Chronicles from My Kitchen - Chez Rebecca Anne - 07/29/20
Beckles. A true sign of summer. What are Beckles you ask? They are my homemade pickles that my friends and family have affectionately renamed. I like pretty traditional pickles - bread & butter pickle chips and garlic & dill spears. As cucumbers come into their bounty, I buy extra large containers of white and apple cider vinegar, am sure there is kosher salt on hand, and double check my stock of powdered mustard, celery seeds or celery salt, and tumeric. I originally bought my mandolin for pickle making, but believe it or not had never used the crinkle cut blade...UNTIL NOW!
Bread and Butter Beckles
Cut the cucumbers in ¼” slices (or larger if that is your preference). Place in a colander and heavily salt with kosher salt. Leave to drain for at least 30 minutes. This is part of what makes the pickles crispy. Rinse the salt off the cucumbers before adding the pickling juice.
The pickling juice is a 2 to 1 ratio of water to apple cider vinegar, so 1 cup of water + ½ cup of vinegar. For every cup of water, I add ⅛ - ¼ cup of sugar, 1 tsp celery seeds/salt, 1 tsp ground mustard and ½ tsp turmeric. I like to fully submerge the cucumbers in the brine, so you’ll want to determine how much brine to make based on how many cucumbers you have cut up.
Heat the pickling juice ingredients. True confession, I usually use the microwave to heat the brine, so I don’t have to turn on the stove top. Stir the heated juice to help the sugar start to dissolve. Add the cucumbers to the brine and let cool. Once cool, allow the pickling to happen overnight in the fridge. THEN enjoy!
Garlic Dill Beckles
Cut the cucumber(s) into spear shapes. Then, similarly to the bread and butter pickles, place in a colander and heavily salt. Allow the cucumbers to sweat out some of their water for at ;east 1 hour (a little longer here to help get the SNAP a spear-shaped pickle can give). Rinse.
The pickling juice is similar in ratios - 1 cup water to ½ cup white vinegar + the celery seeds / salt and ⅛ c sugar. For each equivalent of 1 jar, smash 2 - 3 cloves of garlic and have 3 - 4 stems of fresh dill. (I wish I could say pickles made with dried dill are just as good. But, there’s nothing like fresh dill and garlic for these….) Heat the brine - then add the garlic, dill, and cucumbers. Allow to cool - and pickle overnight in the fridge.
There you have it! Beckles made easy - and a smile for anyone that loves a good pickle. May your sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs or other meal benefit from a bit of homemade love.
Looking for a few specific recipes?
Buen provecho.