Deli Pickles Half Sours Recipes

EAST SIDE NEW YORK HALF-SOUR PICKLES

Steps:

• Fill a 1-gallon jar with cucumbers; set aside.
• In a separate container, mix together water, salt, pickling spices, and garlic.
• Pour over cucumbers and then cover with waxed paper to keep cucumbers in the solution.
• Leave out for 2 weeks without refrigeration!

HALF SOUR PICKLES

Steps:

• Wash cucumbers and trim off the blossom end of the cucumber.
• Stir salt and water together in a quart jar, then add cucumbers and seasonings leaving at least 2" of headspace.
• Keep produce submerged in brine with a food safe weight such as wax paper or submerged cabbage leaf.
• Cover loosely with lid (airlock not needed) and let sit in a cool dark place for 7-10 days, or until it reaches your desired sourness, then refrigerate to slow fermentation and store.
• Pickles will become more sour each day they ferment and the brine will turn cloudy.

DELI PICKLES - HALF SOURS

Steps:

• Wash cucumbers. Remove blossom ends carefully to remove soil.
• Place cucumbers in large crock. Distribute the dill heads evenly. Make a brine of the remaining items and add to the cucumbers. Covr with a heavy plate and weigh down with a glass jar filled with water.
• Store at moderate room temperature (70 to 75 degrees F). If scum forms, remove it daily. Pickles may be eaten after third day, but to be at their best pickles need a one week fermentaion. After one week, pack the.
• pickles into clean jars and refrigerate to halt fermentation. These pickles must be kept in the refrigerator.

HALF-SOUR DILL PICKLES

Steps:

• In a 2-cup measuring cup, dissolve the salt in 1 cup of hot tap water. When dissolved, add 1 cup cold tap water.
• Trim the small round scab from the blossom end of each cucumber. Tightly pack the cucumbers vertically in a quart jar. Fit the dill sprigs and garlic around the cucumbers. Sprinkle the black pepper and crushed red pepper, if using, on top.
• Add enough of the salt water to the jar to completely cover the contents, leaving about an inch of airspace at the top of the jar. If you have any brine left, save it. Cover the jar with cheesecloth or a kitchen towel secured with a rubber band, or partially screw on the lid.
• Put the jar in a cool room (about 65°F) away from direct sunlight, and let the pickles ferment for 4 days. During this time, bubbles of carbon dioxide gas will become visible inside the jar. Check the pickles daily to make sure they are submerged, and if necessary, top them off with the reserved brine. If they begin to float, weigh them down with a small heavy object, like a stone wrapped in plastic or a small glass jar filled with water. It's OK if the liquid clouds slightly. If it becomes dark or extremely cloudy, mold or fungus is growing in the jar, and the pickles should be discarded.
• After 4 days, taste a pickle. It should be crunchy, lightly sour, and salty, with an aroma of garlic and dill. If you prefer a more sour flavor, let the pickles ferment up to 3 days more, tasting daily. When you're happy with the flavor, refrigerate the pickle jar. The pickles will remain half-sours for up to 2 weeks. Within a few weeks, they will have progressed to fully fermented pickles and will keep for years in the refrigerator.

HALF SOUR PICKLES DELI STYLE

Steps:

• 1. Wash the cucumbers well and place in a wide mouth container. I have a little stock pot, about 8 inches across and 10 inches deep that's my go to. You need to be able to weigh the cucumbers down so they don't float, I use a saucer.
• 2. Add the garlic and peppercorns to the container. NOTE - it's not traditional, but some like to add a teaspoon of picking spices, or a sprig of fresh dill.
• 3. Mix the water and salt and stir until dissolved.
• 4. Pour over the cucumbers. If they are not covered make more salt water with the same proportion of salt to water.
• 5. Weigh down the cucumbers so they are not floating. If exposed to air they will rot.
• 6. Partially cover and let sit on the counter for 3 days. You'll see little bubbles starting to form. This means they are fermented and ready. Chill and enjoy!