Best Stone Jar Pickles Recipes

CANNED DILL PICKLE RECIPE

Steps:

• Wash jars and lids with soap and water.
• Place jars and lids in a pot of water, bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Drain the water carefully then your jars and lids are ready to use.
• Divide bay leaves, peppercorns, dill stems, garlic and horseradish (optional) into the bottoms of 6 Quart-sized jars. Pack cucumbers tightly into jars.
• In a medium pot, combine 8 cups water, 1/3 cup sugar, 6 Tbsp salt and 6 cups vinegar. Bring pickling juice to a boil then pour over cucumbers leaving 1/2" of space at the top. Screw the lids on enough to keep a tight seal in place but don't over-tighten them since air bubbles need to be able to escape.
• Place jars in a canner or large pot lined with a wire rack at the bottom. Once all of the jars are in the pot, add boiling hot water, to cover jars with 1-2 inches of water. Process/boil for 15 minutes.
• Carefully remove jars from the water using a jar lifter and leave at room temperature undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You may hear a pop when the jars fully seal. After 24 hours, check that the seal has formed by pushing down on the center of the lid - it should not move at all. If the seal does not form, refrigerate pickles and enjoy within 3 months.

STONE JAR PICKLES

Steps:

• First day: Pour not quite all of a box of salt into a kettle of water and boil. Pour over approximately a half bushel of small cucumbers. Pack into at least a 3 gallon stone jar. Second day: Pour salty water off cucumbers. Boil in a large kettle 1 box of alum and water to fill the kettle. Pour over cucumbers. Third day: Drain off alum liquid; boil a kettle of plain water and pour over pickles. Fourth day: Heat 1 gallon vinegar. Put one box of pickling spices into a piece of cheesecloth; tie securely and drop into vinegar. Pour over cucumbers and let sit for 9 days. On the fifteenth day: Pour off liquid from pickles. Slice cucumbers; put a layer of pickles and a layer of sugar into your stone crock. If you prefer layer your pickles and sugar right into glass jars. It is not necessary to seal the jars. Pickles will keep indefinitely.

STONE JAR PICKLES

Steps:

• Wash cucumbers and inspect them carefully to make sure the skins are not pierced or have any cuts in them. Place into a large crock (I don't have a crock so I use a clean 5 gallon bucket).
• Combine 2 cups of canning salt with 1 gallon of cold water and stir until the salt is dissolved. Pour salt brine on the cucumbers. Repeat until cucumbers are completely covered with salt brine (in the bucket I use, it takes about 2.5 gallons of salt brine to cover well).
• Place a dinner plate on top of the cucumbers followed by a heavy weight so that the cucumbers remain submerged. Get creative! I use a dinner plate followed by a heavy bowl, followed by a plastic cover and then pressed a board over the top and weighted it down with a jug of juice). The objective is to keep the cucumbers submerged, and I like to keep the whole thing covered to keep dust and cat hair out of the bucket.
• Soak the cucumbers for 21 days, periodically checking it for any mold or scum that might float to the top. Skim any of that off. About midway through the soaking process, dissolve another cup of canning salt into a few cups of water and pour into the brine.
• After 21 days in the salt brine, remove the cucumbers and wash them in cold water. Pour the salt brine out of the bucket and wash and dry it out.
• Cut the cucumbers however you desire. I prefer to slice them, however, they can be cut into chunks or spears. (note here that the cucumbers are not going to smell good at all, and if you have used large cucumbers they will likely be hollow after the soak. Press on, they're okay!).
• Put the cut up cucumbers into the clean bucket, cover with water and let soak for 24 hours.
• After 24 hours, drain the water off the cucumbers.
• Combine 7 tablespoons alum with one gallon of cold water and stir until the alum is dissolved. Pour over the cut cucumbers. Then add enough water to make sure cukes are completely covered. Swish them around a little and then let soak for 6 hours.
• After 6 hours, drain the alum water off the cucumbers. Give the cut cumbers a rinse and drain well. Return cucumbers to the bucket.
• Bring 1.5 gallons of vinegar to a boil and pour over the cucumbers. Let sit for 24 hours.
• After 24 hours, drain the vinegar off the cucumbers. Layer the cucumbers with the sugar, cinnamon, cloves, mustard seed and celery seed until all the sugar, spices and cukes are layered. Then using your hands, gently stir it all together.
• Let the cucumbers cure in the sugar and spices for 3 days, stirring once each day. The pickles are now done! You can now transfer the pickles into clean and sterile jars and put lids on them. These pickles do not require sealing in a water bath. You can leave them in the crock if you like.