refrigerator pickles

As I mentioned, we have grown SO MANY cucumbers this year! We eat at least one a day but were harvesting about 10, so there was just no way to keep up. After 2 batches of bread-and-butter pickles, I wanted to try something different. A lady in our branch told me that her family does refrigerator pickles each year and gave me their recipe.

It's pretty basic--kosher salt, dill, alum, garlic, vinegar, water, cucumbers and a jar.

Cut the pickles into spears or rounds, or leave whole. I cut mine so they would fit into the jars better.

On the bottom of the jar, layer some dill, garlic, alum and salt. This is very inexact, but I was told that you just do it to how you like it. I like lots of garlic and not too much dill, so that's how I did it. Top with a layer of cucumbers.

When your jar is full, add more dill, alum, garlic and salt, and then add another layer of cucumbers.

Does anyone else love how pretty dill is when it is dried? Maybe I'm a weirdo, but I think it's so beautiful.

Top it all off with a last layer of dill, garlic, alum and salt.

Then add vinegar about 1/3 of the way up the jar (sorry, I forgot to get a picture of this) and fill it the rest of the way with water. When canning, I usually stop filling at the line below the threads, but I went ahead and filled it almost full, about 1/4 of the way blow the rim of the jar. When you start shaking the jar, your water level will drop as things settle together. Put the jar(s) in your refrigerator right-side up the first day, then each day invert the jars.

Here are my pickles, 10 days after I put them in the jars. You can see how the cucumbers have started to float--I think this means they are beginning to be pickled. I am planning on opening my jars for the first time to taste them this afternoon, so stay tuned for taste-testing results. Now I just need to deal with my salsa which is percolating in that enormous pot!