Dilly Beans and Pickled or Dilly Carrots
If you haven’t tried Dilly Beans you are missing a treat. Crisp-tender green beans, they are pickled in a simple vinegar, salt, and water solution and seasoned with garlic and dill. Hot peppers or pepper flakes can be added if you like them with more of a bite. Preparation is fairly simple. They can be canned by hot water processing, or if not processed they must be kept refrigerated.
I also pickle carrots the same way. Just peel, cut into 4” lengths, and quarter them on the length, and then process like the green beans. Don’t bother using multi colored carrots to make them look nicer, though. I tried that and found that the vinegar bleached all the color out of them during pickling anyway.
Dilly Beans
Servings: 5 pints
Ingredients
- 3 pounds fresh green beans
- 3 cups white vinegar
- 3 cups water
- 5 tablespoons pickling or Kosher salt
- 5 medium to large garlic cloves
- 10 or more sprigs of fresh dill or may substitute 5 teaspoons of dill seed not dill weed
Instructions
- If canning them, prepare the boiling water bath and sterilize 5 pint jars. Place lids in a small saucepan of water, bring to a boil, and then let them rest while preparing the beans.
- Wash the beans, trim the ends, and cut them to fit the jars, 4” long for standard pint size canning jars.
- 3.Place garlic in each jar, arrange a couple sprigs of fresh dill along one side of jar, and with jar tilted on its side for easy filling, pack green beans in to fill jar..
- Combine vinegar, water, and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Slowly pour the hot vinegar over the beans, leaving ½ inch of headspace. Allow the liquid to settle, and use a chopstick or slender knife to coax any air bubbles to the surface. Top off with more liquid as needed.
- Wipe the rims with a clean soft cloth. Apply lids and rings, tightening to finger tightness (don’t force them too tightly and don’t tighten again after processing.
- Process for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to air cool.
Notes
Let them sit for at least a week before eating whether they have been canned or just refrigerated. I was afraid to can them lest the heat make the beans soft, but green beans don’t cook that easily. They handled it just fine. (My daughters say the pickled beans are great in a Bloody Mary)
