Half Sour Garlic Pickles
If you’ve ever been to a Jewish Delicatessen worth it’s Reuben, you’ve had the good fortune to taste a crunchy Half Sour Garlic Pickle. Living in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are sadly lacking authentic Jewish Delicatessens. No offense to Saul’s Delicatessen in Berkeley, I love their local fresh ingredients and innovative interpretations of traditional fare. I grew up on the East Coast with plentiful traditional Jewish Deli’s that served fresh half sour pickles at every table. Recently, Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen has appeared on the Jewish Delicatessen scene adding to our options. I had dreams of these crunchy, fresh garlic pickles and decided to do some research and made these pickles of lore at home. It’s super easy to make these pickles in just four to seven days.
- 1/2 Cup Kosher or Sea Salt
- 1 Gallon Fresh Clean Tasting Cold Water (bottled if necessary)
- 4 Lbs. of Fresh Small Pickling Cucumbers (4-6″ long)
- 1 Tablespoon Black or White Peppercorns
- 1 Large Bunch of Fresh Dill
- 3 Crushed Whole Garlic Cloves with Wrapping
- 1 Teaspoon of Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- Wash the cucumbers thoroughly and place in a container large enough to accommodate all your pickles and your brine. Wash the dill and place in the container with the cucumbers.
- Dissolve the salt in the gallon of water and add the peppercorns, garlic, mustard seeds and red pepper flakes. Pour this mixture over the cucumbers and fresh dill. Insure that the cucumbers are fully submerged by covering with a heavy plate or fill a Ziploc Bag with water and seal to weigh down the cucumbers.
- Place container in a cool dry place for up to seven days. I suggest that you begin tasting a pickle a day after day four until they meet your own personal taste. Pickles should remain bright green and crunchy. Keep in the refrigerator. We found that these pickles were best consumed within 10-14 days.