Half-sour pickles, my favorite recipe!

I've always loved a good half-sour pickle from a New York (or NY Style) Deli. The absolute tops outside of NY are from Rein's Deli in Vernon, CT (exit 65 off of 84). Since I haven't been there in over 5 years I decided to make my own using cucumbers grown from our garden or my dad's garden.

Half Sour Pickles
In order to make these delicious pickles, all you need to do is to throw them in the fridge for 4 or 5 days. The hardest part is waiting for them, but the longer you wait, the better they will be!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Total Jar Space Needed: 64 oz (1/2 gallon)

Ingredients

• 4 or 5 Kirby (also known as "pickling") cucumbers - or whatever you can fit in your jar(s)!
• 1/4 cup sea or kosher salt (if you're using kosher salt make sure it doesn't have an anti-caking agent)
• 6 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
• a few pieces of dill (fresh is best, but so is freeze-dried)
• 2 or 3 bay leaves
• 6 cloves (or 3 teaspoons if from a bottle) garlic minced
• additional whole coriander seeds and peppercorns to add on top


Instructions

1. Wash your cucumbers well
2. Dissolve salt in the water and make sure it is fully dissolved
3. Grind up all the dry ingredients (peppercorns, mustard seeds, coriander seeds and bay leaves). There are a few ways to do this. The easiest way I've found is to put them in a freezer bag and smash them with a hammer. You can also use a rolling pin or a mortar and pestle.
4. Put your cucumbers in the jar. If you're using multiple jars, then divide everything as equally as you can.
5. Add the minced garlic over the cucumbers and the ground up spices.
6. Pour the salt water on top. If there is any water left over, you can toss it.
7. Put some pieces of dill on top.
8. Add in some additional coriander seeds, peppercorns and a bay leaf.
9. Make sure all of the cucumbers are completely covered in water and close the jar.
10. Shake the jar back and forth genthly so that everything moves around.
11. Put the jar in the refrigerator. You should let them sit for at least 4 days before eating. If you're anything like me this is the hardest thing to do!
12. Enjoy!

A few things to note

• Please make sure you are using a half-gallon jar as that is what all of the measurements for this recipe are. If you want to make more, just remember to increase everything accordingly.
• If your pickles aren't crunchy enough, the next time you make them, you can add 1/4 teaspoon Ball Pickle Crisp Granules at the end.

Wash the cucumbers

Dissolve the salt into water

Ground up spices

Put cucumbers in the jar

Add spices on top of the pickles

Put the salt water in the jar and cover the cucumbers entirely.

Add coriander, peppercorns and dill on top

Make sure the cucumbers are fully immersed in the water

Put the jars in the fridge and wait 4-5 days.

Enjoy!