Bread & Butter Pickles

Like zucchini, there are always a few cucumbers that elude me and grow a little bigger than I’d like. For my slightly-too-large cucumbers, I just slice them up, soak them in salt water overnight with onion, and then turn them into my favorite bread and butter pickles.

I’ve been refining my recipe for bread and butter pickles for more than ten years now, and have a trick up my sleeve for making sure each jar is perfect. All you have to do is place the cloves, allspice berries, and hot pepper flakes in each jar by hand rather than into the big pot when making the syrup. This ensures you have a consistent flavor, and that each jar contains a few spices to help develop its flavor over time. The longer the pickles sit, the better they become.

Don’t get me wrong, I often crack open a fresh, day old jar and eat from it right away, but the flavor that comes from those few extra months of marinating is well worth the wait. Enjoy!

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Bread & Butter Pickles

Yield: 8-10 pints

Author: A Wooden Nest

This is one of my favorite recipes to use for garden pickles that are slightly too big to use for whole dill pickles.

Ingredients

• 5 pounds fresh cucumbers, rinsed and sliced (1/4-inch) with ends removed
• 1/2 cup pickling salt
• 2 large onions, halved and sliced
• 2 1/2 cups white distilled vinegar (5% acidity)
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)
• 4 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup mustard seeds
• 2-3 whole cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tsp each: cloves, allspice berries, red pepper flakes (plus more for each individual jar)

Instructions

1. Place the prepared sliced cucumbers and onions in a large bowl and add the salt. Add water until it just covers the cucumbers. Gently stir once or twice and place in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Remove from refrigerator, drain the salt water, and rinse the cucumbers and onions under cold water in a colander.
3. Prepare a boiling water bath canner, and sterilize your jars and lids.
4. In each jar, place 2 cloves, 2-3 allspice berries and a small pinch of red pepper flakes.
5. In a large stock pot, add your distilled vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, whole cinnamon sticks, turmeric and whole spices. Bring it up to a boil, stirring occasionally, and then add your rinsed cucumbers and onions. Bring back up to a boil, and then turn off the heat immediately.
6. Remove your cinnamon sticks and discard.
7. Using a slotted spoon, pack each jar with your cucumbers and onions up to 1 inch away from the rim. Spoon over the syrup leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
8. Dip the corner of a clean towel in the hot, boiling water from your water bath canner. Use it to wipe the rims of your jars clean. Place the lid on and secure the band until it's finger tight.
9. Place your jars in the boiling water bath canner, making sure the water level is at least an inch above your jars. Process for ten minutes, remove onto a towel-lined counter and let cool to room temperature.
10. Remove bands from each jar, check seals (refrigerate any jars with failed seals), and store in a cool, dark place for up to a year.

Notes

The flavor of the spices in the syrup develops over time and make the pickles taste extra delicious. That's why I make sure to put a couple whole spices (especially the clove and allspice) in each jar by hand rather than directly in the pot while cooking. Also, the red pepper flakes are completely optional, but I like the extra kick.

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Pickled Eggs with Beets

We are up to our ears in eggs this time of year, which is a good problem to have if you ask me. We love eggs! But it does get a little boring eating them scrambled day in and day out, so I’ve been coming up with fun ways to prepare them, and this recipe for pickled eggs with beets is one of my favorites for this time of year.

Not only does it make the eggs taste delicious, but you get pickled beets in your jar as well, which not only helps to infuse a deep pink color into the eggs, but make for a fun flavor accompaniment as well. I personally like adding both ingredients to my salads, or eating them together on a plate as a midday snack.

For this recipe, you can use either one half-gallon mason jar or two quart-sized jars as I have done here. And although the recipe calls for 18 eggs, I always like to hard-boil a few extra just in case any of my shells break.

Believe it or not, these pickled eggs will keep in your fridge for up to a month, but they never last that long around here. I hope you like them as much as we do. Enjoy!

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Pickled Eggs with Beets

Yield: 18

Author: A Wooden Nest

Pickled pink eggs that are beautiful for spring.

Ingredients

• 18 hard-boiled eggs
• 4-6 beets
• 2 cups of the beet cooking water
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 pinch of salt, or to taste

Instructions

1. Trim the tops and roots off your beets, and boil in water for 20-30 minutes, or until fork tender. Remove and let cool.
2. Reserve two cups of the water you used to boil your beets. If the water is brown, add a splash of vinegar or lemon juice to bring it back to a deep beet color.
3. Peel beets once cool. Leave whole or slice into quarters.
4. Using either 1 half-gallons mason jar or 2 quart-sized mason jars, gently jar up your eggs and beets, taking care not to squish the eggs.
5. Pour 2 cups of the reserved beet cooking water in a medium pot with 2 cups apple cider vinegar, 1 cup sugar and a pinch of salt. Place over a burner over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat.
6. Ladle the liquid in jars over the eggs and beets.
7. Place a lid on each jar and store in the refrigerator for up to one month.

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Pickled Dilly Beans

These are my favorite pickles, hands down. It’s been that way since I first started gardening back in 2009. The brine is peppery and savory with just the right amount of sweetness, and the beans, if harvested at the right time and pickled fresh, are perfectly crunchy. We often eat a single jar in one sitting.

I like to eat them straight up as a side dish with burgers or steak, or on a salad (I’ve heard they’re particularly good in Nicoise salad). Sometimes I’ll chop them up and add them to tuna or egg salad, or add them to a charcuterie board. They’re also fantastic in a Bloody Mary. Enjoy!

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Dilly Beans

Author: A Wooden Nest

Ingredients

You

• 8-10 sterilized wide-mouth pint or pint-and-a-half, lids, and bands.
• 5 pounds green beans, washed and trimmed to 4 inches long
• 1 small white or red onion, sliced
• Two heads of garlic, cloves peeled and separated
• Whole peppercorns
• Whole mustard seeds
• Dill, dried or fresh
• Pepper flakes or whole dried chiles

Brine

• 5 cups water
• 5 cups distilled white vinegar (5% acidity)
• 5 tablespoons non-iodized salt
• 5 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

1. Sterilize your jars and lids, and prepare your ingredients.
2. Divide your onion slices and your garlic cloves evenly between your jars, and place at the bottom. To each jar, add 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns, 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds, and 1/4 teaspoon dried pepperflakes (or 1-2 whole dried chiles). If you're using dried dill, add about 1/2 teaspoon per jar. If your dill is fresh, add 1-2 heads per jar, depending on your preference.
3. Pack your jars with your beans, fitting them in as tight as you can over the spices, onion, and garlic.
4. Make the brine by combining the water, vinegar, salt and sugar in a large stock pot. Heat over medium-high to high, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil. Ladle brine over beans, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Run a thin, non-metallic utensil (like a chopstick) down the inside of the jars to remove air bubbles, and wipe the rims clear with a damp cloth or paper towel. Cover with lids, and secure with bands.
5. Process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes, making sure the water level is over the jars. Remove jars from water and set on a towel-lined tablecloth. Let cool until room temperature. Remove bands, check seals, and store in a cool, dark place for 1-2 months before eating for best results.

Notes

Tips:

• If any of your seals didn't take, you can store those jars in the refrigerator and snack on them periodically to test the progress of the flavor. The'll stay good so long as you've got them refrigerated.
• Using straight beans will help you pack in those beans nice and tight. You can also tilt your jar to the side.
• Make sure your beans are freshly picked. The fresher they are, the tastier and crunchier your dilly beans will be.
• If your beans are long, use wide mouth pint-and-a-half jars rather than pint jars.

Adapted from McCormick

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