Gherkin Refrigerator Pickles

This recipe is hands-down the easiest and most satisfying way to prepare your harvest of Mexican Sour Gherkins. The resulting pickles are like a cross between a cucumber chip and an olive. They are perfect enjoyed on their own, served with cheese, or as a garnish for a salty cocktail. 

Tools and supplies you'll need:  

• Mason jars, lid bands and lids or plastic lids

Ingredients: 

Mexican sour gherkins- whatever you have
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds, per jar
1/2 jalepeno, per jar, sliced
1 garlic clove, per jar, halved
10 parts vinegar
10 parts water
1 part pickling salt
 
Directions:

This recipe is design to be scaled to any quantity. Whether you have a cup or 3 quarts of gherkins, you can scale this recipe up or down to fit your needs. 

1. Clean jars. 
2. Warm up vinegar, water, and salt in a pot on the stove. This will become your brine. Turn off once salt has dissolved, this should only take a few minutes. Let cool.
3. Add mustard seeds, jalapeno and garlic to the bottom of each sanitized jar.
4. Rinse gherkins and remove any plant material from the flowering end of the fruit. 
5. Add gherkins to your jar(s). I filled my jars about 3/4 of the way to the top.
6. Fill jars with brine, leaving at least a 1/2 inch of space at the top. The little guys are pretty buoyant, so don't be super concerned with covering them all the way with brine. After a day or two they will start to sink towards the bottom. 
7. Cover with your choice of lid and place jars in the refrigerator. They will be ready to enjoy in about 3 days, but will last in the refrigerator for months! 

---