25 Acre Dilly Beans: A Great Twist On Your Average Pickle

I’m sure you’ve all heard me rave over the basic brine recipe I use for anything from Pickled Okra to now, Dilly Beans. If you haven’t heard…keep reading and try your hand at this awesome yet simple recipe.

Along the way I’ve made a few tweaks after finding that packaged mixes and various other recipes just didn’t float my boat. My husband didn’t like too much dill and I wanted something that would be equally as good as an addition to a cocktail or to consume as a stand alone pickle. And that, is how the 25 Acre Dilly Bean was born.

25 ACRE DILLY BEANS

Take time to gather the freshest and best looking straight beans (I grow the Provider variety of beans which are sheer perfection!). This will make packing and presentation stand out from the rest. Start by cutting beans to a preset length to fit into wide mouth pint jars. In the photo below, I used a piece of tape applied to my cutting board as a measure.

While trimming beans I place my jars in the dishwasher on the sterilization setting. This typically takes 185 minutes for the complete cycle.

Once the beans are cut, rinse with cool water to remove any lingering dirt. Drain and lay out on a towel to dry.

While the beans sit and dry, prepare the brine, water bath & boiling water for lid sterilization.

BASIC BRINE

Makes enough for 6-8 pints or 3-4 pounds of beans. Heat to boiling.

• 2 1/2 Cups White Vinegar
• 4 Cups Water
• 1/4 Cup Pickling Salt (level cup)
• 8 tsp sugar

Once the jars have completed the sterilization phase, you must add the per jar additions per pint. Feel free to get creative as you like. The following just so happens to be our favorite!

THE ADDITIONS

1/4 tsp Celery Seed

1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flake (less is fine if you don’t like too much spice)

1/8 tsp Dehydrated Garlic or 1/4 tsp Fresh/Refrigerated Garlic

2-3 Dill Flower Arrays (I like to use the yellow flowers prior to seed formation)

1 tsp Dehydrated Onion

My definition of Dill Flower Array is just one small segment of the single stem flower head, where only 8-10 seeds would form. You don’t want to use and entire flower unless you really want a powerful dill flavor.

Start laying the beans into the jars and pack well. The tighter the beans are, the less likely they are to float once the brine is added.

Once all your jars are packed, arrange them for easy filling. The brine should be added to allow for 1/4-inch headspace.

Add hot brine, wipe the jar lip well with paper towel, secure lids and rings to fingertip tight. The pints should be processed 10 minutes, covered with boiling water in a hot water bath canner. Once your processing is complete, remove from the canner, set aside to cool and seal.

Give it about 2 weeks…if you can wait that long! You will have the best darned Dilly Beans you’ve ever had! Because I had some okra coming in, I processed my quart for about 20-25 minutes.

These jars will be a great addition to our pantry as well as our booth at the local Farmer’s Market!

#LifeOn25Acres