One of my goals for the month was to can or pickle something. Pickling feels very on-brand for me in that Portlandia-adjacent way.
But let’s be real, pickling and canning seemed like a bit too much for a first-timer like myself, so I decided to try a refrigerator pickle first. I modified a recipe from The New Midwestern Table (one of my favorite cookbooks) and I have to say, the pickles turned out pretty tasty! And making them was way simpler than I ever thought.
What You Need for Easy Refrigerator Bread + Butter Pickles
This is a great recipe because everything you need is easy to find and the bulk of it can be found in your own garden (or farmers market). Here’s what you’ll need:
- 4 pounds pickling cucumbers
- 5 tablespoons pickling salt
- 4 cups vinegar
- 1¼ cups sugar
- Half sweet or Vidalia onion, sliced thinly
- 6 cloves garlic, slightly crushed
- 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon dill seed
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
How to Make Refrigerator Pickles
Making refrigerator pickles is so simple. Start by washing your cucumbers and getting rid of any spines (that’s more for any garden-picked cucumbers). Then slice the cucumbers thinly — about an eighth inch thick.
Toss together with the pickling salt and let stand for 30 minutes. A word on the pickling salt: It sounds kind of archaic or like it would be hard to find, but most grocers have it tucked in an unexpected corner. Just ask for it!
When the 30 minutes are up, rinse the pickles in ice-cold water and blot dry with a clean towel. Place them inside a large, dry bowl. Toss in the thinly sliced sweet onion.
Then add all the rest of the ingredients – vinegar, sugar, garlic, mustard seed, dill seed, celery seed and turmeric – to a saucepan. Heat on the stove until boiling, giving the mix an occasional stir. Once this is boiling, pour it over you sliced cucumbers and onions. All you have to do then is just let it hang out until the mixture is room temp.
How to Store Refrigerator Pickles
Once the pickles are up to room temp, put them into jars. I found the simplest way to do this was to pack jars full of cucumbers and onions first, then I came back through and filled the jars with the liquid. This batch made about 10 half-pint jars.
After that, just screw on the tops and pop in the fridge. Eat them within a few months. Trust me, they are so good you won’t have any problem polishing them off (I made my first batch a week ago and the first jar is almost gone).
These bread and butter pickles aren’t precisely bread and butter, but I don’t mind. They’re a touch sweet but plenty salty and flavorful thanks to all the add-ins. I will be making everyone I know try these until they’re all gone (and then I’ll make even more).
