Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles

My dad knocked on the back door a few days ago and handed me a bag of seven or eight cucumbers from my parents’ garden.  I cut some up for Princess Persnickety to take with lunch, I made a batch of Tzatziki Sauce, and then I threw together a batch of Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles.  I told that to my mother, and she was appalled.

My mom makes excellent refrigerator dill pickles, and I love when she makes enough to share.  And to be perfectly clear, bread and butter pickles aren’t a replacement for dill pickles.  They’re sweeter than dill pickles, yet with a more complex flavor than sweet pickles, and I think they’re delicious.  I am well aware, however, that not everyone does.  My mother, for example, is a hard no.

The reason my mom doesn’t like bread and butter pickles is the sweetness.  Google tells me that’s pretty much the going sentiment among the wider anti-bread-and-butter faction.  I totally get it.  But if you’re b-and-b-pickle curious, here’s some clarification.

It’s true that bread and butter pickles fall under the sweet pickle–as opposed to dill pickle–umbrella.  However, unlike many sweet pickles, bread and butter pickles are known for their tangy and spicy flavor.  Bread and butter pickles include sliced onions, lots of mustard seeds and celery seed, plus other spices depending on the recipe.  This recipe includes cloves and spicy red pepper flakes.

Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles couldn’t be easier.  Simply cut up the cucumbers and onions, and put them in jars.  Warm up the brine, and pour it over the vegetables.  Pop the lid on, and stick them in the fridge.  You don’t need special pickling cucumbers, you don’t need any canning equipment.  They really are that simple.

Refrigerator Bread and Butter pickles are excellent on a relish tray, a charcuterie board, on a chicken salad sandwich.  I’ve served them as a fancy hors d’oeuvre on top of a cracker with pâté.  They’re my favorite pickles on a cubano.  They’re also good as a snack straight out of the jar.  

Pro tip:  Save the brine to use in a chicken or pork marinade, or add a splash to potato salad.  You can also bring leftover brine to a boil and use it to quick pickle onions for sandwiches, tacos, etc.  

Print Recipe

Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles

Makes about 2½ pints, no canning required!

Equipment

• clean jars and lids

Ingredients

• 1½ lbs. cucumbers, sliced
• 1 T. sea salt
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• a clove or two per pint
• one dried red chili or a pinch of red pepper flakes per jar, optional
• 1 cup white vinegar
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup white sugar
• ½ cup dark brown sugar
• 1 T. mustard seeds
• 2 t. celery seeds

Instructions

• Put the sliced cucumbers in a bowl, and toss them with the salt. Let sit 10 minutes. Rinse the cucumbers well and toss with the sliced onion.
• Drop a clove or two in each jar. Add a dred pepper or a pinch of pepper flakes if using. Fill the jars with cucumbers and onions.
• Combine the vinegars, sugars, mustard seeds, celery seed, and dried pepper or red pepper flakes in a saucepan. Heat the brine, stirring just until the sugar dissolves. Pour over the cucumbers nad onions, making sure the vegetables are covered with liquid. Put the lids on the jars.
• Allow the jars to cool completely. Chill for 24-48 hours before eating. These pickles will keep two or three months in in the refrigerator.