Can I use regular cucumbers for this recipe?

You can, but since they are a softer consistency than Kirby cucumbers, you will get much softer pickles, and because they have thinner skins and can absorb more of the brine, they tend to be spicier (you can cut down on the pepper and mustard seeds to help with that. I If you can't find Kirby cucumbers, I would slice regular cucumbers into thick rounds (like the kind you put on burgers)...those tend to be softer anyway. And you can also slice the Kirby cukes into rounds if you prefer those to cucumber spears.

Where can I find mustard seeds?

They are in the spice aisle of your friendly neighborhood grocery store!

Why is there sugar in this recipe?

Excellent question, since we are going for a tart, dill flavor...however without a little sugar to tone down the vinegar, the pickles will be a little TOO tart.

Have a question I didn't cover?

Pop your question in the comments section below and I promise to answer pronto!

Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles

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Turn cucumbers into easy homemade dill pickles in 48 hours…with no canning! This fun recipe for easy refrigerator pickles happens all in the fridge. Let’s get to pickling!

Author: Kate Morgan Jackson
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Marinating Time: 48 hours
Total Time: 48 hours 20 minutes
Yield: 10
Category: Side Dish
Method: Refrigerator
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Scale

2 pounds of kirby cucumbers (about 10 cucumbers), washed and halved or quartered
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1/8 cup sugar
4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons mustard seeds (you can find these in the spice aisle)
2 cups hot water
1 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, depending on how spicy you like things!
5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

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Instructions

Stir together vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, and hot water until sugar and salt are dissolved, and let cool.
Put the cucumbers, dill, red pepper and garlic into a large deep bowl and stir until the dill is evenly distributed.
Pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumbers. If they aren’t submerged, add a little more water until they are. Put a plate on top of the cukes to keep them down in the liquid, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Marinate for about 48 hours. These pickles will keep several weeks in the fridge, and they will get spicier over time. Once I go past the 48 hour mark, I keep them in a covered glass cookie jar in the brine – takes up less fridge space that way!

Notes

- Cucumbers: Kirby cucumbers are the very best choice for making these refrigerator pickles because of their perfect short size and their thick skin – they hold up the best. Sometimes they will be called pickling cucumbers.

- Mustard Seeds: You can find these little seeds in with the spices in your supermarket. They are part of what adds the spice to your pickles.

- Fresh Dill: This bushy, tender herb is (you guessed it) essential to the flavor of dill pickles. Have some leftover? Make this dill-garnished beef stroganoff spaghetti and meatballs!

- Garlic: This is part of what adds the spice to your pickles, so you can use more or less depending on how spicy you like things.

- Red Pepper Flakes: You can find these in the spice aisle of your supermarket, and (you guessed it again) these little red flakes impact the spice level. So you can use more or less, or leave them out altogether.

Find it online: https://www.framedcooks.com/easy-homemade-dill-pickles/