These traditional dill pickle spears are a great to start your canning experience if you’re new to cucumber pickles.
Brining the cucumbers before pickling helps keep them crunchy, and a pinch of Ball® Pickle Crisp® Granules helps ensure it!
To see more recipes from the Ball® Canning Back to Basics cookbook, click here!
Excerpted from Ball® Canning Back to Basics. Copyright © 2017 Hearthmark, LLC. Reprinted with permission from Time Inc. Books, a division of Time Inc. New York, NY. All rights reserved.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds (3- to 5-inch) pickling cucumbers
- 1 gallon plus 1 quart water
- 10 tablespoons Ball® Salt for Pickling and Preserving
- 3 cups white vinegar (5% acidity)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon pickling spice
- 12 dill sprigs
- 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
- Ball® Pickle Crisp® Granules (optional)
Preparation
- 1 Rinse the cucumbers under cold running water, and trim any that are longer than 5 inches so that they’ll fit comfortably in the jar. Cut each cucumber lengthwise into quarters. Place the spears in a large, clean container (such as a 12- to 18-quart food-safe plastic pail or basin). Combine 1 gallon of the water and 6 tablespoons of the salt in a large pitcher, stirring until the salt dissolves. Pour over the cucumbers; cover and let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Drain; rinse under cold running water, and drain.
- 2 Combine remaining 1 quart water, vinegar, next 2 ingredients, and remaining 1⁄4 cup salt in a stainless-steel or enameled saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until the salt and sugar dissolve.
- 3 Place 2 of the dill sprigs and 1 teaspoon of the mustard seeds into a hot jar, and pack tightly with the cucumber spears. Ladle the hot pickling liquid over the spears, leaving 1⁄2-inch headspace. Add 1⁄8 teaspoon Ball® Pickle Crisp® Granules to jar, if desired. Remove air bubbles. Wipe the jar rim. Center the lid on the jar. Apply the band, and adjust to fingertip-tight. Place the jar in the boiling water canner. Repeat until all the jars are filled.
- 4 Process the jars 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat; remove the lid, and let the jars stand 5 minutes. Remove the jars and cool.
