I think in reality this is my grandfather's mother's recipe. You can play with the proportions of garlic and dill to get pickles that taste exactly the way you like them. We prefer our pickles crunchy and eat them within 6 months or a year.
Makes 4 quarts
Cucumbers, preferably whole, but cut up to fit the size of your jars if necessary
3-4 cloves of garlic per quart
3-4 stalks of dill per quart
Brine:
12 cups water
1 cup salt
2 teaspoons alum
6 cups apple cider vinegar
Clean/sterilize the jars and lids, either in boiling water or the dishwasher.
Combine first three brine ingredients and bring to a boil. Add the vinegar and return to boil.
In the mean time, fill the jars with cucumbers, garlic and dill. When the brine is ready, pour into jars, completely covering the cucumbers, but with approximately 1/4 inch of free space remaining at the top of the jar. Secure the lid and place into a water bath that completely covers all of the jars.
Boil the jars for 5-15 minutes. The less you boil the crunchier your pickles will be, but there seems to be some debate about how long is long enough. I am going to go with 5 minutes this year and aim for crunchy pickles!
