Marks Barrel Cured Pickles Recipes

BARREL FERMENTED PICKLES

Steps:

• Pick through the cucumbers and remove any that are moldy, squishy, or damaged. Only the best can make it into the crock, man. You can gently rinse them in water, if you need to remove dirt or debris.
• Fill the crock half full of cucumbers before laying in a few sprigs of fresh dill, a clove of garlic, a chunk of onion, a pinch of peppercorns, and a few grape leaves. Stop it. I can hear you complaining. Yes, I realize this is vague - but that's okay. They're your pickles and you can spice them with whatever you like! I haven't noticed a bit enough difference between using different measurements of spices to waste the time being precise about it all.
• Fill a quart jar with filtered water and 1 1/2 tablespoons sea salt. Stir to dissolve the salt and pour this over the cucumbers. Continue to fill the quart jar with this same water and salt mixture, pouring it over the cucumbers each time, until the crock is full and the cucumbers can be completely submerged in the liquid.
• Place a crock weight (or plate if you don't have one) over the top of the pickles so that they remain completely submerged during the course of their fermentation. You can also layer on some grape leaves to help protect the cucumbers from oxygen as well.

OLD-FASHIONED PICKLE BARREL PICKLES

Steps:

• Gently scrub pickles with a vegetable brush and rinse with cool water. Dry thoroughly. In a large stoneware crock or a deep enamel kettle sprinkle in half of pickling spices, dill and garlic over the bottom. Layer cucumbers in crock, filling to within 3 inches of top. Sprinkle with remaining pickling spices, dill and garlic. Mix vinegar with salt and 2 quarrts of water. Pour over cucumbers, to cover. Weight with a plate and cans, making sure cucumbers are completely submerged. Cover loosely with cheesecloth. Check pickles each day and skim off scum as it forms -- it may not begin to form until fifth day. Do not stir pickles, but make sure they remain completely submerged in brine at all times. If necessary, add additional brine. Leave for 3 to 4 weeks. Pickles will turn an olive-drab color and texture will be soft-crisp and be uniformly translucent. Let stand or an additional month to develop flavor, replacing brine as necessary.;

MARK'S BARREL CURED PICKLES

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients in five gallon bucket with air lock. Don't let this scare you. You can buy one for about $5.00 at a home brew supply store, which almost every community has -- otherwise, buy one off ebay, or from some hardware stores. They are called 'Ale Pales", misspelling intentional. The air lock costs less then a dollar and is a simple piece of plastic that sticks through a hole on the bucket lid. Easy stuff, a 6 year old could make this recipe.
• Mix all ingredients with long spoon or other chosen tool.
• Add cucumbers.
• Weigh down so that all cucumbers are below the liquid. I use a overturned ceramic bowl that fits the bucket well. others use large gallon Zip- Lock bags filled with water. You are a smart person, find something that keeps the pickles under the liquid. Something non-reactive though, no copper or brass --
• Cap bucket and fill airlock with some tap water. This keeps bad stuff out, but lets the bucket breathe. Let the bucket sit for 10 days in a cool dark corner of your house. if you live in a very hot place, consider using the basement.
• After ten days open container, skim off the scum ( the scum is a perfectly safe yeast extract, if you wanted to you could just stir it in, but it is ugly, so remove it), recover bucket, and let sit for 5 more days in the cool dark place in your house.
• Open again, get rid of scum and/or soft pickles. If you can squeeze and easily crush the pickle toss it. I lose about ten each time, its just part of the game. Now get ready to jar.
• Take out pickles a few at a time, slice into half or fourths, and fit into a jar. You will need about twenty jars. If you want you can jar them whole, but most people don't like eating whole pickles.
• Fill said bottles to very very top with brine, and hand tighten lid.
• Put them in a fridge, and they will keep for a very long time, as long as they stay in the fridge.
• Once you open a jar to begin consumption they will last about 5 days. It is important to not let the yeast extract that will settle at the bottom of the jar bother you. Simply shake the jar like a bottle of juice each time you take out a pickle. The liquid should and will be cloudy.
• When they turn soft, or the skin easily peels off pickle, it is time to throw them away. This will not happen until you open the jar. So remember to tell the happy people that you share these pickles with to consume within 5 days.