Who doesn’t love a refrigerator pickle?
I call them Lazy Pickles… a little slicing, a little boiling, shove them in a jar and pop it into the fridge… EASY! Don’t get me wrong, I love dill pickles, sweet pickles, bread & butter pickles, but, I don’t like the mess. And since my batches of cucumbers come in small numbers, I can make several batches of refrigerator pickles that are slowly fermenting at different stages all summer and fall long.
After searching for my Grandma Fountain’s original recipe for days and days (okay, most of the summer), I decided to do a little research and come up with my own recipe. Since I don’t can the pickles making them shelf-stable, I am able to basically put anything I want into them as there is no danger of spoilage on the shelf.
This is my version that combines about 6 different recipes found on the internet. I choose to add more sweet onions because they are sooooo good pickled. I hate raw onions with a passion but could eat an entire jar of these.
Lazy Pickles
- 6 cups cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 2 cups sweet yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup white wine or rice vinegar
- 2 cups sugar
- 10 small garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1/2 tablespoon celery seed
- 1/2 tablespoon mustard seed
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Slice pickles and onions into a large mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, bring remaining ingredients to a boil. Remove from heat and stir, making sure the sugar is dissolved. Pour over cucumbers and onions and mix until coated with vinegar mixture. Using tongs, pack two quart jars with cucumbers and fill each jar with remaining liquid.
Pickles can be eaten right away but for better flavor let them marinate for at least 5-7 days. Don’t worry if the pickles taste bitter at first, the bitterness will dissipate over several days.
INGREDIENT NOTE: The most important part of this recipe is the vinegar, sugar and salt. These pickles are pretty tasty with only those 3 ingredients added for the pickling solution. All of the other spices/herbs/seeds/garlic are optional. Have fun and experiment away!
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