Dill pickled green beans make a wonderful addition to an antipasto tray, salads, or as a condiment for almost any meal, and they are easy to make compared to most pickles
Gather Items for Home Canning of Dilly Beans
- Six pint jars made for home canning. Do not use ordinary jars as they may break during processing.
- A canning kettle or pot large enough to hold 6 pint jars, and deep enough so that the jars are covered by at least one inch of water.
- Six canning lids and rings
- Canning tongs for putting the jars into, and removing them from the boiling water.
Prepare Canning Jars, Lids and Tools
To prepare the jars, wash them in hot soapy water and rinse well. Since the pickles will be sterilized in a water bath for 10 minutes, further sterilization is in not necessary. Put the jar lids in a pan of boiling water.
Prepare the Canning Kettle
Before preparing the beans, fill the canning kettle and put it on the stove to heat. Remember that the water level will rise significantly when the jars are added.
To gauge how much water to use, fill six jars with water, put lids on them and add them to a kettle of cool water. Adjust the water in the kettle so when the jars are immersed, they are covered by about an inch of water. After adjusting the depth of the water in the canning well, remove the water filled jars, and start heating the water in the canning well.
The Ingredients for Dilly Beans:
- 3 Pounds of whole green beans, as fresh as possible, washed, with stem and blossom ends cut off
- 1-1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 6 garlic cloves
- 6 dill heads or 2 tablespoons of dill seed
- 3-1/4 cups cider vinegar
- 3-1/4 cups water
- 6 tablespoons pickling or kosher salt (no iodine)
To Make Dilled Green Beans
In a non-reactive pot, mix the water, vinegar and salt, and bring the mix to boil, stirring to dissolve the salt.
Into each hot, clean jar put:
- one garlic clove (more is good)
- one head of dill, or a teaspoon of dill seed
- and a ¼ teaspoon of cayenne
- pack the beans in the jars vertically
Pour the hot liquid mixture of water, vinegar and salt into the jars, leaving about a quarter inch of headroom. If any beans stick up above the vinegar mixture, use a knife or kitchen shears to cut them off.
The Canning Process
Wipe the rim of each jar with a clean cloth, put the lids on the jars, and screw on the rings. When the water in the canning kettle boils, lower the jars into the boiling water with the tongs. Wait until the water comes to a boil again. Once the water is boiling, cover the kettle and let it boil for 10 minutes.
Remove the Pickles from the Canning Kettle and Age The Dilly Beans
Using the tongs, carefully remove the jars from the canning kettle and set them on a clean dish towel to cool. As the jars seal they will make a popping sound, and the lid will be firm to the touch. After the jars cool, if some have not sealed (the lids can be flexed) store them in the refrigerator. Wait a week or two before opening the jars to let the flavor fully develop.
Next year plant extra green beans in the garden so there wlll be plenty for dilly beans.
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