Spicy Garlic Cucumber Refrigerator Pickles

Pickle Mania

You are just going to love these Spicy Garlic Cucumber Refrigerator Pickles is the perfect bite with sour, spicy, aromatic and slightly sweet notes that are completely addictive. I dare you to stop at just one!

We love eating these Spicy Garlic Cucumber Refrigerator Pickles right out of the jar but these little delicious refrigerator pickle bites take sandwiches and Asian fusion tacos over the top. Served along side our Peking Glazed Beer Butt  or  BBQ Oolong Tea Smoked Chicken  these pickles are the best.

Farmer's Market Finds

We are loving the farmer’s markets right now with so much fresh produce. Maybe you have a garden and have a surplus of harvest. Sometimes though we get carried away and get so much fresh vegetables that we will never be able to consume it all while it is perfectly fresh. That is where the concept of super easy refrigerator pickles comes in as the perfect solution. You can essentially quick pickle any vegetable your heart desires.

More Refrigerator Pickle Recipes

We were loving the Spicy Garlic Cucumber Refrigerator Pickles so much that we went on to create two more posts for a Gingered Red Onion Pickled Golden Beet and a Lemon Daikon Radish Refrigerator Pickle. Stay tuned as this week. You are going to enjoy three fun refrigerator pickle recipes! All 3 recipes are gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan. We used stevia to keep the recipes low carb and diabetic friendly.

Quick, Easy and No Cooking Required

We know that many recipes require you to boil the pickling spices before you make them but that just heats up your house and totally not needed. Pouring hot pickling juice on these fresh vegetables just makes them wilt and go soft.

However, with our quick and easy method of just mix and pour (no heating required), the vegetables stay crunchy and delicious with loads of flavor. We used this method with our pickled shrimp and it works like a charm.

Basic Ingredients

Refrigerator pickles really need at bear minimum 3 ingredients

1. vegetables of choice
2. distilled pickling vinegar
3. salt

Anything else is just for added flavor.

Storage

Refrigerator pickles will last between 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator. Well, we guess as they have never lasted longer than 24 hours. (smiling)

The hardest part is just waiting at least 6 hours or overnight for the flavors to mingle. We enjoy tossing a few Spicy Garlic Cucumber Refrigerator Pickles in coleslaws, sandwiches, Kimchi Salmon and Rainbow Pickles, Vietnamese bao’s and as a side to all our favorite Asian dishes. You might even see us foraging for these delicious pickles as a mid-night snack.

Important Health Directives

1. The most important health directive when making refrigerator pickles is making sure that you wash your jars with lids with super-hot and soapy water and rinse well and then let air dry. Glass jars are the best. We used these reseal able ones from France as they are so easy to use. There is no need to boil and sterilize your jars, but if you wish to, knock yourself out.
2. In addition, be sure to use DISTILLED Vinegar for pickling or otherwise your pickling solution may turn cloudy.
3. Use Kosher Salt or Pickling Salt. Do not use table salt.  Kosher salt without any additives or pickling salt lacks the iodine and anti-caking additives that turn pickles dark and the pickling liquid cloudy. Pickles made with table salt are still delicious, but your pickles will not stay bright green and your liquid may turn cloudy.