Yes. I prefer my own spice mix but I agree that it would be a good base.
Or buying some cheap pH test strips and using science like a sane person would.
When I want pickled eggs, I simply pour a jar of pickled beets onto hard-boiled eggs, wait 2 days, then eat.
I have yet to find a dill pickle recipe that matches the stuff you get in stores. I’m thinking I may have to do the crock method if I want pickles that taste like that.
Good non-company sites for pickling info:
http://nchfp.uga.edu/ - National Center for Home Food Preservation
How to Can, Freeze, Dry and Preserve Any Fruit or Vegetable at Home - Pick Your Own
http://www.sbcanning.com/ - SB Canning
http://www.foodinjars.com/ - Food In Jars
I eat raw meat and raw eggs. You should can with the utmost caution because any other way is idiotic. Botulism is nothing to fuck around with. Here’s what you need to know about botulism: it’s a anerobic bacteria that gives off a neurotoxin, that is everywhere and perfectly harmless until it gets sealed into an airless environment. “Unless treatment of food-borne botulism is initiated promptly at the onset of the symptoms, death may result within three to seven days… Recovery may take several weeks to months.”
“[in the last 90 years]… most of the outbreaks of food-borne botulism in the United States have been caused by improperly home-canned foods.” Are there a lot? no there are not a lot. Around 20-25 cases a year. Botulism that can make you very sick or dead doesn’t always have an off smell or taste. Why take the risk?
My grandma did loads of stupid, unhygenic shit and lived to tell the tale (having survived Aushwitz she had a bit of a “whatever” attitude towards food safety.). That doesn’t make it a good idea, nor a risk worth taking for the sake of… what? Not knuckling under to “big canning?” Canning food is a hobby. It’s crazy to do it in a risky manner when the risk is easily eliminated with no loss of flavor and the consequence is death or weeks of incapacitation.
If you choose to can in an unsafe manner it’s your business but advising inexperienced canners to do likewise is the exact opposite of common sense.
The majority of botulism cases are found in Alaska where it comes from wild game. I did the calculations once and the risk of getting botulism from canned foods is less than the risk of getting into a car accident driving to the store to buy your canning supplies. It’s all about relative risk.
Besides, botulism off gasses so if you’re careful checking your seals, you’ve reduced your risk even further. But again, just buy some goddamn pH strips.
If it makes you feel better, I use a water bath for other canning. No one is being forced to can this way. I now return you to your pickling thread.
- the idiot, aka Carnut
This may fall into the “…and such” part of the OP, but I have been making my own gravlax for years. It’s really curing, but still an easy and delicious project.
1 large filet of salmon with skin (I also frequently use Steel Head trout)
Sugar
Salt
Fresh Dill
Gin or Aquavit (optional)
I use a 3-to-2 ratio of white sugar to kosher salt (some people prefer 1-to-1 ratio and some swear by brown sugar)
-Place the fish skin-side down on a large piece of plastic wrap
-Rub with a little gin or Aquavit if wanted
-Coat liberally with sugar/salt mixture to completely cover fish
-Cover with fresh dill
-Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 days
That’s it. When the 3 days are up, just rinse the sugar, salt and dill off and slice as thin as possible.
If I have anything I think may be risky I use a FoodSaver with the canning jar attachment. If the lid pops, out it goes.
So I just sampled my pickled eggs for the first time…
If anyone wants some rubber balls for the kids, I have a whole jar full (with beets). 
I did the recipe exactly as described over on Allrecipe. I left the jar alone the full 5 days.
Sigh. The beets are good, and egg yolks are a bright yellow, but the texture of the egg white (errr, egg red) is like biting erasers off the ends of a box of pencils.
Since I’ve never actually had a pickled egg before, is it possible to get pickled eggs to be just like hard boiled eggs, but with pickling flavor?
Anyway, I think I’ll take one to work tomorrow and see how high it bounces when dropped from the third floor window.
I have found this recipe for sour pickles from Good Eats works really well: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/kinda-sorta-sours-recipe/index.html
They have such a bright, complex flavor compared to what you buy in the stores. They are also sliced which means a quick pickle and are refrigerator pickles which means they are quick to make.
Pickled red onions make a great topping for tacos, burgers, or hot dogs and are super quick and easy to make. Here is a girl making a recipe similar to what I do: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Pickled-Red-Onions/
I did some pickled beets about a week ago. I still have 20 jars of canned tomatoes left from last year and 3 jars of pickled peppers. It’s probably a good thing as the garden isn’t doing very well this year.
Every pickled egg I’ve ever eaten has had that rubbery, crumbly, pencil eraser-like texture. I was hoping it was because they had been sitting behind the bar for 12 years, but it sounds as if fresh ones are similar.
Huh. Outside of Eastern European delis that have dill pickles in giant barrels, I’ve yet to find a commercial dill pickle that’s anywhere near as good as what I can make at home. I don’t like vinegary pickles. I like pickles that are fermented and have a lactic acid (rather than acetic acid) taste to them. You know, like full sours or half sours.
shrug My husband is a pickle fan, and he likes the flavor of the garlic dill pickles that are storebought. I’m trying to replicate it and can’t manage to make him happy.
Sounds like he likes the vinegary pickles, then. A bit easier to do than the fermented kind.
Make sure it’s the flavor that you can’t replicate, because many times it’s the texture. Some people like a very crisp pickle and others prefer a little bit of give.
For a crisp pickle, you might want to try using food-grade lime or alum. Traditionally, with fermented pickles, leaves (usually cherry, grape, or oak) would be added, and it is my understanding that they would keep the pickles crispy. Personally, I like my pickles with a gentle sourness and a bit of give, so I don’t use any of those. Like I said above, I like the full sours of New York delis, and not the Vlasic or similar stuff you get in jars at the supermarket. The only time I buy supermarket pickles is for hamburgers, where I like the pickle chips and the vinegary-ness.
Yeah, I got food grade alum. I think I need to find the absolute most basic, white-vinegar-using pickling recipe, with just garlic and dill. No cider vinegar, no pickling spice mixes, etc.
Check to see if your husband likes the sweeter style of pickle, too. I never use sugar in my pickles, but some commercial pickles use a good bit of sugar in them. My own recipe is just cukes, brine, dill, garlic, and sun for 3-5 days.