A delicious old-fashioned garlicky Spicy Garlic Dill Pickles treat that you’ll LOVE!
Have you ever canned or preserved your own homemade spiced pickles? It’s fun and delicious. And, then you’ll have lovely jars of homemade spicy dill pickles to give to your family, to take to holiday parties, or to eat as a side next to your favorite sandwich, like an Avocado Tuna Salad Sandwich or a Pesto Grilled Cheese!
My neighbor and friend, Mary, makes a big old batch of dill pickles every year with enough to give away lots of jars as Christmas gifts to friends and family.
Mary, with the help of her friend Cindy, made the pickles this year, and taught me the process.
And, I get to share it with you.
Don’t forget to pin this recipe for homemade dill pickles.
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Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.
I had lots of fun learning each of the steps.
Now, I won’t get to enjoy the pickles until Thanksgiving time because they are supposed to sit for at least 6 weeks before opening the jars.
I’ll be taking my spicy pickles to Thanksgiving to share with my family.
The recipe below makes at least 50 quarts of dill pickles.
Like I said, enough to share with everyone!
Feel free to cut the recipe down if you prefer not to make that many pickles. Just use the servings slider on the recipe card to have the calculations done for you.
But, if you feel like giving it a try, invite a few friends over and make a party of it!
You’ll have fun, I promise! I know I did!
Cleaned cucumbers
The recipe calls for cleaned cucumbers.
To clean them, they have a very unusual process, and one that they swear by!
Run the whole cucumbers through a laundry washing machine, the top loading kind, on a gentle cycle.
Rinse, agitate, spin, then let the cukes soak in cold water overnight.
Spicy Pickle Recipe
Some of the ingredients in the recipe below are not exact.
It’s up to the maker how many garlic cloves, jalapeño strips, and/or chilies to put in each jar.
You decide how hot you want the pickles, and how many different colors you want in each jar.
So, the amount you’ll need varies.
For the chiles, this year they had three different kinds, ring of fire chilies, Christmas chilies, and ghost chilies (those super hot hot ones).
Use a small red chili that you like the flavor of, and that fits in the jar, it makes it pretty too to have the different colors in the jar.
All of the ingredients in the jar are edible, from the pickles, to the garlic cloves, the chilies, to the grape leaves.
I think it’ll be fun to try the garlic spread on a cracker and see how it is.
Grape leaves
Speaking of “grape leaves”, they say the grape leaf is for “pickle clarity”, which I take to mean that it keeps the pickles from getting mushy and keeps the liquid from getting cloudy.
Grape leaves may be found in your own garden, from a neighbor (just be sure to ask before picking someone else’s garden items), at well stocked produce stores, or at international stores.
If you can’t find grape leaves, don’t fret, just leave them out.
How to make spicy garlic pickles
Be sure to check the photos for more details on how to make these classic pickles
Place the cleaned cukes in the clean {affiliate link} jars
Aren’t they pretty all topped with grape leaves!
Pouring the hot liquid into the jars. Be sure to use one of these {affiliate link} wide mouth canning funnels for easy pouring.
Lowering them down into the pot
Special equipment you may want
Note: these are affiliate links
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Mary’s Spicy Garlic Dill Pickles Recipe
Spicy Garlic Dill Pickles
Ingredients
Brine:
- 4 cups white vinegar
- 1 cup coarse sea salt
- 12 cups water
Pickles:
- Dill flowers cleaned and snipped
- 60 pounds cleaned cucumbers
- grape leaves cleaned
- Alum
- Jalapenos cut into long strips, about ½ inch thick
- garlic cloves
- dried red chilies
Instructions
- Place the brine ingredients, white vinegar, salt, and water, in a large pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer.
- Have a large pot of water on the stove, at a boil, ready to can the pickles.
- In each quart jar, layer, 1 grape leaf (vein side up), 1/8 teaspoon alum, a head of dill flowers, 1-2 jalapeno strips, 1-2 garlic cloves, 1-2 red chilies, and stuff the cucumbers in tight. Pack the jar full, as the cucumbers will shrink in the hot brine. Pack in 1-2 more garlic cloves, and top with another grape leaf (vein side up). Pour hot brine in over the top using a wide mouth funnel, and filling the jar full.
- Place the lids and the rings on the jars. Place the jars in a water bath, bring the water back up to a boil, and boil them for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the jars from the boiling water bath, and set aside to cool. You should hear the lids pop as they cool.
- Wait 6 weeks or longer for the pickles to be ready. The longer they sit, the batter they taste, and the hotter they are.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Cindy Dillion
All the hard work is worth it and our friends and family really seem to love them. It also is a great time for us to catch up and reconnect.
Debi
Cindy, thanks for letting me be part of the fun this time, and thanks for letting me take pictures! I had loads of fun & can’t wait to taste my creation! 🙂
Maeva @ Cook A Life! by Maeva
I’ve made my own pickle jars last Summer, with self picked-up pickles, it was so good and better in taste. So, how were yours finally ? 🙂
Debi
Maeva, they were delicious! A nice spicy kick in the end. I loved them, and so did the whole family!
Debra C.
Dill pickles are my favorite snack! I eat a jar every week, I bet homemade pickles will be so much better! I’ll have to give your recipe a try, YUM!
Billy
These look great! I love spicy pickles – i’ve been looking for a great recipe to try and I think this one fits the bill. Thank you so much for sharing! Can’t wait to try these at home.
Eric@Prolong the Harvest
I LOVE spicy pickles. These sound delicious. My cukes have have just started out in the garden. Will have to save this recipe for another month or so.
Carol
I e never heard of adding a grape leaf to it, what does it add for flavour?
Debi
Carol, They say the grape leaf is for “pickle clarity”, which I take to mean that it keeps the pickles from getting mushy, and keeps the liquid from getting cloudy.
Carol
Deb, thank you for your response, I retread the post and it does state that. I can hardly wait to try these. Yum!!
michele
I’ve canned tomatoes and made lots of jams but had never tried doing pickles! I did cut the recipe down a bit but am super excited how easy these were to do. Looking forward to seeing all of my neighbors reactions when I deliver them at our neighborhood bbq next week!
Lorna Wiens
Can I cut the cucs in quarters!
Debi
Lorna, yes, you can cut the cukes in quarters. It works fine. they just had a preference for whole, and you couldn’t pack them as tight when they are quarters. Worth a try!
Caren j Barnes
hi just red your recipe and want to try. Where did you get the grape leaves? Are these out of the pasture on the fence?
Debi
Caren, yes, you can use grape leaves off of your vines (just make sure they aren’t sprayed pesticides). Some grocery stores may sell them – international stores, as grapes leaves are used in many cuisines. If your grocery store has lots of people who can their food, they may carry them as well. But yes, these came off of the grape vine from someone’s yard. If you have a friend with a vine they would probably be happy to share with you.
Sarah
Where do you find dill flowers?
Debi
Sarah, a farmer’s market may have them. If you grow dill you can cut them off the plant. My grocery store sells them – there are a lot of people who can where I live, so the store stocks them. If you can’t find the flowers, just go with some fresh dill.
Sherri
Where do I find grape leaves?
Debi
Sherri, many grocery stores will carry them, especially if a lot of people can things in the area (like rural areas). If you have any ethnic grocery stores around you, especially Middle Eastern stores, they may carry grape leaves. If you grow grape leaves, or if you have a neighbor who grows them that will work too. If you have wineries around you, I bet they would be happy to share or sell you some as well.