Copy Cat Claussens

Mr. Green Jeans

New member
Harvesting pickles & dill from the garden today. Here's a "home brew" recipe for Claussen pickles whic my boys and I dearly love.

1 1/2 quarts water
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup kosher or pickling salt
6-8 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. mustard seed
1/2 - 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Garlic 6 cloves peeled
Dill flowers

Bring the water, vinegar and salt to a boil. Add the peppercorns, bay leaf, celery seed, mustard seed, and red pepper flakes. Cool to room temp.
In sterilized wide-mouth quart jars add 1 dill flower, 3 cloves garlic and fill to within 1" of the rim with pickles (whole, sliced or spears your choice). Add brine. Seal and store in an area out of sunlight for 5 days. Daily, flip the jars from top to bottoms-up. After the 5th day, refrigerate for a minimum of 1 week. They will store for up to six months but never last that long.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Mr. GJ, do you continue to store the pickles in the fridge after 1 week? If not, what is the purpose of the week in the cold?

That recipe looks terrific!

Lee
 

Mr. Green Jeans

New member
Lee, once they go into the 'fridg, they remain there. The 7 day waiting period is so all the flavors are infused.
You can hot water bath them for 10 minutes but the heat diminishes the crunchiness. I like it because it is do-able in small batches.
NOTE: DO NOT use store bough cucumbers as they are waxed. Use pickling cukes only.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Okay. Then, when you say "seal", you are just screwing the tops on the jars with your hand?

Lee
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Oooo, I love this idea!

I'm going to a farm tomorrow to get corn and I'll see if I can pick up some pickling cukes, too!

Lee
 

Mr. Green Jeans

New member
Lee, my fav way to eat corn: roast the ears in husk on the grill and douse each ear with juice of 1/2 lime and salt. It is wonderful!
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Mr. GJ, two questions:

- Do the pickles stay crunchy if you cut them? I would like to try chunks.

- When you flip them upside down, you leave them there, in the opposite position from the previous day, right? So, every other day, they will be sitting on the lids of their jars for 24 hours?

Lee
 

Mr. Green Jeans

New member
Lee, i would think so. I quartered some pickling cukes that we bought from a farm market. I also did some sliced (3/8" in a mandolin) from English cukes that were from my garden. I can let you know in 1 week!
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Okay, Mr. GJ, I made a small jar of these! I only had three pickling cukes, fresh from the farm, which I cut into chunks. I made the whole batch of brine, and will save the rest in the fridge, to use in the event this works!

So, this is Day 1.

And you are SURE that I can keep these out of the fridge for 5 days without getting botulism?????

Lee
 

Attachments

  • Mr. GJ's pickles 1.JPG
    Mr. GJ's pickles 1.JPG
    93.8 KB · Views: 271

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Dee, I grew a pot of dill, and some of it went to seed.

If you want to make these pickles, I'm sure you can use fresh dill fronds that you buy at the store.

I love dill!

Lee
 

Mr. Green Jeans

New member
Lee, I have not tried mine yet so I'm still standing LOL! Seriously, they have til the weekend to cure in the 'fridg. I have looked up 4 different recipes for this and they all are similar in the curing process.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Mr. GJ, please make sure you report back when you've sampled them! I'm going to be worried if I DON'T hear from you!

Lee
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
STILL no word from Mr. Green Jeans??!!!

Oh man!

I'm afraid to try my pickles!!!

Lee
 

Phiddlechik

New member
Yes, with that much vinegar and salt, one can leave them on the counter without problem while they first ferment. It would be hard to ferment NOT on the counter. I've done 7-day pickles for years. I do waterbath can them, though, as we can't eat that many, and I give them away to family when I make them.
I just made a batch of assorted veggie pickles... cukes, zucchini, summer squash, some cherry tomatoes, and a bit of onion. I used a salty/sweet/vinegar brine with cloves (just a bit) and allspice as the main flavors. I boiled the brine, poured it over the cut up veggies, let it sit. Then a couple of days later, drained them, saving the brine, boiled it again and poured over the veggies. (I then put them in the fridge, because I didn't want to deal with them quite yet.) I did this one more time, then did a water bath.
I also use alum to help with the crunch factor.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
So, Phiddle, you're saying that you think Mr. Green Jeans is alright and that it's okay to try one of my pickle chunks?

Lee
 

Deelady

New member
oh you are asking the WRONG person! I have never canned a thing in my life! But don't people often just stick pickles in barells and jars and just leave them out?

If you are unsure....then wait until you are!
Better safe than sorry!
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
OKay, well I couldn't wait any longer to try my pickles.

I tried a chunk and it tasted EXACTLY like Claussen pickles!!! Crispy and crunchy, too! Delicious!

I hope Mr. Green Jeans is okay and I hope I will be, too.

How long does it take to get sick from botulism? I ate my pickle about an hour ago.

Lee
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
This is from the CDC website:

Facts about Botulism

Botulism is a muscle-paralyzing disease caused by a toxin made by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum.
There are three main kinds of botulism:


  • Foodborne botulism occurs when a person ingests pre-formed toxin that leads to illness within a few hours to days. Foodborne botulism is a public health emergency because the contaminated food may still be available to other persons besides the patient.
  • Infant botulism occurs in a small number of susceptible infants each year who harbor C. botulinum in their intestinal tract.
  • Wound botulism occurs when wounds are infected with C. botulinum that secretes the toxin.
With foodborne botulism, symptoms begin within 6 hours to 10 days (most commonly between 12 and 36 hours) after eating food that contains the toxin. Symptoms of botulism include double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness that moves down the body, usually affecting the shoulders first, then the upper arms, lower arms, thighs, calves, etc. Paralysis of breathing muscles can cause a person to stop breathing and die, unless assistance with breathing (mechanical ventilation) is provided.
Botulism is not spread from one person to another. Foodborne botulism can occur in all age groups.
A supply of antitoxin against infant botulism is maintained by the California Department of Public Health’s Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program, and a supply of antitoxin against other kinds of botulism is maintained by CDC. The antitoxin is most effective in reducing the severity of symptoms if administered early in the course of the disease. Most patients eventually recover after weeks to months of supportive care.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
He's alive and living in airport terminals. Lee, I'll boldly go where no man has gone before next weekend.

Oh, thank heavens! GLAD to hear from you, Mr. GJ!!!!

Well, it's been about 12 hours since I ate my pickle chunk. So far, so good.

I'm off to the Red Sox game so I'll alert my friends to possible symptoms.

Lee
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Mr. GreenJeans, have you tried your pickles yet?

They are great!

Lee
 
Top