Bread & Butter Refrigerator Pickles
Author: 
Recipe type: Condiment
Serves: 4 - 5 pints
 
Adapted from the Bread and Butter Pickles recipe in the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving
Ingredients
  • 4 to 5 pint-sized (wide mouth) mason jars with lids and rings — prepared per the instructions below
  • 4-1/2 to 5 pounds pickling cucumbers
  • 1 Vidalia or other type of sweet onion (should yield about 3 cups of thin slices)
  • ½ cup Kosher salt
  • 2 to 3 quarts ice cubes
  • 4 cups white vinegar
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
  • 2 teaspoons celery seeds
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
Method
  1. Wash pickling cucumbers very well and trim off blossom ends
  2. Slice cucumbers into ¼ inch slices. You should wind up with about 12 or 13 cups
  3. Place cucumber slices in a large bowl
  4. Slice onion into thin rounds and mix into cucumber slices
  5. Mix salt into cucumber-onion mixture and cover evenly with ice
  6. Cover bowl loosely and leave out on counter for 2 hours
  7. Drain cucumbers and rinse very well. Allow to drain well while you make the brine
  8. Bring remaining ingredients to a rolling boil in a large saucepan and allow to simmer, covered, for about 5 minutes
  9. Add cucumber-onion mixture to hot brine and bring up to barely a simmer — not a full boil!
  10. Pack hot cucumbers into jars using a slotted spoon — leaving some headspace
  11. Fill jar with brine, leaving about ¼ inch headspace
  12. Remove large air bubbles and gaps with a bubble remover or skewer. It’s not absolutely necessary, but it helps make sure all the pickle chips are surrounded by brine
  13. Add a little more brine, if needed
  14. Wipe top of jar and threads with clean cloth and seal with lid and band
  15. Allow to cool to room temperature, label and refrigerate
Notes
To prepare jars:
Run the jars and rings through a complete dishwasher cycle or wash them in hot, sudsy water and then rinse them very well in hot water. Lids should be washed by hand and then dried carefully.

Other notes:
1). Use non-reactive kitchenware, like stainless steel, earthenware, glass or plastic
2). If you’re not using wide-mouth jars, use a funnel to fill them
3). This produces a very tart pickle; alter the recipe to your taste
4). Allow the pickles to cure for a day or so before you use them
5). If you followed the instructions, they should last, under refrigeration, for a few weeks
6). Never store refrigerator pickles anywhere but the refrigerator
Recipe by Akitachow.com: A food site and a big dog at https://www.akitachow.com/make-your-own-pickles/