Dill Pickle Relish

Chicago is home of the famous Chicago dog, which isn't complete without the neon-green sweet relish. We're not sweet relish fans ourselves, so when the garden starts overproducing cukes, peppers, and dill, we start making our dill pickle relish. This recipe is featured in Angela's book, "The Complete Guide to Food Preservation: Step-by-Step Instructions on How to Freeze, Dry, Can, and Preserve Food."

Ingredients:

5 lbs. of pickling cucumbers
1 cup red bell pepper
1 cup yellow onions
5 1/2 cups cider vinegar
3 tsp. dill seed
1 tsp. celery seed
6 cloves garlic, minced
5 Tbsp. Kosher salt

Instructions:

1. Sterilize canning jars.

2. Wash cucumbers and peppers well. Cut off the ends of cucumbers and onions and dice them. Chop in a food processor or blender — using about three to four short pulses on “chop” setting — to yield pieces about ¼ inch in size.

3. After washing the peppers, remove the stems, seeds and white membranes. Cut into 1 inch pieces or slices and then chop in a food processor — using about three to four pulses on the “chop” setting — to yield pieces about 1/4 inch in size. Combine chopped cucumbers and bell peppers and set aside.

4. In a large kettle or Dutch oven, stir together the cider vinegar, dill seed, celery seed, minced garlic, and pickling salt until the salt dissolves. Add chopped vegetables and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer ten minutes.

5. Spoon the hot relish into the pint jars, leaving half an inch of headspace. Slide a knife or spatula inside the jar to remove air bubbles; adjust headspace if necessary. Dampen a kitchen towel and wipe around the rims of the canning jars. Screw the canning lids onto the jar just until finger-tight. Process in a boiling-water canner for 15 minutes.

Yield: About 7 pint jars




This recipe was featured in my book, The Complete Guide to Food Preservation: Step-by-step Instructions on How to Freeze, Dry, Can, and Preserve Food