Ah, summer produce. It’s here in all its glory and abundance. In past summers, I’ve had great success with cucumbers, often having many more at one time than we could eat. This summer is our first one with a garden at our new house, so it’s been a learning experience on what will grow, where the best sun is in our yard, etc. I’ve still gotten quite a few cucumbers from just a couple of plants but they’ve been very small. I don’t think they’re getting quite enough sun but they’re still tasty.
One of my favorite things to do with “too many” cucumbers to make refrigerator dill pickles. They keep in the fridge for a few months (but are generally best within the first few weeks) and are a great snack. I’ve experimented with a few different recipes and have finally put together the one that I think delivers the most crunch and flavor while being QUICK and EASY!
My garden had many goodies ready for harvest in addition to cucumber which meant I was able to add more fresh, homegrown ingredients to these pickles. The dill and the serrano pepper came straight from the garden. And see what I mean about these little cukes? I had so many but they all looked like runts! 😉
I rinsed all the produce, peeled the cucumbers and garlic, and sliced the serrano pepper.
I then sliced the cucumbers. This means they’ll be ready sooner but also that they won’t retain their crunch for as a long as the bigger spears would. I also crushed the garlic cloves to release their flavor.
I added all those goodies to a 1-quart mason jar and then filled it with the vingear/water/salt/sugar mixture. 
I sealed it up, gave it a little shake and put it in the fridge for 2-3 days. On the third day I had delicious and tangy dill pickles with a little bit of heat from the serrano pepper. YUM.
- 2-3 cups sliced cucumbers (or enough spears to fit into a 1-quart mason jar, approx. 8-10)
- 1 small bunch of fresh dill
- 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 2 3/4 cups of water
- 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1Tbsp salt
- Place first four ingredients in a clean, 1-quart glass mason gar (or other glass container)
- Dissolve the sugar and salt in the vinegar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat
- Let liquid cool and then pour into mason jar
- Seal the jar with the lid and place in the refrigerator for 2-3 day or until desired crunch and flavor level is achieved
- Pickles will keep for a few months in the refrigerator but are best consumed within a couple of weeks