I frequently tease a friend who cans that in the event of a national emergency, I'm heading to his weekend home to guard his shelves of dilly beans. They're that good.
The pole beans in my garden are sporting tiny beanlets under their drying flowers, and those who grow bush beans already have green beans for the table. That's the trade off in picking bean varieties: bush beans start producing a week or two before pole beans, but the harvest only lasts a week or two. Keep picking pole beans, which require poles or a trellis for support, and you'll have beans until the frost.
If it's a good year for beans, as it looks to be, I'll be canning my own dilly beans, which will be ready around Christmas time. Those shop at farmers markets or have shares in CSAs might also want to give this recipe a try.
's one recipe (some home canners might want to tweak the salt down a bit):
INGREDIENTS
* 6 cups water
* 1 cup pickling salt
* 6 cups distilled white vinegar
* 8 heads fresh dill weed
* 1/2 cup pickling spice
* 1/2 cup mustard seed
* 8 dried red chile peppers
* 16 cloves garlic, peeled
* 1 teaspoon alum
* 5 pounds fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed (I pick the straightest unblemished beans)
DIRECTIONS
1. Sterilize 8 (1 pint) jars in boiling water for at least 5 minutes.
2. Combine the water, pickling salt and vinegar in a large pot, and bring to a boil. When it begins to boil, reduce heat to low, and keep at a simmer while you pack the jars.
3. In each jar place the following: 1 head of dill, 1 tablespoon of pickling spice, 1 tablespoon of mustard seed, 1 dried chile pepper, 2 cloves of garlic, and 1/8 teaspoon of alum. Pack beans into the spiced jars in a standing position (why selecting straight beans matters).
4. Ladle the hot brine into jars, leaving 1/2 inch of space at the top. Screw the lids onto the jars, and process in a hot water bath for 6 minutes to seal. Store for at least 2 weeks before eating.
These are great in Bloody Marys, as well as a pickle for the table.
Enjoy the weekend. Bluestem will post again Monday afternoon.
My wife just finished canning 8 pints of dilly beans. Thanks for posting the recipe. We are anxious to try them out.
Posted by: CHC | Aug 07, 2009 at 10:51 PM