This is a simple recipe that you can make in smaller batches to use up your cucumbers and some peppers in the summer months. Quick and easy, you don't have to water bath these delicious spicy pickles, just store them in your fridge. We find that these refrigerator pickles are much crispier than their preserved cousins, you have to eat them a little faster as they don't last as long and they must be kept refrigerated, but don't worry, they're so good that won't likely be a problem. :)
Spicy Refrigerator Pickles Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/4 cups white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon sea salt or pickling salt
- 4 cups cucumber spears or slices
- 3+ cloves garlic, whole (we like to eat these out of the jar, too!)
- 1+ Jalapeños or other Hot Peppers, to taste (you can also add dried hot pepper flakes instead if you don't have any fresh hot peppers on hand)
- 2 heads fresh dill (flowers or leaves)
- 1 Grape leaf, Raspberry leaf, or Horseradish leaf
(natural tannins in these leaves help keep them crisper!) - Two 1-quart Mason Canning Jars
Directions
Stir together water, vinegar, sugar, and sea salt in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and cool completely. Cut and assemble cucumber spears, garlic cloves, and fresh dill in disinfected glass canning jars – boil them first or fresh out of dishwasher, and make sure they are hot before you pour the vinegar mixture over cucumbers. Seal with a lid and refrigerate, they should be ready in a day or so, and are good for up to 6 weeks. 
Variations:
Try making Hatch Green Chile spicy pickles by using some hot Hatch Chile varieties instead of Jalapenos. They're sure to be a hit!
Or, if you love Jalapenos, make sure to check out all of our varieties of Jalapeno seeds – we have Yellow Jalapeno seeds, Orange Jalapeno seeds, Early Jalapeno seeds and many more.
You can also try any super hot peppers in this recipe for some spicy pickles that will knock your socks off!
See the horseradish leaf tucked into this jar? They say that leaves from grapes, raspberries, blackberries or horseradish can help keep your pickles crispier due to the tannins in the leaves, which prevent the cell walls from breaking down, resulting in a crunchier pickle. We like using horseradish leaves in our pickles as they have a bit of horseradish flavor, and since they are perennial and come back bigger every year so they don't seem to miss the leaves. :)
