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What the hell is that? you ask. That’s my pickle crock with 4 lbs of cucumbers slowly fermenting during the day while I’m out making a hard earned living! What a dear, she is!
This is my first time to make pickles using the crock or fermentation method, but by all accounts it’s probably the oldest method out there and so far it has been EASY EASY EASY! My one gallon crock holds about 4 lbs of cucumbers, which I lovingly and aggressively scrubbed in cold water and gently sliced off their ends.
Next I made my brine solution of 1/2 a gallon of bottled spring water, 1 cup of distilled white vinegar, and 1/3 cup of pickling salt. No cooking required, just mix until all the salt is completely dissolved. Then I placed half the cucumbers in the dry crock, added a big bunch of fresh dill, some garlic and a little crushed red pepper and then added half of my brine. I filled the rest of the crock with the remaining cucumbers and the rest of my brine, again adding garlic and pepper.
The pickles should float in the crock a little, if they don’t, they are packed too tightly and there should be about an inch of brine covering the cucumbers once they are weighted down. You need to weigh them down to keep them submerged in the brine. I used a saucer that I “borrowed” from the diner across the street and an empty pickle jar (naturally) filled with water as my weight. Just place the plate on top of the cucumbers and then place the jar on top of the plate.
You can see here the inch or so of brine on the top. Cover the whole thing with a towel and leave in a stable, warm place for 3 weeks. On the third or fourth day you will have a lovely scum developing on your water surface. This means the fermentation is in process! Every morning I take a spoon and gently scrape off the scum… I admit, it looks a little gross but it smells WONDERFUL and I get over it in a hurry. I am sooo excited about these pickles. When they are ready you can just grab one right out of the crock, rinse it off and eat it or you can refidgerate them for use within a few weeks. But I hope, if these turn out to be as good as they smell, to be able to give them as gifts. Which means I will can them in the traditional water-bath process method.
You can get 1, 3 and 5 gallon crocks at The Brooklyn Kitchen (the 1 gallon crock is only $19.95) or you can order them online at www.leeners.com.
>Is that a "My little pony" towel?
>I WISH!
It's just your basic kitchen towel from Pearl River (also comes in yellow!)
>Well I too am going to make crock pickles for the first time. I bought a 3 gallon crock off of that leeners site, what quick shipping they had! my mom used to make these when i was little and they were sooo good! im going to start them tomorrow and she is going to come over and help me for the first time..i have 73 pickles and i wonder how many i can fit in my 3 gallon crock..if you have any tips let me know!
>Hi Jocelyn,
I let my crock pickles ferment for 3 weeks and put them in jars this weekend. I'm not sure they came out very well…I'll blog about it soon and will try again with another batch!
>We just finished filling a couple of earthenware bowls with pickling cucumbers and a concoction of vinegar, spices, grape leaves, und so veiter, and covered them up with old plates. The whole kitchen smells of pickles (cool!) and the dog is fascinated. We grew the pickling cucumbers for the purpose (they grow fast!) and I'm curious to see if this works. I don't feel like spending the money on crocks. I wonder if they're worth it….?
>What size is the crock in your picture?
>Hi Sandy-
It is a 1 gallon crock. The also come in 3 and 5 gallon sizes.
>Your post is inspiring. I am making my first batch of crocked pickles… but I ordered 25 pounds of pickles.
Now I am scared.
>Go for it Bradley-you will be fine!
For really great crock advice there is an episode of Good Eats with Alton Brown that really shows you step by step directions. Google it and take his advice.
>Thanks! I've been looking for a good source for crocks for a while - everything I've seen has been more than $100. I mean, I love pickles and all… the Leeners crocks look awesome. Also, have you had issues with chlorine in water killing the bacteria? One more - what do you do about surface scum? skim or not?
>Hi Nick-
yes, the leener crocks are very affordable and you can get the size you need. My crock pickles didn't turn out very great and I know now what I did wrong. First of all, re: scum-I removed the scum everyday (it actually smells delicious and wasn't as gross a process as it sounds) and then i made the mistake of adding fresh water to crock to replenish it…that was A MISTAKE-and i think it was my only mistake-just made them mushy. Alton Brown of Good Eats has a great episode on crock pickles-check it out-very informative. and let me know who they turn out! picklefreakblog@gmail.com
>I just used your recipe for these pickles, but I didn't have a crock so I used a large glass container. I'm not sure if they will turn out or not but I'm hoping. It is my first time and I do plan on buying a 1 gallon crock in a few days and try this recipe again. Do you think it will work in the glass jar??
>Munchkin-I think your pickles will turn out ok in the glass container as long as they are in a cool-ish dark place. Let me know-I need to try my hand at crock pickles again soon-thanks for the reminder!
>Just stumbled across your post and had a few questions for you. Can you eat the pickles like, lets say after 1 week…kind of like a half sour? Also, do you know how long they will last in the fridge? And lastly, how did your brine mixture turn out? Any changes you would make to the recipe? I am hoping to tackle this today because I have SOOO many cucumber right now!
>How did your second batch of crocked pickles turnout?
>Wow, just found your blog! What a great resource. I've been making crock dill pickles since 1968 but lost my treasured recipe a couple of years ago. Yours sound about right except I use a hot brine. Every day skim the froth, reboil it and pour over the cucumbers. After 4 weeks I jar them with fresh dill, garlic and spices (the recipe for spices I have lost!!)and them process in a water bath. They stay nice and green and crunchy.
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