Whether you call them Quick Pickles or Refrigerator Pickles, these are the go-to when you're short on time but crave that combination of tangy, sweet, and crunchy. Quick Pickles offer the perfect solution, allowing you to skip the week-long wait and the worry of whether or not your canning jars made a seal. If you're pressed for time but still want that homemade pickle goodness, this is the recipe for you. However, this is a cooking recipe, and not a food preservation technique. The pickles are meant to be consumed within several days after making and should be stored refrigerated. However, in our household they don’t last very long, and the challenge is to simple not stand in front of the refrigerator and eat them straight out of the jar.
They can also be consumed the same day that they are made. The recipe is called 4-Hour Quick Pickles because that is the suggested minimum amount of time before eating. In all honesty, after the first couple of hours most of the bite is gone from the onions and after the ‘4-hours’ their taste is very close to the final taste, and you can begin using them. Sure, letting them age overnight is fine because they will definitely be ready by dinnertime, but you can also make these the morning of when you plan on using them.
That being said this is a fast recipe, at least as far as ‘pickling’ goes. This is because it paints a picture with very broad, bold strokes. The first couple of hours are a tangy vinegar forward experience that overpowers the sweetener. A few hours after that the mixture reaches a nice balance between the two. These pickles could top burgers, wraps or sandwiches. They personally make me crave barbecue so when I make them, all I can dream about are ribs, pulled pork, brisket, and smoked chicken quarters. They are suitable as a side themselves, but trust me these pickles, some coleslaw and pulled pork between toasted buns is where it is at.
Additionally, that tangy vinegar punch that these pickles pack pair well with the creamy sweet profiles of mayonnaise-based coleslaws. No hate whatsoever to oil based slaws, but they can be a bit lighter and delicate making it easier for stronger flavors to overpower them. That is why I would suggest that these pickles would make a complimentary pairing to our Hearty Bacon and Cheese Coleslaw.
Nutritional Information
The provided nutritional information has been compiled from various online sources and should be regarded as an estimate. Actual nutritional values may vary based on factors such as specific ingredients used, variations in portion sizes, and individual preparation methods. It is advisable to consider these numbers as general guidelines rather than precise measurements. For accurate nutritional information, it is recommended to consult with a registered dietitian or utilize specialized nutritional analysis tools based on the exact ingredients and quantities used in your preparation.
This recipe is naturally gluten-free, as all the ingredients used are inherently gluten-free. It's a delicious option for those who follow a gluten-free diet, but it's also perfect for everyone to enjoy without any special modifications. Verify that your individual ingredients are gluten free before making as manufacturers may change their ingredients at any time.
Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Calories: 35
Protein: 0 g
Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 4 g
Calories and carbohydrates will vary wildly depending on the type of sweetener chosen. In this recipe we opted to use a Splenda sugar substitute, but this recipe can just as easily be made with granulated sugar. That just comes with an increased amount of calories and carbohydrates.
Ingredients
6 Cups of sliced Cucumbers
2 Cups of sliced Onions
3 Cups of Vinegar
3 Cups of sugar (or sugar substitute)
1 Tablespoon of Celery Seed
1 Tablespoon of Mustard Seed
1 Heaping Tablespoon of Salt
Instructions- 4-Hour Quick Pickles
The stars of this show are the cucumbers and my favorite, the onion slices. We have eaten this recipe many times over the years and have yet to find a cucumber that does not work well with this. Any small pickling cucumber will work. For onions we often simply use plain white onions, but there is nothing that is strict about this recipe. Every single aspect can be customized if you wish.
Start your preparation by washing your cucumbers and cutting the hard ends and stems off. Also remove any mushy bruised areas. All of our vegetable scraps make it either to the compost pile or to the chicken run so nothing goes to waste. Thinly slice them into a large bowl. And I mean a large bowl or container because we are simply going to add all of our ingredients to this one container so make sure it is large enough to hold everything you have cut the recipe down. If you use a mandolin, please be super careful, the injuries from those things are gnarly.
For the onions, peel and cut into quarters before slicing into roughly 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick strips (6 or 7 millimeters or so). You can do this by trimming the stem and root ends off of the onion. Cutting the onion in half from top to bottom and peeling the skin off. Place the onion flat side down on a cutting board and slicing into strips before slicing the strips in half again lengthwise. Then add to the bowl of cucumbers.
In a separate bowl add three cups of white vinegar and stir in 3 cups of sweetener whether you use sugar or a substitute and stir until it is dissolved. Add the tablespoons of celery seed, mustard seed, and a heaping tablespoon of salt and stir again. This ‘brine’ is then mixed into the bowl of cucumbers and onions. I like to fold it in so that the cucumbers get covered, and the onion gets broken up and separated.
Cover the bowl and let the cucumbers and onions marinate for at least a couple of hours in the refrigerator. In that time the cucumbers will shrink slightly and express some of their water content. So, when you check it at the two hour mark the liquid level will be higher than when you started. If you sneak a taste at this point you will notice that the harsh bite of the onions has calmed down a little bit and vinegar kick is beginning to soften around the edges as well. This is about the halfway mark but from here you can pack it into whatever containers that you plan to store and serve it out of, and it will finish aging together there. I like quart mason jars with the screw on lids, but I have made plenty of these pickles in random see through storage containers.
My only problem is that about half of these get eaten at planned mealtimes, and the other half get eaten bite by bite every time I walk by the refrigerator. These pickles pair well with topping big juicy cheeseburgers, and chicken wraps or fish sandwiches. They are also a great standalone palette cleansing side dish for most every barbecue combination that I can think, ribs, brisket, pulled pork, chicken quarters, etc.
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