkle them with a little Secret Stash Salt.

We do, however,  have a recipe or two. But first, a digression.

Tasty, tasty pickles

One of those bands I like is called The Gourds. One of their songs, very apropos to this recipe, is about pickling.

It’s not really relevant, but it’s a damn good song, and The Gourds are just fun. Head over to here, set’er up to track 15 and lets talk about pickles.

Pickles are one of those things that everyone thinks are hard. Well, at the very least, I always did. They come in a jar, for Pete’s sake. I’m just a humble cook, who takes raw veggies and meats, and through the miracle of fire and chemistry, convert that into a meal, ready to eat for at least one, and if we’re lucky, maybe a few sittings.

But stuff in a jar? That’s mad crazy.

Then, my Dad introduced me to a pickle recipe which isn’t so much a pickle recipe as it is a way to take cucumbers and spice them up for eating later that same day.

Now, if you’re anything like me, you’re going to need to hear that again. Pickles later that. same. day.

And maybe that’s where my mind gets blown. Stuff in jars, that’s stuff that takes time. Time to prepare, time to ‘age’, time to whatever it is that things in jars do. After all, if you were just going to eat it, you wouldn’t put it in a jar, you’d just, y’know, eat it.

Now sure, plenty of you are looking at me, Mr. CookLocal.com (as opposed to the Mrs. whose words you’d normally be digesting), and wondering just what in the heck I’m getting on about. So let’s talk pickles.

Afternoon Pickles

Jar of Pickles

• 4-5 Cucumbers, peeled, sliced
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
• Fresh handfull of dill
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1/2 cup water

1. Place cucumbers in large bowl with salt, dill and garlic and mix well
2. Let stand in a cool, dry place for 2 hours and do not drain the resulting liquid.
3. Mix sugar, vinegar and water and add into the cucumbers.
4. Pack into a jar and refrigerate.

Important things to note here:

The are cold packed pickles. They won’t last in a cabinet and need to be refrigerated and will last as long as they can.

Also, the dill? Sort of optional. You can really put in whatever you want for spices. Get some pickling spice at the market? Try that. Maybe some diced hot pepper? Sure, why not.

This past weekend, I saw some garlic flowers at the market and I bet those would be incredible diced up and mixed in.

And like the song says, pickling is fun.

Mix it up, try new things.

But the beauty of this recipe is the speed of which you see results. A little more than a couple hours and you’re eating pickles. How awesome is that?

Going to a cookout later today? Whip up some quick pickles in the morning.

Put into a large bowl.  Sprinkle 2 tsp salt.  Mix well.  Let stand 2 hours (do not drainl)  Mix 1 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cups vinegar 1/2 cup water.  Pour over cukes. pack in jar.  Refrigerate.