Lightly fermented homemade dill pickles are a perfect addition to many meals throughout the year. We love using them on sandwiches and in classic meals such as tuna salad, deviled eggs, and on grass-fed burgers. I love the gut-health benefits of fermented foods, and it’s such an easy addition to your plate. It’s a fun and easy project you can include your kids and grandkids in, too!
Fermentation kit: https://amzn.to/4lMoxWN
Salt for canning or fermenting: https://amzn.to/40G76Pf
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Recipe Printable
Lightly Fermented Homemade Dill Pickles
Equipment
- 24 oz or 32 oz mason jar
- 1 fermentation pebble
- 1 pickle pipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb pickling cucumbers, soaked in cold water for 1 hour 5 inches or less
- 2 cups filtered water
- 1 heaping tbsp kosher salt
- 1 grape leaf or bay leaf
- 1 tsp peppercorns
- 3-5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed, but left whole
- 3-4 sprigs fresh dill
optional
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and thinly sliced or a small red chili pepper
Instructions
Prep the cucumbers
- Soak the cucumber in an ice-cold water bath for 1 hour. Then, rinse the cucumbers and slice off the blossom end. Slice each cucumber into spears, about 4-6 spears per cucumber, or into chips.
Make the brine
- Mix 1 heaping tablespoon of kosher salt into 2 cups of cold, filtered water and mix until the salt has dissolved.
Make the pickles
- In a clean 32 oz quart size mason jar (or 24 oz), place the grape leaf or bay leaf, garlic, dill, maple syrup(optional), and jalapeño (optional).
- With clean hands, pack the cucumbers in tightly, pressing everything down and leaving about 1 ½ inches of headspace.Place the fermentation pebble on top of the pickles.
- Pour the saltwater brine over the top, making sure the pickles and spices are fully submerged under the brine.Clean the rim of the jar with a clean kitchen towel, then place a pickling pipe on the jar and secure the jar with a ring.
Fermentation
- Place the jars on a plate to collect any overflow from the pickles. Then set the jars in a cool, dark place to ferment, such as a basement or bottom kitchen cabinet.
- After 3 days, check for signs of fermentation: bubbling, overflowing fermentation liquid, or clouding. You can also tap the jar to see if bubbles rise to the top.After the bubbling has stopped, ferment for 1 more week on the counter, then check the taste and texture, and ferment longer if you desire. *It should be pickled to the center of the pickle and taste tangy, not just salty.You can ferment the pickles for 2-4 weeks; however, a longer ferment time means a more sour and softer pickle.
After fermenting
- Once the pickles have fermented to your liking, remove the pebble and pickling pipe and place an air-tight lid on the mason jar. Place in the fridge for 1 week before eating for the best taste.Fermented pickles store in the ridge for months but have the best texture when consumed in the first several weeks after making.
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