Sweet.  Crisp.  Bread & Butter Pickles.  We’re hooked.  Fortunately these pickles are super easy to make and just a day away from pickle perfection.

October may seem like an odd time of year to put out a pickle recipe.  After all, our local farmers market has closed for the season.  The thing is, we’ve enjoyed these pickles all summer long and I’m just now coming around to post them.

So while in-season pickling cukes might be best for making pickles, I have learned that salad cucumbers work just fine.  Their skins are a bit thicker, but that has been no challenge for this pickling liquid.  I assure you, these Bread & Butter Pickles are perfectly sweet and punchy.

I used our trusty mandolin fitted with a ridge blade to slice the cucumbers.  Slicing them with a knife, either in rounds like this or into spears, works well also.  Once sliced, the cucumbers are salted and allowed to sit refrigerated for an hour, before being rinsed to remove the salt.

The pickling liquid is a combination of sugars and vinegars with mustard and celery seed, along with a bit of turmeric.  It is the perfect balance of sweet with a sour bite finish.

This picture is eye candy.  A jar of pickle love.

Earlier this summer, while visiting my local farmers market, I bought cucumbers.  I don’t eat cucumbers, in their raw form.  I like them, they don’t like me.  But I am a sucker for old-timey farmers and can’t walk by without speaking (and most often purchasing) from each and every one of them.  I happily bought the last 2 pounds of his pickling cukes and promptly began recipe research for pickles…a mutual love.  I found this recipe from Recipe Girl and have never looked back.

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Bread & Butter Pickles

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs. thinly sliced pickling cucumbers
• 1 1/2 Tbl. kosher salt
• 1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp. celery seeds
• 1/8 tsp. turmeric

Instructions

• Place cucumbers in a large bowl and toss with salt; cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Transfer to a colander and rinse under cold water to remove the salt. Drain well and return to bowl; add sliced onion.
• In a medium saucepan combine sugars, vinegars and remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour hot pickling liquid over cucumbers and onions. Allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Transfer pickles to covered jars and refrigerate for 24 hours. Store refrigerated for up to two weeks.

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To Make a Basic Brine ~ Use a 1/2 cup of kosher salt for every quart of water (if you’re using table salt, reduce by half).  You want only enough brine to cover the meat, so choose a plastic or glass container just large enough to hold your meat which reduces the amount of brine required.  Bring the water, salt, and any additional flavor infusion (see below) to a boil, then cool completely before pouring over meat.

Flavor Infusion ~ Independent of the brining process, this is a great time to add flavor.  You can add herbs, spices, aromatics, sugars, syrups, booze, Dijon, or whatever you like to inject flavor.  However, use caution when adding citrus or vinegars as they can ‘cook’ your seafood and turn your meat to mush if left in the brine too long.  And when adding natural sweeteners like maple syrup or fruit juices, use sparingly as the sugars will tend to blacken on the grill.

How Long to Brine ~ Time is the other important variable.  We usually do chops or chicken breasts for ½ a day, fish for an hour or two and shrimp for 20 minutes or so.  Obviously, whole turkeys and chickens require longer and want a resting period after brining before cooking (6-8 hours); this allows the moisture in the skin time to be absorbed so it will get nice and crispy during cooking.  When finished brining, rinse meat under water to remove excess salt.  Discard brine (do not reuse).

FAQ ~ Q. Does brining increase the sodium level in foods?   A. Yes, so when seasoning your meat post-brining do not add additional salt.  However, for the more precise answer click here and decide for yourself.

Our Go-to Brine ~ 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 10 – 12 peppercorns, 2 fresh thyme sprigs, and 1 quart water.

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