My husband thinks these are the best, and after making  up two lots, I hope I haven’t lost my touch. (It has been a while)

 

• 8 lbs. pickling cucumbers
• 12 heads of fresh dill (home grown is the best)
• cloves of garlic, (2-3 per jar, depending on your taste)
• pinch of salt for each jar
• 1 tsp. pickling spice  (pickles stay crisper)
• pinch of red pepper flakes

For every 12  jars make this :

• 8 cups pickling vinegar
• 8 cups water

With a “mushroom” brush, brush the cucumbers in cold water to remove all sand and debris. Slice each one in half lengthwise.

Put the pickling solution in a large pot and bring to a gentle boil while you get prepared.

Wash your jars in hot, soapy water and rinse well. Place on a cookie sheet and put in the oven at 325 degrees while you assemble all the required ingredients.

Put the snap lids in  saucepan with water and bring to a boil then turn off the heat. Leave them in the pan.

Remove the clean and sterlized jars to a working surface and add:

fresh dill

2-3 garlic cloves,

pinch salt (this is considerably less than most recipes)

1 tsp. pickling spice

red pepper flakes.

 

Fill the jars with your cucumber spears and add enough boiling water/vinegar to cover the pickles and place snap lid on top of each jar. Add the screw lid on each one and place in a canning pot filled with enough water to be about 3/4 up the sides of the jars. Bring to a boil and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from the saucepan and place remaining jars in and repeat. Cool completely and mark the date of pickling.

Let stand for 3 weeks before opening a jar and then keep in the refrigerator.