Chef John's Bread and Butter Pickles

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Servings: 48
Yield: 48 servings

Description

Crunchy bread and butter pickles made with pickling cucumbers, vinegar, sugar, spices, and jalapeño for just the right amount of heat and sweet.

Ingredients

2 pounds pickling cucumbers, sliced
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
2 red jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced into rings
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 cups distilled white vinegar
2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

1 Combine cucumbers, onion, and peppers in a bowl; pour kosher salt over the top and stir to coat completely. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, 2 to 4 hours. Rinse cucumber mixture in a colander under cold water until all salt is washed away, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain.
2 Stir vinegar, sugar, water, garlic, mustard seed, celery seed, peppercorns, turmeric, and ground cloves together in a saucepan; bring to a simmer and cook until brine flavors combine, about 2 minutes. Add cucumber mixture to brine; heat until almost boiling, remove from heat, and cool completely. Transfer to jars and store in the refrigerator.