Deli-Style Kosher Dill Pickles Recipe

Real deli-style kosher dill pickles — no vinegar, no canning, just old-fashioned fermentation. They get their tangy bite naturally, just like the pickles you find in the refrigerated section at the grocery store.

Ingredients

Per gallon jar:

• 8–10 medium pickling cucumbers
• 1 large handful fresh dill with flower heads (or 1/4 tsp dill seed if flower heads are unavailable)
• 4–6 large cloves garlic, flattened
• Water to fill
• 1/2 cup coarse kosher salt or pickling salt
• 4 tsp pickling spice (Blue Ribbon or similar)
• 1–2 large bay leaves

Instructions

1. Pack each gallon jar with cucumbers, sprinkling salt between each layer.
2. Add pickling spice, dill heads, and bay leaves.
3. Fill jar with water, leaving 2 inches of room at the top for brine to form.
4. Weigh cucumbers down to keep them fully submerged and cover the jar.
5. After 2–3 days, remove any scum that has formed on the surface.
6. Let ferment for 3 more days, then check for doneness by cutting a slice off one cucumber and tasting.
7. Once fermented to your liking, transfer to a glass jar and refrigerate.

Notes

For pungent sour pickles, ferment for 12–20 days before refrigerating.

Real deli-style kosher pickles have no vinegar — they get their bite entirely from fermentation. These must be kept refrigerated. The cold greatly slows the fermentation but won’t stop it completely — they will continue to age slowly in the fridge. There is only one thing to do to stop the aging. Eat them! Enjoy!

This can also be prepared in large non-reactive crocks and transferred to glass jars once fermented.