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!
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.
Andrea Richards says
How long will these be safe to eat when ready?
Pamela says
They will keep in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
Ray says
Use this recipe all the time. Thanks for sharing. My mom would always make it this way. Cheers from northern NJ. 👍😎🍺
Pamela says
I’m so happy to hear you like this pickle recipe Ray! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Mary Zee says
Can this recipe be used to make pickled green tomatoes? I love the half sour pickles and had Pickled green tomatoes when my grandmother made them years ago. Wondering if this would work with so many green tomatoes I just harvested.
david l milgram says
Pickles were a bit too salty but otherwise excellent. Any advise on how much less salt to use?
Jeff Litt says
Made these pickles before we left town for a week.
First thing that I and the kids did when we got back into town was taste them, and they were well loved!
I made two batches, one has noted and in the second I added some chopped jalapeño peppers, which gave a nice and spicy tang to them as well.
Pamela says
Hey Jeff, thanks so much for commenting! I’m happy to hear these were a hit with you and the kids! 🙂
Bryan says
I had high hopes for this recipe; I’ve been missing great half sour pickles for a long time. So I went all in, and am SO GLAD I did. They are fantastic! I added some black tea leaves to the solution to ensure crispness and the results are outstanding 😋😋. Will definitely make these again – it’s all I can do to not eat them all at once!
craig wilson says
I let the pickles sit 3 days but they didn’t have that new pickle taste. I’m gonna let them sit a couple more days to see if the taste improves..
Andrea says
This is perfection it is my go to recipe and tastes like the ones my mom made years ago
Pamela says
So happy to hear you liked these pickles and they taste just like Moms! Thank you for commenting! 🙂
Nancy says
I made these pickles two days ago.
Four 1/2 gallon jars of them! I couldn’t get cardamom seeds so I made them without. They’re so delicious that I’m almost afraid to use the cardamom seeds in my next batch! QUESTION…Can more cucumbers be added to the liquid after the pickles are gone?
Pamela says
Hi Nancy! These pickles don’t require cardamom seeds, do you mean coriander seeds? Just checking! 🙂 You can definitely reuse the brine, but I wouldn’t use it more than 2 batches – the brine gets weaker and the pickles aren’t as good in my opinion. I often throw a couple pickles into the jar if there’s room and I just picked them from the garden. Hope this helps!
Laurie says
I made this recipe but i had to add vinegar after the 4 days cuz they were good but tasted like salty cucumbers.
I also love vinegar but i know that i read in the recipe that the farm girl didnt like it so thats ok.
We also decided to use the ball crisp to make them crunchy.
Josie says
Here I am, back again to make this pickle recipe for the fourth time. This is my absolute favorite recipe. Light, fresh, packed with flavor and so good for your gut. Thank you thank you thank you again!
Pamela says
That makes me so happy to hear it’s a regular recipe for you Josie! Thanks so much for making me smile! 🙂
Phyllis says
I love these pickles and I wonder how long they will last without my sticky little fingers in there. My second batch tasted different than the first ones that I made. I did make them exactly the same
craig wilson says
I meant to say, is 1/2 sour the same as a new pickle
craig wilson says
Is a sour pickle the same as a new pickle??
Kevin says
Hi, do you need to heat the water in order to dissolve the salt?
Pamela says
No, heating the water is not necessary.
Linda Dunayer says
does it have to be kirby cucumbers?
Pamela says
Kirby cucumbers make the best pickles in my opinion due to their size and crunch, but you can use other cucumbers if you have them.
Paige says
Hello, I am excited to try these, however, I’m making enough pickles for the amount your recipe lists but I’m putting them in separate, small jars and slicing them into “chips” so I can send them to my friends across the country. Will this recipe be good if I cut the cucumbers into chips? Thank you!
Cara Wade says
My kirbys got away from me and are jumbo sized. Might be a silly question but is it ok to spear them?
Pamela says
Absolutely, happens to us all sometimes! 🙂 They might be a little saltier, but I still gobble them up!
Raya Howard says
If you cut this recipe in half will it work in quart size mason jars?
Pamela says
Absolutely! Enjoy the pickles!
Pete says
Can I do the full canning of placing the jar to seal in hot water so they last longer ? Any issues and have you done this before ?
Barbara J. says
I leave jar (s) on the counter, so they can start fermentation. After 3-4 days you can start tasting them and if you want them to stop fermenting , put them in fridge. Pickle soup is delicious too.
Chris Bove says
Great recipe. Quick question, what are the water-salt ratios when you are using a 27 oz pickle containers. Those containers are from Boar’s Head pickles.
Jess says
So good and so easy. Exactly the crunch I love. Thank you!
Pamela says
Happy to hear you liked the pickles Jess! Thanks for commenting!
Jess says
Just curious, do you think the brine can be reused? I flew through those pickles, they were so good, so it seems like a waste of good brine!
Pamela says
You definietely can, 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!
TJ says
Very good flavor. Quick go to half sour for all the cucs coming in this time of year
Pamela says
Thanksf or commenting TJ, keep on enjoying all those Summer cucumbers! 🙂
Carol says
I’m not a fan of dill — Does anyone have thoughts about omitting it?
Pamela says
You can skip the dill if you want to Carol. 🙂
Merejo says
Perfect recipe all the time.
Pamela says
So happy to hear you like these pickles Merejo, thansk for commenting!
Laurie Walker says
I am a pickle crazy woman but my favorite pickle has been half sour. Our local deli restaurant carries one that I had an addiction to for years. However, sometimes the cucumbers would be yellowing or soft instead of green and crunchy so I stopped buying them. We have a lovely garden and I grow pickling cucumbers. My family and friends love my refrigerator dill, bread and butter & fermented pickles. I only like them. Ok, fast forward to Brooklyn Farm Girl/Pamela. I am having a hard time finding words to describe my love for these pickles. I share everything I make with anyone that stops by. The guy who puts shoes on my horses goes home with pickled jalapenos & bread and butter pickles. All of our friends & family get pickles, peppers, tomatoes, etc. But Pamela??? I don’t want to share these half sour pickles. I waited four days but wasn’t too excited because I have been let down so many times before. I opened the jar, took a bite and had a huge smile on my face. I told my husband “This is it! This is what I’ve been looking for.” I hate to admit this: I ate the entire jar full that day. I gave my best friend half of one. Pickle, not jar….Pamela, I can’t thank you enough. I know we all have different taste in pickles but for me, these are the best unquestionably (is that a word?)….ok, without question, these are the best, my absolute favorite. Thank you!!!!
Pamela says
Laurie, your comment absolutely made my day, seriously. Thank you for the giant smile you caused. Keep on enjoying these pickles! 🙂
Theresa says
HI Im super excited to try these, but can i do the full canning of placing the jar to seal in hot water so they last longer ? any issues and have you done this before ? thank you 🙂
Dianna says
Can you put these in a tupperware container or does it need to be glass? I don’t have anything but quart jars and wouldn’t be able to fit many in or easily be able to weigh them down. However, I do have a tight-fitting Tupperware container that would be perfect for fitting the cucumbers in and be able to weight them down. Please reply since I have everything ready and would like to do this today! Thanks!
Pamela says
Hey Dianna, as long as it has a tight fitting lid, you can use a Tupperware container no problem. Enjoy the pickles!
BRIAN says
What is the sodium content of the sea salt you use???