Dill Pickles

My latest clearance find was 4lb of pickling cucumbers for $2. I knew then and there that I had to make dill pickles.

The term "pickle" comes from middle Dutch, "pekel," for brine. Shakespeare coined the phrase "to be in a pickle."

I have no experience whatsoever with pickling, so I googled the instructions/ recipe and used the first one that came up (it has 5 out of 5 stars after 242 reviews!):

Ingredients

• 8 pounds 3 to 4 inch long pickling cucumbers
• 4 cups white vinegar
• 12 cups water
• 2/3 cup pickling salt
• 16 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
• 8 sprigs fresh dill weed
• 8 heads fresh dill weed

Directions

1. Wash cucumbers, and place in the sink (I use the bathtub!) with cold water and lots of ice cubes. Soak in ice water for at least 2 hours but no more than 8 hours. Refresh ice as required. Sterilize 8 (1 quart) canning jars and lids in boiling water for at least 10 minutes.
2. In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine the vinegar, water, and pickling salt. Bring the brine to a rapid boil.
3. In each jar, place 2 half-cloves of garlic, one head of dill, then enough cucumbers to fill the jar (about 1 pound). Then add 2 more garlic halves, and 1 sprig of dill. Fill jars with hot brine. Seal jars, making sure you have cleaned the jar's rims of any residue.
4. Process sealed jars in a boiling water bath. Process quart jars for 15 minutes.
5. Store pickles for a minimum of 8 weeks before eating. Refrigerate after opening. Pickles will keep for up to 2 years if stored in a cool dry place.

(Note: I couldn't find any pickling salt, so I just used regular salt... shouldn't make a huge difference, except the brine won't be cloudy.)

I don't have any jars at the moment. Therefore, I cooked the cucumbers in the brine for 10-15 minutes (to mimic the jar processing effect), placed them into a large container, covered with brine, cooled outside (it's 4C out there), then put it into the fridge. I doubt I'll be patient enough to wait a whole 8 weeks to try them.