Old Fashioned Tongue Pickles Recipes

SWEET PICKLES FROM RIPE CUCUMBERS

Steps:

• Cut cucumbers into large strips or pieces.
• Combine salt and 8 cups of water in a large stock pot. Stir until salt dissolves.
• Add the cucumbers. Let stand at least 12 hours.
• Drain and rinse cucumbers.
• In a large pot, combine sugar, vinegar, 1½ cups water, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to a boil.
• Add drained cucumbers.Gently boil until cucumbers begin to look transparent. You may have to do this in two separate batches if your pot is too small.
• Pack into clean pint jars.Cover with the vinegar syrup.
• Top with 2 piece canning covers. Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.
• Remove from canner and let sit on counter overnight.
• Pickles will improve with age, so let sit at least 3 weeks before serving.

CRAVEN COUNTY SWEET PICKLES RECIPE:

Steps:

• Soak the cucumbers in ice cold water for 30 minutes. Drain. Trim off the ends of the cucumbers, then slice (a mandoline is best) into 1/4-inch slices.
• Place sliced cucumbers in a large non-reactive container (stainless steel or porcelain) and cover with boiling water. There will be a foam on the cucumbers for this first application of boiling water, but you will not have any foam after that.
• Do not cover the container with a lid. This is because the water is so hot, and you do not want to cook the pickles - just "scald" them.
• Let sit until Day 2.
• The cucumbers do not have to be refrigerated during the five (5) day process. You want the ingredients to be at room temperature and the water you pour over them to be at the boiling point when you are processing.
• Drain off water (do not rinse the pickles) and cover with fresh boiling water and pickling salt mixture.
• Pickling salt mixture = 1 1/2 cups pickling salt to 1 gallon boiling water
• Drain off water/salt mixture.
• Do not rinse the pickles after the salt step. Just drain the water mixture off and proceed to the next step.
• Cover with fresh boiling water and alum mixture.
• Alum mixture = 2 1/2 tablespoons alum to 1 gallon boiling water
• Drain off alum water and discard.
• Do not rinse the pickles after the alum step. Just drain the water mixture off and proceed to the next step.
• Boil together enough cider vinegar and pickling spices to cover the cucumber slices. (1 gallon cider vinegar and 3 tablespoons pickling spices wrapped in cheese cloth).
• Pour prepared cider vinegar/pickling spices over the cucumber slices.
• I place a towel on top of the container, with a rubber band around the pot/towel to hold in place. I do this because the vinegar smell is so strong . I then put the container in the garage so they will not smell up the house.
• Let the cucumbers sit in the vinegar solution, covering the top with a towel to keep "whatever out." Do not cover the mixture with a lid.
• Take cucumbers out of cider vinegar; drain off cider vinegar and dispose (or throw away) the vinegar and spice sack. I do not put the spices back into my pickles. I am sure it would be okay if you did, but I do not like having the spices in my pickles.
• I put my jars, lids, and rings into the dishwasher and run on a regular cycle with dishwasher detergent. If you do not have a dishwasher, just wash as you would regular dishes and rinse with VERY hot water. This way you can be assured that your end product will be free of contaminants that may have been in the jar previously.
• General Rule: For every five (5) cups of sliced cucumbers, add two (2) cups of granulated sugar (you want to thoroughly cover the cucumbers as you would if you were flouring a piece of chicken to deep fry).
• When I pack the jars, I put approximately a dozen slices of pickles and then 1/4 cup of sugar sprinkled around on the slices - then another dozen or so pickles slices and another 1/4 cup of sugar until you have filled up the jar. You will end up with approximately one (1) cup of sugar per quart jar.
• As the sugar dissolves it "pulls out" the vinegar from the pickles and makes a sweet light syrup. When the sugar has dissolved, if you do not have syrup high enough in the jar to cover all of the pickles just add more sugar. I like to let my pickles age for a week and then refrigerate - they are fantastic cold.
• Make sure the pickles are covered with the vinegar/sugar liquid or your top cucumbers will turn darker.
• NOTE: The sugar sometimes does just sit on the bottom. I turn my jars upside down from time to time so the sugar will travel from the bottom to the top (which is now in the lower position). As you do this, the sugar will dissolve and draw the vinegar out of the pickles and make a syrup that will cover them. I turn the jars until the sugar has completely dissolved. It may take a few turns; however, you can also hold the jar in your hand and turn it back and forth to speed up the process.
• Your jars will not be sealed but your pickles will be preserved. You can eat these sweet pickles immediately, but are much better if they are allowed to sit in the syrup for a week or so.
• I prefer my pickles cold - straight from the refrigerator. They are a better taste and texture. You can store the pickles in a cool, dark place for many years.
• Yield: 35 pounds of cucumbers yielded approximately 18 quarts of sweet pickles.

EASY GARLIC DILL PICKLES RECIPE

Steps:

• Wash and remove the spines on the pickling cucumbers. Cut into rounds or icicles if desired or leave them whole.
• Combine vinegar and water in a large stockpot and bring to a boil.
• In each quart-sized canning jar place 1 head of dill, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tsp. of pickling spice, 1 tbs. of pickling salt.
• Pack the cucumbers into the canning jars, then cover with hot brine leaving 1/2 inch of headroom.
• Remove any air bubbles from the jars, wipe the rims clean and place the jar lids on finger tight.
• Process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes or according to your altitude.
• After canning remove the jars and place on a towel in a draft-free place to sit for 24 hours. Any jars that have not seeled in 24 hours need to be reprocessed or placed into the refrigerator.

OLD FASHIONED BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, toss together, cucumbers, onions, and salt
• Add ice, and toss a bit to combine
• Let sit in refrigerator for several hours or overnight
• Drain and rinse cucumbers and onions
• Combine remaining ingredients except garlic, in a large sauce pan
• Bring to a boil, and reduce to simmer for 3-5 minutes
• Pack cucumbers and onions into clean jars
• Pour brine over each jar filling to about 1/2 inch from the top
• Fit with clean lids and bands
• Inversion seal by inverting jars for 2 minutes before turning right side up and letting cool. Then let jars pickle for 7 days before opening
• Or water bath can by fitting a waterbath canner with bottom insert, placing jars inside, spacing so that they don't touch each other, and filling canner with warm water at least an inch over the top of the jars.
• Bring to a rolling boil, and continue boiling for 10 minutes
• Let cool before opening canner.
• Enjoy!

PICKLED BEEF TONGUE BY EDDIE

Steps:

• 1. Cover tongue with cold water; simmer for 1 hour or until tender.
• 2. Drain and reserve 2 cups broth. Cool tongue until able to handle, then peel off thick covering.
• 3. Combine reserved broth with remaining ingredients. Place tongue in a bowl or jar. Cover with vinegar mixture.
• 4. Cover, chill for 48 hours. Remove from vinegar mixture slice and serve.
• 5. NOTE; When a recipe call's for vinegar it is most likely white vinegar unless stated apple cider vinegar.

OLD FASHIONED SWEET CUCUMBER PICKLE

Steps:

• Please note that I use whatever quantities of cucumbers I have on hand, adjusting the quantity of brines and syrup to cover the cucumbers generously. You will need more brine to cover the cukes initially than you will need syrup later as there is a lot of shrinkage. Therefore I don't guarantee the above quantities will all work out exactly but each solution is easy to adjust to what you need. Start with what you think will cover the cucumbers and just make a little more if you need it.
• The use of alum is no longer recommended in home canning - I have noticed that some of the big pickle companies still use it and so do I in these pickles. It makes them crisp. I have made them without and they were not nearly as good.
• Day# 1.
• Prepare the salt/water brine by heating together until salt dissolves. It will cool sufficiently while you prepare the cucumbers.
• Wash the cucumbers in cold water. If they are less than 1 1/2" inches in diameter slice them in 3/8" - 1/2" slices. Larger ones may be halved or quartered and the seeds scooped out then cut into pickle-sized chunks.
• Put the cucumbers in a container (a large crock is preferred but hard to come by anymore - a plastic pail works fine). Do not use metal.
• Pour the salt/water brine over the cucumbers to cover. Place a plate over the cucumbers to submerge them. Put a weight on it (plastic vinegar bottle perhaps?). Cover with a cloth. Let stand 7 days.
• Day#8.
• Your pickles might not look very nice after 7 days but they are okay. Drain the brine off (dump in a clean sink), rinse the pickles and pail, put cucumbers back in and cover with plain hot water. Let stand till next day, (day# 9) drain again, and cover with alum/water solution (again heated to dissolve alum). Let stand one day.
• Day# 10.
• Drain pickles and return to pail. Prepare syrup by combining sugar and vinegar in a large (not aluminum) pot. Tie the pickling spice in a piece of cheesecloth and put in pot. Add a couple of drops of green food coloring and several of yellow. Bring to boil, simmer 10 minutes. Pour over cucumbers, submerge the spice bag in the pail.
• Every day, for 3 days, (days 11-12-13) drain the syrup into a pot, reheat and pour back over the pickles. Each day check the color, correcting it with yellow food coloring - it rarely needs anymore green.
• On day #14 put the pickles in sterilized jars, adding a piece of cinnamon stick and a few whole cloves to each jar. Heat brine, (discard spice bag)and pour in jars to cover pickles, leaving a little head space. Seal with 2 piece lids.
• Modern canning instructions would now call for these to be processed in a water bath for 10 minutes. I do not. If the odd jar doesn't seal I refrigerate it and use it first. In a cool dark place these pickles will keep a long time (I usually make a 2 year supply) Time and servings guestimated.

PICKLED TONGUE

Steps:

• Boil tongue in salt water for 3 hours. Peel skin from the tongue.
• Mix remaining ingredients in a large, nonreactive pot and bring to a boil.
• Add meat and boil for 10 minutes.
• Cool and store in refridgerator for one week.
• Slice tongue thinly to serve.

PICKLED BEEF TONGUE SANDWICH BY EDDIE

Steps:

• 1. Put all the ingredients from the brine into a large sauce pan and stir well over low heat until the salt and sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, turn off heat and let cool.
• 2. Place the tongue in a plastic container and pour the brine over the tongue using something to weigh down the tongue in the liquid. Refrigerate 4 to 5 days. On the 5th day remove the tongue from the brine and soak in fresh water overnight in the refrigerator.
• 3. Place the salted tongue in a pot along with the simmering ingredients, bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer 3 to 5 hours depending on the size of the tongue. The tongue is ready when very soft. Peel away the rubbery lining.
• 4. Serve the tongue hot or cold with horseradish and mustard. For sandwiches slice thinly and use ray bread with plenty of horseradish and mustard.

PICKLED CUCUMBERS

Steps:

• Wash cucumbers well. Place in a large nonreactive container. Combine 1/2 gallon water with 1 cup salt, and stir until salt is dissolved. Pour over cucumbers. Place a plate on cucumbers to keep them submerged in liquid. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
• Drain and rinse cucumbers, discarding brine. Pack into four to five wide-mouthed quart jars. Distribute pickling spices, garlic, and dill evenly among the jars.
• Combine 6 1/4 cups water, the remaining 1/2 cup salt, the vinegar, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, and pour into packed jars. Cool on a rack to room temperature. Cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.