Marubozo's pickle recipe = win

[Rockinar]

Most all the Texas BBQ joints make their own pickle chips now, some better than others. I wanted to give it a try myself for fun, so I decided try Marubozo's recipe found here since he got positive feedback on them already:

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2722966&postcount=545


I made a jar according to the formula (without hot peppers) and thought they were decent but not great. I tasted them first, then tried some dill pickels from the grocery right after. Even though I did not think Marubozo formula was great, I was surprised how much better they still were then the classic Claussen dill slices from the store. I was on to something, but not quite what I'm looking for. I was looking for more of a "classic" dill pickle taste, nothing too fancy and no heat. I thought Marubozo's had a hint of dill, but had an aftertaste of something I did not like. I could not figure out what it was. The chips were nice and crispy which was nice. I would have thought pouring boiling water on them would make them soggy. It didn't.

I made another jar according to Marubozo formula and had my old lady take it to work and see if she can get feedback from co-workers. She said everyone liked them but did not get much feedback on them. She said someone told her "a bit salty" but they ate the whole jar so they clearly did not think they sucked. Meh, that did not help and I did not think they were salty so I'm not changing that.

I had a family event coming up I was cooking BBQ for and though it would be a good chance to test a new formula batch on a captive audience to get some real opinions. I made a new jar of Marubozo's pickles but changed the formula a bit. I also brought a jar of Claussen to do some A/B testing.

New formula:



1) I put 4 whole garlic cloves in the boiling brine then transfer only 2 into a single jar. Marubozo formula calls for 8-12 in boil brine, then split those in half and put them 50/50 in a jar. So Maruboro jars would have 4-6 cloves in each instead of my 2 cloves per jar.

2) Then I changed the dill. I put 4 sprigs of fresh dill AND 2 teaspoons of dill seed. The Marubozo formula says "A couple sprigs of fresh dill OR 2 TABLESPOONS of dill seed. I put in both. I changed "a couple" to exactly 4 sprigs and reduced 2 tablespoons of dill seed to 2 teaspoons (per jar).

The rest of the recipe was the same for 1 jar. 1/2 teaspoon coriander seed, celery seed, mustard seed and whole black peppercorns. Let sit in frige for 2 days.

The day of the BBQ came and I got so busy cooking all night I forgot to taste the new pickle formula. My old lady tossed them in the truck and away we went. As I was setting up my table I saw the pickles and decided to try them first so I can hide them if they're bad and serve the Claussen instead.

Result: MONEY! Totally perfect. Perfect spices taste, classic dill taste and crunchy.

I waved over the Mom Inlaw to have her try them. Mistake. She loved them then ran off and told a couple people. Now I have like 5 old ladies at my table eating the pickles. Five minutes later and the old ladies have eaten half the jar and I have not started serving yet. I had to politely ask them "Quit eating all the f***ing pickles please" and wave them off.

Long story short, people LOVED the pickles (what was left after the old ladies destroyed them). I served about 40 people. The number of people that skipped the Marubozo pickles for the Claussen pickles......ONE. And he was a teenage kid. They eat Tide Pods, so what would they know about good pickles?

Anyone looking to try to make their own, I would encourage it. Way better than anything store bought and super easy. You can tweak the garlic, dill, hot peppers in the Marubozo formula to your own taste. I also used seedless cucumbers instead of regular cucumbers. I thought they look better without seeds.

 

[THoey1963]

I loved his recipe as a starting point. I had never made my own pickles before. But I agree, it needed some tweaking for us. Here's what I do now and love them:

This recipe makes two quart sized jars of pickles. I use the Ziploc Twist'n Loc plastic containers and they work great.

http://ziploc.com/en/products/containers/round/containers-twist-loc-medium

Ingredients
• 4-6 medium cucumbers, or 8-10 small pickling cucumbers
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 8-12 cloves of garlic
• 6 tablespoons of pickling/canning salt or non-iodized kosher salt *** I use 3 TBS as I thought 6 was too salty ***
• A few sprigs of fresh dill, or substitute with 2 tablespoons of dill seed
• 1 teaspoon coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon mustard seed
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 Hungarian hot wax peppers *** Peppers are OPTIONAL: I tried Jalapenos and now use Habaneros. Depends how spicy you want it. ***

Directions

Start by bringing the water to a simmer in a saucepan. While the water is heating, peel the garlic. For a subtle garlic flavor, use 8 cloves (4 in each jar). Use more for a stronger garlic flavor. Leave the cloves whole. Once the water is up to a simmer you can add the garlic and cook for about five minutes. I also add the peppers to the simmering pot as I feel it extracts some of the hot oils and make the pickles spicier.

While the garlic is cooking, prepare your cucumbers by slicing into quarters lengthwise for spears, or cut thin chips. After the garlic has cooked for five minutes, add the vinegar and salt and bring to a boil until the salt is dissolved and then remove from the heat.

In two one-quart canning jars (wide-mouth jars work best for this) add the fresh sprigs of dill and remove the garlic from the pan and distribute equally in both jars. Then divide the remaining spices (1/2 teaspoon each) between the two jars. If you want a touch of heat, add one Hungarian hot pepper, halved lengthwise, to each jar. Next, take the cucumbers and pack them tightly into each jar. Bring the brine back up to a boil and pour immediately into both jars, filling very close to the very top so that the cucumbers are completely covered.

Put the lid on the container and store on the countertop to cool. I shake the jars every hour or so and alternate between right side up and upside down to get the flavors to evenly mix. Let cool to room temp and then refrigerate overnight. They are really good after sitting overnight, but amazing after another day or two.

 

[Rockinar]

• 6 tablespoons of pickling/canning salt or non-iodized kosher salt *** I use 3 TBS as I thought 6 was too salty ***

I had thought about changing that, but I don't know anything about canning/pickling and did not know what effect reducing the pickling salt would have so I kept it the same.

Maybe I will try a personal batch with reduced salt to see what it does.

 

[ironmanerik]

I make a gallon at a time, 1 tbl of everything, 2 tbl dill seed. 6 tbl salt for the gallon seems to work.

 

[bwsawman]

I am thankful for his pickle recipe! Love them! Store pickles seem so lacking now.