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.
Jason Broyles says
You must be a psychic because I am reading this recipe while standing in front of my refrigerator at almost 4 o’clock in the morning eating a half sour pickle. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Deb Weisblatt says
Amazing recipe!!! How many times can I reuse the brine? (Making one batch at a time.) Thanks!!!
Pamela Reed says
Thank you! You can reuse, but I find that the 2nd batch is never as strong with flavor. They still taste good, but not as good as the first time around. I would not use more than twice though! Hope this helps!
Lisa M says
I’m a NYer in LA and I’ve been craving half sours. This recipe was awesome! I couldn’t find Kirby cucumbers, so I used mini cukes from Trader Joe’s, but it still worked great. One solid tip: soak the cukes in an ice bath for about 5 hours before packing them up with the brine. They stay very crunchy without the need for the chemical pickle crisp!
Charlie Dunham says
This is my go to pickle recipe! I’ve mad it 10+ times and they turn out awesome everytime. Thank you for the half sour pickle recipe!
Jonathan says
I can’t thank you enough for this recipe! I live in Pittsburgh and I can’t find *real* half-sours here. We even have a huge annual festival called “Picklesburgh” (because we’re the home of Heinz, famous for pickles) and I’ve never found them there.
I made your recipe a few times and loved it. But today was the big test. I brought several jars to a big family dinner and the response was overwhelming. “Finally! Real half-sour, crunchy pickles, just like from a New York deli!”
Everyone wanted the recipe, and I gladly shared your website with them, of course.
Thank you again!
Jonathan
Christine says
This looks amazing and simple. It seems that Salt is necessary (in almost everything!) But what if you are on a limited sodium diet? Do you have any suggestions or adjustments that can be made and still have a great pickle?? Also, can you give me an idea of the salt content per serving?
Thanks So Much for any help!
Jean Marc Berube says
Re: Canning. No tips so will try on my own and keep you posted. Strange people, we French. We have something called composed first names such as Marc Andre, Marie Claude, Pierre Paul and myself, Jean Marc. So I am neither Jean (John) nor Marc but Jean Marc. Nuff’ French lessons for today.
Jean Marc Berube says
Greetings from Montreal, bastion of the famous smoked meat and the world’s best bagel. Love your half-sours. Can we run these through a water bath and place them on a shelf for a year or so?
Pamela Reed says
Hey Jean, greetings from NYC, home of the world’s best bagel. Hahaha 😉 I’ve never canned these but some people have in the comments so maybe go through the pages to check out their tips? Hope that helps!
Chuck says
Spending Winters in South Florida gives me access to half sours. Nothing like then in the Midwest. Made these twice now and I’m very impressed with the recipe. First time with Persian cukes and this time with Kirby’s. Both worked well and using the pickling crisper is great. Now if I could only find decent CB or Pastrami in the Chicago area. I have it shipped from NYC. We used to have great delis when I was much younger but they’re unfortunately gone. Many thanks!
Matthew Caglianone says
Did you fill the jar with regular water if the cucumbers weren’t fully submerged?
Pamela Reed says
Sorry, just seeing this question! Yes, make sure to fill with water so the cucumbers are covered.
Chuck says
/Users/charlesskibo/Desktop/IMG_3380.jpeg. CB ordered from NYC. I like an onion roll and horseradish sauce with your pickles! CBis good but the pickles are perfection!