In September, 2010, I wrote a post about helping my friend Lee move and meeting another pickle enthusiast. Here's the post. She told me about a one-year process that was said to produce the Best Pickles Ever.
YES!!!!!
I cracked into a jar last week and they are marvelous.
The brine is cloudy which makes me a little nervous, but the pickles are really amazing. I refrigerated them before opening. They smelled OK but showed some signs of age -- I had to toss the lids because they were a little rusty.
To love these pickles, you have to love super sour pickles. They're delightful, deep and musky with a strong flavor. They don't taste like mutton, but the flavor is deep and gamey, as it relates to pickles. You have to like a little funk in a jar.
In re-reading the post, I realize that I forgot dill. Gotta say, I didn't miss it.
I love the Anchor Hocking "Atlas" canning jars I used for these pickles. Ahhhh, those were the days... when I had vintage jars to work with.
Now, I use whatever I can find at the Goodwill or another of my fav's, the William Temple House Thrift Store.
In other Pickle news......
The BIG Crock opens today.
Today is another big day. I can open the crock of fermented pickles that have been fermenting for two weeks, and gurgling for a week.
I'm a little nervous... And I wonder if I should wait for Handsome & Brave to be available? I should wait... but I can't. Besides, he's busy.
BRB
<she leaves the room to pull pickles from the crock and taste them>
OMG
They're fantastic. Yes, they need to age a little more, but the flavor is spot-on.
The crock weights, a doughnut-shaped ceramic disc (in two halves), did its' job and the cucumbers stayed under the brine. There was no funky smell or any other weirdness.
I'm glad the weights worked because they'd gotten some pretty harsh reviews on Amazon.com.
So. The maiden voyage of the Fermentation Vessel without-a-name was a rousing success. What should I make next?
