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Finished fermented pickles after seven days with a cut pickle showing the inside

Fermented Pickles Recipe

These easy fermented pickles are made with a simple 3% salt brine, fresh dill and garlic. After 7 days of fermentation, they're tangy, crunchy and ready to store in the fridge.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Fermentation Time 7 days
Total Time 7 days 20 minutes
Course Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 4 1L Jars

Equipment

  • 4 clean 1L Mason jars
  • 4 Fermentation weights
  • 4 Fermentation lids or airlocks
  • Kitchen Scale
  • Large bowl or pitcher for mixing the brine

Ingredients
  

For the Pickles

  • 24-32 small pickling cucumbers
  • 4 cloves fresh garlic sliced (1 per jar)
  • 4 small bunches fresh dill 1 per jar
  • 4 tsp Peppercorns optional (1 tsp per jar)
  • 1 tsp Pickle Crisp optional (¼ tsp per jar)

3% Salt Brine

  • 2 kg Water
  • 60 g Pickling Salt

Instructions
 

Prepare the jars

  • Wash four 1 L Mason jars with hot, soapy water and rinse well.

Prepare the cucumbers

  • Wash the cucumbers in cold water. Cut off the blossom end of each cucumber. Leave the cucumbers whole, cut them into rounds or slice them lengthwise.

Add the seasonings

  • Add 1 garlic clove, 1 bunch of fresh dill, 1 tsp peppercorns, and 1/4 tsp pickle crisp if using, to the bottom of each jar.

Pack the jars

  • Pack the cucumbers tightly into each jar without crushing them.

Make the 3% brine

  • Weigh out water and pickling salt in a large bowl or pitcher on a kitchen scale. Stir until the salt has completely dissolved.

Add the brine

  • Pour the 3% salt brine over the cucumbers until completely covered. Leave approximately 1 inch of headspace.

Keep everything submerged

  • Place a fermentation weight into each jar to keep the cucumbers completely below the brine.

Add the fermentation lids

  • Attach your fermentation lids or airlocks.

Ferment

  • Place the jars at room temperature out of direct sunlight. Begin checking and tasting the pickles after a few days. Cloudy brine and bubbles are normal signs of fermentation.
    Fermented pickles after three days with naturally cloudy brine

Refrigerate

  • For our batch, the pickles reached the tangy flavour and crunchy texture we wanted after 7 days. Once yours taste the way you like them, transfer the jars to the refrigerator.

Notes

3% brine: We make our brine using 30 g of pickling salt for every 1 kg (1,000 g) of water.
Fermentation time: Fermentation time can vary depending on room temperature, cucumber size and how sour you like your pickles. We preferred ours after 7 days.
Cloudy brine: Don't be alarmed if the brine becomes cloudy or you see bubbles. These can be normal signs of lacto-fermentation.
Pickle Crisp: Pickle Crisp is optional. We use ¼ teaspoon per 1 L jar to help the cucumbers maintain their crunchy texture.
Storage: These pickles are not shelf-stable. Store finished fermented pickles in the refrigerator and keep them covered by the brine.
Keyword fermented pickle recipe, fermented pickles, lacto-fermented pickles
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