It takes little time to put together these pickled cucumbers. Talk about a fast and easy condiment! If you add ginger and pepper flakes, you can make them as hot as you want. An amazing pickled cucumber recipe to serve with burgers, potato salad, and pulled pork sandwiches.
I have to confess that cucumbers are not really my thing. There are so many other vegetables to try that I never seem to get to them.
But, as we all know, a good burger, or even a lentil rice burger, deserves a great cucumber pickle. And with that, I can relate.
Especially if they're quick and easy. Who can argue with that, right?
Ingredients
- Cucumbers: I use regular cucumbers (image below), but you can use other similar types.
- Salt: coarse salt for draining the cucumbers of their liquid and fine salt or kosher for canning them with oil.
- Vinegar: it wouldn't be a pickle without vinegar. White or rice vinegar is used in this recipe.
- Ginger and red pepper flakes: these might be optional, but they add a lot of flavor and spiciness.
- Sugar: a tiny bit of regular white sugar to balance so much acidity and spice.
- Olive oil: my only choice, though you certainly can use other oils such as canola or sunflower.
How to make pickled cucumbers
- Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise and then in slices. Or simply slice them whole cucumbers. A mandoline can be used too. I like them rustic and irregular (image above, left), but that might not be the case for you.
- Put cut cucumbers in a bowl and sprinkle with the coarse salt (image above, right). Mix lightly and let stand at room t°. The liquid in the vegetables (which is a lot) will come out, and with it the bitterness they might have.
- Drain cucumbers and toss with other ingredients except for oil (image below, left).
- Put all of this in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, add olive oil to cover, and refrigerate (image below, right).
I liked this side dish. It's really good for a burger, beef of course but also lamb.
That was my original intention, first the homemade buns, then the burger with the cheese and pickles..
So I will keep them in the fridge, pillowed in olive oil, the way I do with pickled eggplants, while they wait for the day when the buns emerge golden from the oven and the burgers sizzle in the skillet.
No barbecue for me these days, did I tell you it's winter?
Kitchen notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
- Washing: thoroughly wash the cucumbers before cutting and salting.
- Salt: we have a 'barbecue salt' here which is in between fine and very coarse. That's what I use, but any salt will do really. Let not that stop you from making these quick pickles.
- Oil: I use olive oil and that's why the images have a yellow tint. Most recipes don't have oil, but it is a wonderful way of keeping them in the fridge.
- Vinegar: I use white vinegar but rice works well too.
- Spiciness: keep in mind when adding ginger and red pepper flakes that the longer you keep them, the spicier the cucumbers get. Decrease the amount if you plan to use them in a few weeks. At least the first time you make them. Or you can omit them altogether, but they will lack something, in my opinion.
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Quick Easy Pickled Cucumbers
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Ingredients
- 2 cucumbers, medium-sized
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes , or to taste
- olive oil, to cover
Instructions
- Wash well 2 cucumbers, cut in half, each piece inhalf again and cut along the seeds. Cut each quarter into ½ inch pieces.
- Toss in a bowl with 1 teaspoon sea salt and let stand 30 minutes at room temperature. Drain off the liquid that was released.
- Mix in ½ cup white vinegar, 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger, ¼ teaspoon sugar and ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes .
- Transfer to a jar, packing. Add olive oil until all cucumbers are covered, close tightly and store in the refrigerator.
- You can eat them immediately or wait until they are colder from the fridge. They last one month.
Notes
Barely adapted from Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan
Sunny says
Everything sounds great can you can your Pickles?
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Sunny, I don't can them, so can't answer from my personal experience.
Laura Joppeck says
How would we go about canning these for longer storage? Do we still add oil to them for that? Thank you 🙂
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Laura! I'm not very familiar with canning for longer storage to give you a definite answer.
My mother-in-law used to do it (can them in sterilized jars with oil and vinegar) and always stored them in the refrigerator, not the pantry. But I can't guarantee how long they last. It's pretty similar to what's described in this post from the James Beard foundation.
Rachel says
Can someone please help me. These didn’t need to be boiled water or anything right? I put oil in the jar maybe the jar was too big becuase it wasn’t full filled but I put the oil to cover all the cucumbers but now the oil is all at the top and congealed and i don’t know how to fix it so I can eat them
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Rachel, they didn't need to be boiled. But you had to leave them mixed with salt and then drain the liquid. If you put them in the fridge and the oil hardened simply take them out at room t° before eating them.
Krissy Allori says
I love pickles and I love how quick and easy this recipe is!
Andrea Metlika says
Wow, this really was easy! We are big pickle fans so they won't last long in my house.
Jessica Formicola says
I have so many cucumbers in my garden. This is a great way to use them up! My family loves pickles so I can't wait to try this!
David Scott Allen says
I love pickles and this recipe is so easy! Thanks!