I am growing some pickling cucumbers so I can get into pickling this year. I've tried multiple batches with very inconsistent results. From what I can tell, it can take a very long time to make a very flavorful pickle but I've seen many recipes saying as little as 2 days. The two recipes I've tried are from Alton Brown and another website. Due to quantity of pickles and size of jars, I haven't matched these recipes verbatim. I'm trying to hone in on a flavor I like, which tends to be more towards the Claussen kosher dill flavor profile.
First recipe I did I used Alton's and it was good. Really good pickle flavor punch at the beginning. But every other time I've made it, it's been a little bland. The other recipe, I'm finding at least, has way too much vinegar for my taste. 3 tbsp for 1.5 cups of water is more vinegar than I like. But this recipe too doesn't have enough flavor.
What I noticed on the first attempt that worked was it had a very strong briney punch to it up front. I haven't reproduced it since though. Can anyone offer advice how to up the flavor of pickle? And if you have suggestions on where I can improve on these recipes, I'd be happy to hear. Thank you!
The issue could be with your raw materials. If your cukes are watery and tasteless off the plant then that's going to hobble you from the get-go. Make sure you're not over-feeding them or letting them get too big.
The Indian chef Sunil Ghal who runs Pickle restaurant on Camden Street was on RTE radio Friday and he handed over three pickle recipes, aged lime pickle, garlic pickle and mango pickle. Didnt know he now has a further two Indian restaurants in Greystones and Clonskeagh. The one in Clonskeagh is focused on Indian street food, must give it a try sometime, it is called Street
