I was looking to make a pickle from scratch similar to Wickles. I didn’t want to use store-bought dill pickle chips and add spices to them. We tried our hand at canning the first batch of these but they became mushy and soft. No Bueno! So I began researching how to keep them extra crispy. Apparently, the trick is to add tannins. Like from grape leaves, white oak leaves, or black tea. The easiest available to me was black tea.

Why You’ll Love These

This pickle recipe is simple to make and produces spicy, sweet, and extra crunchy bread and butter pickles!

Key Ingredients

Cucumbers – We like to use mini cucumbers for extra crunch.Pickling Salt – Pickling salt has a fine grain making it dissolve easily. It also keeps the liquid clear featuring the bright vivid green color of the cucumbers. Seasonings – Granulated sugar, whole mustard seeds, celery seeds, whole black peppercorns, turmeric, garlic cloves, and red chili peppers.Black Tea – For the tannins that help keep the pickles crunchy and firm.

Tips

Use the freshest pickling cucumbers you can find. It’s key to keeping the pickles crunchy.Do not use table salt. The anti-caking additives in table salt will produce a murky, cloudy brining liquid and discolor the cucumbers.

How to Make Spicy Bread and Butter Pickles

Begin by soaking the cucumbers in a saltwater brine overnight or longer. We soak ours for about 18 hours. Helpful article. The next day in a medium saucepan add the onion, vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, peppercorns, turmeric, garlic, and red chili peppers bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat. Set aside while preparing the jars. Place 1/4 teaspoon of black tea leaves in each canning jar. Pack the cucumbers as tight as possible. Fill each jar with the pickle brine, leaving about 1/2″ space below the neck of the jar. Place the lids on and refrigerate.  It took our pickles about 7 days to become as spicy as we like. You can eat them sooner but they are so much if you can wait.

Serve

Enjoy these refrigerator spicy bread and butter pickles as a snack or as a condiment on sandwiches, burgers, or even salads. Crunchy, spicy, sweet, and tangy pickles.

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