Grandma’s Secret Dill Pickle Recipe for Canning

This dill pickle recipe for canning was handed down by my grandmother {who gave it to me in the form of a newspaper clipping} and has ruined store-bought pickles for me forever. If you like a crunchy, salty, slightly spicy, delicious dill pickle and like to can, this post is for you! 

I’m sharing this recipe with you because I love you. But you better not tell anyone else because these pickles are my key to fame and fortune! 😉

Grandma’s Secret Dill Pickle Recipe for Canning

These pickles are such a family favorite that when I was a kid in Germany, we used to take boxes of them home with us on the airplane after our summer visits. The customs agents thought we were insane every time they inspected our pickles. I guess we’re really lucky they never broke! 

You won’t regret making this dill pickle recipe if you like salty, spicy, sour pickles! Here’s how to get started.

To make these pickles, you need a lot of cucumbers. Preferably, straight, small ones (4-5 inches or so). I like to grow my own, but for whatever reason, I have not been successful growing cucumbers the last few years. These beautiful cucumbers were given to me by a friend and this is the first time I have been able to can pickles in several years. If you have any small, extra cucumbers, please send them my way!

First, prepare your water bath canner and get your pickle solution ready {recipe below}. Then, wash cucumbers well and cut off any bad spots. Also cut off just the blossom end tip to help the pickles stay crunchy after canning.

Pack cucumbers very, very, very tightly into quart size jars. Squeeze in as many as you can  because once they are canned they will all float to the top and make it look like you could have fit at least 50% more in! It never fails.

Add garlic, hot pepper, dill, and alum. Don’t skimp on the alum ~ it’s one part of crispy pickle. You can add more peppers to this dill pickle recipe if you want – up two two hot peppers for a super spicy pickle.

Ladle prepared, boiling pickle solution (water, pickling salt, apple cider vinegar) into your jars. Leave 1/4 inch head space.

Add one washed grape leaf per jar. The tannins in grape leaves also help keep these pickles crispy. If you can’t find any, I have read you can substitute an oak leaf or loose black tea, but I have never tried that myself.

Put the lids on and tighten. Use pot holders because the jar will be really hot.

Put the cans into boiling water in a water bath canner and can for  ~10 minutes, just long enough to help the jars seal. Remove jars from canner, make sure they seal, then let them sit for 24 hours to cool. After they’ve cooled completely, store them for at least three weeks before eating.

Dill Pickle Recipe Ingredients

• 1 Peck cucumbers, straight, skinny, and small, cut off the very tip of the blossom end. (about 10 – 14 pounds of cucumbers)
• 3 pints apple cider vinegar (6 cups)
• 1  1/4 cups pickling salt
• 4 1/2 quarts water (18 cups)
• Fresh dill (one spring + a few fronds per jar)
• grape leaves (1 per jar)
• 7 large cloves of garlic (1 clove per jar)
• Alum ( 1/2 tsp per jar)
• Hot peppers (1/2 – 1 per jar)

Dill Pickle Recipe for Canning

1. Prepare water bath canner and bring water to a boil.
2. Sterile quart size canning jars. (I wash mine in dishwasher or boil them in the canner).
3. Heat up lids and rings.
4. Combine water, salt, vinegar in a large pot and bring to a boil.
5. Wash cucumbers and cut off any bad spots.
6. Pack cucumbers extremely tightly into canning jars. Wide mouth jars are easier to pack.
7. Add hot pepper, alum, dill, garlic to the jars.
8. Ladle pickling solution into jars leaving 1/4 inch head space.
9. Wipe off mouth of jars.
10. Tighten lids on jars.
11. Place jars in waterbath canner and boil for 10 minutes.
12. Remove jars from canner.
13. Let sit to cool for 24 hours.
14. Store pickles for 3 weeks before eating.
15. Enjoy!

Printable Dill Pickle Recipe for Canning

Do you like pickles? What’s your most favorite kind?

For more ways to use your summer garden bounty, read these:

Homemade Strawberry Syrup and Canning Instructions

Homemade Roasted Tomato Sauce

The Quick and Easy Guide to Canning Crushed Tomatoes

Homemade Gourmet Vinegar with Garden Fresh Herbs

Pineapple Jalapeno Relish