These were so good. I love pickles, and I LOVED these pickles. Remember, they don't look it, but these are HOT!
You will need: (this is one batch)
80-5 inch cucumbers(cut in half)
Tea spoon in every quart jar of birds eye pepper powder
3 sprigs of fresh dill in every jar
14 quart mason jars with small lid
5 whole garlic cloves
1 teaspoon pickling spice per jar
1/2 cup of onion per jar
2 teaspoons of mustard seed per jar
1 teaspoon of dill seed per jar
2 quarts of white vinegar
4 quarts of bottled water
1 cup of canning salt
1 cup of sugar
A 22 quart pressure cooker(canner)
Large pot 8 quart
Canning utensils
Two small pots for boiling utensils, lids, funnel
2 teaspoons of alum
First day you prep your cucumbers by washing
And putting them in a canning salt bath(1/2 cup in water)
Put in frig over night
Second day drain off water.
Cut in half if you want easier to pack tight
Make sure cucumbers are at room temp before packing
Sanitize jars by putting in canner for 15 minutes boiling temp no pressure
Sanitize lids in small pot with every utensil you need
In a large pot put 4 quart water 2 quart vinegar, 6 sprigs of fresh dill, table spoon of pickling spice, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of canning salt. Bring to a boil for 15 minutes.
While the brew is cooking cut up cucumbers with gloves on.
Bring canner back up to temp high heat
In hot jars put onion, dill seed, fresh dill, mustard seed, pickling spice, 5 garlic cloves per jar, 1 teaspoon of birds eye pepper powder per jar
Pack cucumbers in as tight as you can but leave 3/4 inch from top
Pour pickling brew over cucumbers in jar just covering them( use funnel)
Quickly with magnet stick take lids out of water and put on jars one at a time. Tighten lids. You will only be able to do as many quarts as your canner will allow. My canner holds 8. I will only work on 8 at a time.
Turn up to high on canner(3 inches of water in canner)
To start before jars.
Put on top and seal top with jigger on
Stay with and do not leave because too much pressure will blow jars
Check altitude. Your canner will have a ppsi for your altitude needed
My altitude ppsi is 12 for 20 minutes
You will have to adjust heat levels to medium to get the correct ppsi needed
After 20 minutes turn off heat letting pressure go down slowly
At 5 ppsi(pound per square inch) take off jigger
Be careful steam under pressure
Let all the pressure out, take off canner lid(steam)
Take out jars and set on a cooling rack if you have one.
Repeat process
Let jars set for 2 months
Eat enjoy!
recipe shared from: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/42394-birds-eye-fresh-dill-pickles/
