Southwestern Style Bread and Butter Pickles

 

I used to think that canning pickles was next to impossible. But you know what? It ain’t no big thang!

Seriously. Canning pickles is pretty easy. Once you break down the steps, set aside the initial fear of messing up, and just give it a try you’ll probably wonder why in the world you thought this was so hard.

And once you start making your own pickles you’ll never go back. I promise. If you’re a pickle lover like me, canning your own pickles is like having the key to the universe. Okay, maybe that’s a little bit of an overstatement. But you get what I mean.

A good pickle starts with..well a good cucumber. Whether you grow your own or buy them from a local grower, you want good, crisp picklers with uniform shape. They shouldn’t be overgrown or overripe. When you slice open your cucumber, the flesh should be firm and the middle should be dense with small seeds.

What I love about these Bread & Butter pickles is their sweet heat and zesty flavor. They’re great on sandwiches, hamburgers or wherever you like to put pickles. And the longer they sit the more flavorful they get!

How to Can Southwestern Style Bread & Butter Pickles

Here’s everything you’ll need:

• 25 pickling cucumbers
• 6 white onions
• 2 green or red bell peppers
• 1 banana pepper
• 2 jalapeno peppers
• 6 cloves of garlic or 2 tbs of minced garlic
• 1/2 cup pickling and canning salt
• 3 cups cider vinegar
• 5 cups sugar
• 2 tbs mustard seed
• 2 tsp celery seed
• 1 tsp whole cloves
• 2 tbs red pepper flake
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 13 pint canning jars with lids

Instructions:

Cut off the end of the cucumbers and then cut them into 1/4 inch slices. We used a mandoline slicer with a crinkle blade like this one. Slice the onions in thin strips. Chop the bell and jalapeno peppers (we left in the seeds for extra heat, but you can choose to remove them for a more mild taste). Mix everything in a large bowl. Cut garlic cloves, or if using grated garlic add to mixture in bowl. Add pickling and canning salt. Cover with cold water.

For crispy pickles, add ice to the top of the mixture and let stand for 3 hours.

 

Using a large pot, add cider vinegar, sugar and all spices and bring to a boil. Drain cucumber mixture and add to the boiling vinegar, stirring occasionally. Remove from the stove before mixture returns to boil so cucumbers don’t go limp.

Warm your clean and sterilized canning jars in the oven. Pack each jar with your pickle mixture. Wipe the rims with a dry cloth before adding lids, then screw on the bands.

Add your full jars to the water bath canner and process for 10 minutes. If you’ve never done water bath canning before, here is a great tutorial for the first time user.

Remove jars from the water bath and let cool until you hear that delightful popping sound of sealing jar lids.

You’ll love the sweet heat of these pickles. And the longer they sit the more flavorful they become. But if you can resist popping open one of these jars as soon as they cool, you’re a better person than I!