The BEST Half Sour Pickles recipe there is! These easy homemade pickles taste just like New York Crunchy pickles. No canning is needed to make these delicious pickles, just throw them in the refrigerator for a few days! Make them to find out why they’re so popular!
If I could stand on top of a mountain I would yell “I love pickles!”. I really do. They’re pretty, they’re crunchy, they’re full of flavor, they hit the right spot in the afternoon when you need a snack, they’re great on a burger, they’re great at 4AM standing in front of the refrigerator.
How to Make Half Sour Pickles
Pickles, they’re just really good.
With the cucumber plants in full producing mode right now we have been picking (and pickling!) quite a few kirby cucumbers. Did you know cucumbers are one of the easiest vegetables to grow? We currently have 6 mason jars full of pickles in the refrigerator!
If you are in Brooklyn and are in need of a pickle, I’m your girl! I have been trying to get the perfect half sour pickles after years of swooning at all the NYC pickle places. Finally, I got it just right!
Half Sour Pickles Recipe
A few notes about these half sour beauties:
-These don’t have vinegar in them. You see I have a fear of the smell of vinegar, I just get freaked out. So I have been desperately trying to figure out how to make delicious pickles with seasonings to make up for the lack of vinegar. THIS IS IT! In this one instead of using vinegar we use sea salt water!
-I would leave these in your refrigerator at least 4 days before you bite into one. After that, good luck not finishing the jar in a day or 2. If you have control of your fingers going in the pickle jar though, these last for weeks.
-Kirby cucumbers are the best for pickles.
Refrigerator Pickles Recipe
-If you don’t have Kirbies, that’s totally ok, but I recommend if you are using big cucumbers to cut them up into spears first (they will fit better into the jar most likely too).
-Please don’t skip on the seasonings. These pickles soak alongside delicious garlic, fresh dill, peppercorns, coriander seeds, mustard seeds and bay leaves.
-This recipe uses a half gallon mason jar. The ingredients and amount of water to salt ratio in this recipe is for this sized jar.
-If your pickles are soft and not crunchy when done, please check out Ball Pickle Crisp. It works great to keep that fresh crunch!
Fresh kirby cucumbers just picked from the garden!
One of the yummy herbs in this recipe is coriander seeds. If you have a cilantro plant and you neglect it, it will turn into coriander seeds. Awesome, right? I always do this every year so I get fresh coriander to last until next harvest season.
You can use a mortar and pestle to crush your dry ingredients or you can be like me and just use a tool (I don’t know the name of this so let’s just go with “tool”) to bash it all together. A rolling pin works great too. So does a hammer.
Put your cucumbers in the jar, then add your garlic.
Then your crushed dry ingredients.
Pick a few pieces of fresh dill. Doesn’t it smell great?
Then add your salt water and fresh dill.
Keep filling your jar with water until your cucumbers are completely covered. In the jar above, a little bit of the salt water still needs to be added.
Now it’s the hard part.. waiting for a few days to eat them!
But when it’s time… it will be worth it!
If you are making batches as you harvest, and you use similar jars sometimes it gets confusing to keep track of the ones that have been sitting the longest. To do this I use chalk or a Sharpie and write on the lid. #1 = eat first, #2 = eat next, #3 = eat next next.. etc.
Enjoy! 🙂
Looking for more cucumber recipes? Try my Sugar Glazed Cucumber Bread (yes you can bake with cucumbers!), Frosted Cucumber Cookies and Cucumber Tomato Salad!
Update: I shared my favorite Pickled Okra recipe!
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If you try this Half Sour Pickles recipe, please leave a comment or share it on Instagram with tag #brooklynfarmgirl – I’m always looking for photos to feature and share!
Half Sour Pickles
PrintIngredients
- 5 kirby cucumbers or however many you can fit into your jar
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
- few pieces of fresh dill
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup sea salt
- 6 cups water
- additional whole coriander seeds and peppercorns to add on top
Instructions
- Wash your cucumbers.
- Dissolve your sea salt in the water.
- Grind up all the dry ingredients (coriander, mustard seeds, peppercorns, 2 bay leaves). If you don’t have a mortar/pestle, throw it in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them.
- Put the cucumbers in your jar.
- Put the minced garlic in the jar, then ground up spices, then pour the salt water mixture on top. If you have any water left, disregard it.
- Add a few pieces of fresh dill on top.
- Add in your additional coriander seeds, peppercorns and bay leaf.
- Make sure your cucumbers are completely covered in water and close the jar.
- Put in the refrigerator. Let them sit for at least 4 days before eating.
- Enjoy!
Video:
Notes
For a crunchy pickle add 1/4 teaspoon Ball Pickle Crisp Granules at the end.
Paula R. says
I moved away from Brooklyn in 2001 and have been on an endless search across the country to find half sour pickles, my absolute favorite kind of pickle in the world. Most people don’t even know what they are, never mind have them available! So I decided to make my own after getting a big batch of Kirby cucumbers. I have to tell you Brooklyn Farm Girl, I doubted you, but was I ever wrong. These pickles are perfect using the exact recipe your provided!!! Now I just have to figure out how to keep myself fully stocked in cucumbers so I never run out. What an unbelievable treat to be able to make these and share them with friends here in the southwest desert who have never had them! I always considered myself to be the Brooklyn Farm Girl, especially now that I have actual cows, chickens, goats, and pigs, but hands down, that title is all yours!!!! Please check out my animal rescue on Facebook or Instagram – We are Old Souls Animal Rescue and Retirement Home. We would love to host you if you ever travel to the Tucson area!!!
Rick Stoeckig says
How long can they stay on the fridge
After 4 days in the fridge can you store them in the pantry and for how long.
Pamela says
No, they need to stay in the refrigerator. They will last for a few weeks.
SMH1014 says
I make these pickles once a week! Thank you so much for this recipe. Can’t buy half sour pickles here in Cali (not easily anyway) so I am happy to have these pickles from my NY childhood. The best.
mimi says
best pickle ever! used many times
Desiree says
My husband asks me to make these pickles all the time. He loves them!
Jason B says
my brine turned brown. any thoughts? also, how can i get them a bit more sour. they still taste like cucumbers. thanks!!!
Bob Vance says
The half-sour style pickles don’t actually get sour. If you want them to get sour, add vinegar (you can replace the brine with vinegar of your choice, or you can make the brine with 50% water and 50% vinegar. 🙂
Andrea Eisen says
The best pickles come from this recipe, especially when the cucumbers are fresh off the farm
Jeremy P. says
I cannot get decent half sours where I live. This recipe is a life saver!
Maia says
Found this recipe online after seeing @dougbudin talking about them on instagram and I’m so hooked! Didn’t even wait for more than two days to try and they were great. I will try to re-use the brine for a second batch, hopefully itll work so I’ll get more pickles soon! I also added extra garlic since I looove it!
Jacob Lawrence Archer says
I came across your recipe for half sour pickles back in 2016. I have been making them ever since. These are the pickles I am used to having with my pastrami or corned beef since they taste like the ones at the deli.. I am glad to see that folks are making these pickles because to buy them at the store, the prices are ridiculous! Eating a vinegar pickle doesn’t come close to the crispness of making your own pickles.. I am making them now to have with my pastrami.
Desiree says
I have made this recipe several times for my husband. He really loves them. We were having a hard time finding half sour pickles in the store. When he came across this recipe he asked me to make them. He was hooked. Now he always asks when am I going to make them again. Are they ready yet? I am in the process of making them again today.
Pamela says
Hahaha that makes me so happy to hear Desiree! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Irene J says
Made it a couple of times and they came great. I’m hooked. Thanks for sharing.
Dan says
Can you tell me how long these may last in the fridge? Love the freshness of the recipe.
Pamela says
These will last in the fridge for a few weeks, I have some in my fridge now (I made a bunch!) that are about 6 weeks old and still great. Good luck not eating them all quickly though! 🙂
Michael Blick says
This looks like a great recipe. Are these technically fermented?
Jeff Goldner says
My go to recipe for my favorite pickles – I grew up in a deli! Quick and easy, but no compromise on the flavor. These are better than what I can get in a jar, which is infrequent.
Now that the cukes are in abundance, I put up a quart jar at a time. I use the full quantity of spices above (ground in a spice grinder for a few seconds), and half the garlic and half the brine.