BEST Dill Pickle Relish
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An easy, wonderfully versatile and utterly deeeeelicious homemade dill pickle relish recipe! Canning instructions are included so you can enjoy this relish all year long!
It’s relish like this that makes eating a sandwich or hot dog just that much better. It also adds a wonderful dimension to your pasta and potato salads. Last Summer I posted my recipe for Sweet Pickle Relish and here is the more savory version with a more pronounced dill flavor. It’s so easy to make and comes with instructions for canning so you can enjoy it all the year long.
Pickle Relish Recipe
Let’s get started!
We’re going to use regular cucumbers. They’re much cheaper than English cucumbers (the ones that come shrink-wrapped) or pickling cucumbers and taste exactly the same. I prefer to peel them since the peel is fairly tough. We’re also going to remove the seeds.
So peel the cucumbers and thinly slice them lengthwise. Slice them into strips, discarding the inner strip of seeds. Then very finely dice the cucumbers.
Very finely dice the onions, garlic and red bell pepper. You can use a food processor, just don’t let the onions and bell pepper get mushy. I prefer to just do it by hand.
Note: There are no green bell peppers shown in the pictures and they weren’t added to this particular batch, but they belong in it. Okay, now that that’s clear, let’s move on.
Place the diced vegetables in a large bowl along with the salt. Cover with water and let it sit for at least 6 hours or overnight.
(Ignore the fact that some of the cucumber peels are on. The second batch I made I peeled the cucumbers and the result was better.)
Put the sugar, vinegar and spices in a large stock pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Drain the cucumber mixture in a colander, thoroughly rinse, and drain again.
Add the mixture to the stock pot. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaves.
Ladle the hot relish into the hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars clean and seal tightly with the lids. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Ah, the masterpiece is done!
Best eaten at least a week later after the flavors have had time to meld and the vinegar mellows out a bit. In addition, the relish needs to sit to give it time to absorb some of the liquid and to thicken.
It’s so satisfying to see the end result of your labors – and you can enjoy this relish all the year long!
For more pickled vegetable recipes be sure to try my:
- Giardiniera
- Corn Relish
- Sweet Pickle Relish
- Branston Pickle
- Pickled Red Onions
- Pickled Pepperoncini Peppers
- Sweet Pepper and Onion Relish
- English Pickled Onions
- Pickled Banana Peppers
- Pickled Okra
- Pickled Green Beans
- Pickled Asparagus
- Pickled Turnips
- Pickled Peppers
- Pickled Beets
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BEST Dill Pickle Relish
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2½ lbs cucumbers (weighed prior to peeling and seeding),peeled, center row of seeds removed, and finely diced
- 1 large yellow onion ,finely diced
- 1 small red bell pepper ,finely diced
- 1 small green bell pepper ,finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic ,finely minced
- ¼ cup kosher or pickling salt (neither of these have additives which is important to avoid when canning)
- 3 cups white vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar (optional or use less according to taste)
- 2 teaspoons dill seeds
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoons celery seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Place the diced cucumbers, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a large mixing bowl. Combine with the salt and pour water over the mixture until covered. Let sit for at least 6 hours or overnight.Drain the cucumber mixture in a colander, rinse thoroughly with water, and drain again.
- In a large stock pot, add the sugar, vinegar, and spices and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the drained cucumber mixture and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaves.
- Ladle the hot relish into hot sterile jars, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars clean and seal tightly with the lids.Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
- Sealed jars will store in a cool, dark place for a year. If the seal is broken, the relish will keep in the fridge for at least a month. Makes roughly 4 pints (you can use pint-sized or half pint jars). Best eaten at least a week later after the flavors have had time to meld and the vinegar mellows out a bit. In addition, the relish needs to sit to give it time to absorb some of the liquid and to thicken.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet February 15, 2014
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
When you Place the diced cucumbers, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a large mixing bowl. Combine with the salt and pour water over the mixture until covered. Let sit for at least 6 hours or overnight. Is that on the counter or is it in the refrigerator?
Hi Shawn, you can do either but I keep it on the counter at room temp. If your house is particularly warm, then move it to the fridge.
I added twice the sugar and that made it taste perfect! Excellent dilly relish, just what I was looking for.
Fantastic, thank you so much Victoria!
Eaten in a week? How i sam hill will you that?
What do you mean by 128servings? In one jar?
How many jars does this make??
Why are the photos wrong?
Melb, I’ve removed your one star rating because you clearly neither made the recipe nor took the time to read it. I’m not sure what the confusion is because a quick read of the recipe will answer your questions. But let’s go ahead and take this one question at a time: 1) The recipe says “the relish will keep in the fridge for at least a month.” The “week” refers to WAITING a week before eating it to allow the flavors to meld. 2) In the nutrition section a serving is defined as one tablespoon for a total of 128 servings, which is the equivalent of 4 pints. 3) Those 128 servings aren’t in one jar (unless you pack all of the relish into one large jar), that’s for the entire batch of relish. 4) The recipe states “makes roughly 4 pints”. It further states “you can use pint-sized or half pint jars”. 5) Why are the photos wrong? I can’t answer that because I have no idea what you’re referring to, sorry.
Can i use Mrs. Wages kosher Dill pickling Mix for the ingredients. It already has the garlic, tumeric, and mustard
Hi Judy, sure!
Do you ever use fresh dill instead of dill seed?
I hope it tastes good because peeling the cucumbers has made the relish look light yellow- not like normal relish!
Just made it for the first time. I had a lot of liquid before canning but seen you had a slotted spoon when filling in one picture. Do you fill with slotted spoon and top with liquid and do you have a fair amount of liquid that is discarded after filling the jars?
Hi Tom, yes, I top the jars off with the liquid. How much liquid is leftover will depend on how well drained the vegetables were after soaking and also on the size of the jars you use for the relish.
do I need to use a glass bowl or plastic or can I use stainless steel bowl
Hi Roxanne, stainless steel is “generally” resistant to acidic corrosion but it depends on the type of stainless steel, the types of acid, the level of acidity, etc. So I usually recommend glass just to be on the safe side. Since this mixture wouldn’t be sitting overly long in the bowl though it’s probably totally fine.