Sorta OT - Refrigerator Pickles

Botch

You guys got me hooked on "Grillo's" pickles, but then the Commissary here quit carrying them, and the one grocer who does doesn't refrigerate them, so the last two pints I got were spoiled and had to be tossed.  
 
Then the new Cooks Illustrated came, and yay an article on refrigerator pickles!  I've made pickled red onions before but it didn't occur to me I could make dills the same way (refrigerator, not canned), d'Oh!  So a couple weeks ago, I made a pint (2 cucumbers) and followed the recipe except I didn't have apple cider vinegar so I used white vinegar.  I also added a japoné chile to the jar as I like hot pickles.  They were pretty good, but not quite "right" (probably the vinegar).
 
Today, ACV in hand (along with "Pickle Crisp", powdered calcium chloride for crunch) I made two more pints.  First, slice up 4 cukes, toss with 2 Tblspns salt, and let set in the frig for three hours; then drain but don't rinse:
 

 
Meanwhile, bring this "tea" to a boil:
1.5 cups ACV
1.5 cups water
1 cup chopped fresh dill in a cheesecloth bag
2 Tblspns sugar
1.5 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp dill seeds
Cover, kill the heat, and let steep for 15 minutes; toss the bag
I made the following modifications:  I used a large tray of dill from the grocer (keeping two strands for the jars), wasn't 1 cup but ah well; I also didn't have cheesecloth so I just added them whole, pulled them out with my tongs.  I also added 1.5 tsp crushed red pepper flakes instead of a japoné, the latter which must be hydrophobic as it floated on top, wouldn't get "wet", and even after two weeks in the frig, it still floated/didn't soften.  
 

 
Run two pint jars under hot tap water until hot (this doesn't sterilize them, but keeps them from cracking when the brine is added).  Pack in the spears, along with one fresh dill frond, a quartered clove of garlic, and 1/8 tsp Pickle Crisp.  I found that laying the pint jar sideways in a bowl helped me slide the spears in easily and keep them vertical.  I also added a japoné to each jar anyway, just for the photos.
 

 
My cukes were kinda big so I had some spears left; I grabbed a third jar and got it half-filled then topped off with half ACV and half water to cover.  Use a spoon to evenly transfer the seeds from the bottom of the pot to the two or three jars.  I'm set for a month or so now!
 

 
(Not sure why 1 of 4 iPhone shots posted upside-down...)
 
The CI article also talked about using other things other than cukes, which I'm gonna experiment with.  It talked about pickling fruit which just sounds nasty to me, with one exception:  pickling golden raisins to top a grilled poke chop; I'm all over that!  
This process may be old hat for a lot of you, but it was new to me, and was fun; nice to avoid that Grillo's $8 price tag, too.  Thanks for looking.  
 
EDIT:  I don't yet have the hang of bouncing between my phone, iPad, and desktop, but I'll get it figured out... someday.
 

Legume

Just one clove of garlic?

Kayak

Is the brine more like bread & butter, or dill? I’m curious why the sugar. Assuming you tasted it, of course…

U_tarded

@Botch Harmons and Walmart carry grillos (at least here in St George) both regular and spicy.  However, I think the homemade might be a nice change.

Botch

^^^
@Legume, first area of future experiments
@Kayak, I didn't use any sugar the first time, and tried just one Tblspn this time; second experiment
@U tarded, yeah, Harmon's has them up here, but they're on a shelf above the cooler; I've mentioned it to two different clerks but I know they're short-handed...

fishlessman

for fruit, add apple to the pickled onions. goes good in a liverwurst sandwich. sweet bread and butter brine for candied jalepinos. pickled cauliflower, green beans, fiddleheads, garlic scape,havent actually done a cucumber pickle yet

PigBeanUs

fishlessman said:

havent actually done a cucumber pickle yet

You’ll have to buy me a drink first, sailor. 

EzraBrooks