MSG Free Quick Refrigerator Dill Pickles
Crunchy, garlicky, and packed with fresh dill flavor, these refrigerator pickles are the kind of thing you'll want to keep stocked in your fridge at all times. Store-bought pickles can be a minefield when you're avoiding monosodium glutamate, since it hides in brines and flavor additives under names that aren't always obvious on the label. Making your own solves that problem completely ā every single ingredient here is straightforward and easy to verify. The brine is just vinegar, water, kosher salt, and a touch of sugar, simmered together until clean and bright. Fresh dill, smashed garlic, black peppercorns, and mustard seeds do all the heavy lifting on flavor, no shortcuts needed. A small but important trick ā trimming the blossom end of each cucumber ā keeps the spears satisfyingly snappy rather than soft. After 24 hours in the fridge they're tangy and delicious, and by 48 to 72 hours they're absolutely next-level.
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Learn more āIngredients
8 servings
- 2 lbs pickling cucumbers (about 8ā10 small)
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 bunch fresh dill (about 6ā8 sprigs)
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- Ā½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
For the brine
- 1 Ā½ cups distilled white vinegar
- 1 Ā½ cups water
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- 1
Trim 1/8 inch off the blossom end (the end opposite the stem) of each cucumber ā this removes enzymes that can soften the pickles. Cut the cucumbers lengthwise into quarters to make spears, or slice into 1/4-inch rounds if you prefer chips.
- 2
Divide the garlic, dill sprigs, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, and red pepper flakes (if using) evenly between two clean wide-mouth quart mason jars. Pack the cucumber spears in vertically, fitting them snugly.
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