Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the quick brine:
- 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 teaspoons honey (or white sugar)
- 1.5 teaspoons fine sea salt or kosher salt
- 2–3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh dill, or 1–2 teaspoons dried dill
- 1 heaping teaspoon pickling spices* (optional, and recommended)
For the quick pickles:
(You can pickle any veggies you want this way. Thinly slice them and add them to the jar until full, giving them a good pat down to pack them in.) We like:
- 1 medium cucumber, or 3-4 kirby cucumbers (aka pickling cucumbers), sliced how you want them (we like them thinly sliced on a mandoline, but 1/2 inch slices or spears work, too)
- 1/2 small red onion, sliced how you want them (we like them thinly sliced on a mandoline, but 1/2 inch slices or spears work, too)
Instructions
- Make the brine by simmering the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt to small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Cook until it begins to simmer and salt and sugar dissolve, about 4-5 minutes.
- While the brine heats, add the pickling spices to a pint-size mason jar (or equivalent). Alternate a tablespoon of fresh dill with a handful of onions and cucumbers a few times until the jar is full (alternating simply helps everything distribute and ensures you can reach both onions and cucs at the same time.
- Remove the brine from the heat and let it cool 1-2 minutes. Pour over veggies into the jar until filled to the top (add a little water if needed, but this amount of brine should cover all veggies. Leave a 1/2 inch gap at the top so it doesn’t spill over.
- Gently tighten the lid and give it a shake. Let cool on the counter 20-30 minutes then set in the refrigerator to continue cooling. Enjoy right away or store in the fridge. Add them to a salad, sandwich or burger, or, add them to a charcuterie plate.
Your quick pickles will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks in an air-tight glass container. I think they are the best after one day, but can be enjoyed as soon as 30 minutes after making.