My mom always made bucket pickles only we called them pail pickles, (used to be made in an ice cream pail), or they can be referred to as refrigerator pickles also. It doesn’t matter what you call them, because they are terrific and you won’t care about the name once you taste them.
What Do Pail Pickles Taste Like?
When you bite into these crunchy sweet and tangy pail pickles, you will be hooked. They taste sort of like a bread and butter pickle (as they call them), but better.
Sweet (from the sugar), with a bit of tang from the vinegar, a slight sweet onion flavor, and the mustard seeds help impart some of that homemade type of taste you’d be used to if you ate homemade pickles as a kid.
But trust me on this one, you are going to forget all about store-bought pickles, and you won’t have to worry about added preservatives and ingredients. I love knowing what goes into my food, and I know many of you do too.
Plus, you can save a bunch of money when you make stuff from scratch!
Slicing the cucumbers with the mandoline
What Kind Of Pickles Do I Need?
While you can use pretty much any kind of cucumber you have, my go-to favorites are small baby cucumbers, otherwise known as Egyptian cucumbers. Many people use small pickling cucumbers, and they work wonderfully too.
Long English cucumbers are another fantastic option to try. There is no wrong answer, so try out a few ways to see what works for you.
Adding the sugar to pickle brine
How To Slice Cucumbers For Bucket Pickles
No matter how you slice them, refrigerator pickles are packed full of flavor and super simple to throw together. Here are a few options to cut the cucumbers.
- Cut the cucumbers by hand. This is a little more time-consuming, but very efficient if you don’t have a mandolin. Begin by cutting the ends of the cucumbers as you don’t want to use the end pieces for the pickles.
Then, with a sharp knife, carefully slice the cucumbers into medallions, say ⅛″ – ¼″ thick.
- Use a mandoline. If you don’t feel confident in making uniform cuts; you can use a mandoline instead. They are straightforward to use and often a lot quicker to slice the cucumbers. Just put the cucumber in the mandoline and start slicing away. Be VERY careful when you reach the end of the cucumber so that you don’t slice your fingers!
- Incidentally, if you’re using the mandoline to slice the cucumbers, you could also use it to slice the onions as well. This makes short work of slicing them with fewer tears!
Onions sliced on the mandoline
Refrigerator Pickling vs. Canning
You may be wondering why making pickles in the refrigerator is easier than canning. While both methods are great and result in homemade food you can enjoy, I wanted to explain some of the differences.
Refrigerator Bucket Pickles
- There is literally no effort other than cutting ingredients. You simply put everything in a BPA free, food-safe bucket and let it sit for 1 week. (Alternatively, you can use mason jars as well)
- Refrigerator pickles last around 6 months.
- You don’t need any special equipment for making bucket pickles.
The mason jar ready for the brine
Canning Pickles
- You will need either a pressure cooker or a water bath to make the pickles. While it does effectively preserve food, it does take some effort on your part.
- You can also hot pack the pickles if you prefer (Thanks for the suggestion Dyenna!)
- Canned pickles do last 1-2 years in the pantry so that you will have them a long time.
- You are going to need some type of pressure/water bath canner and a few other supplies to can pickles.
Bucket Pickles Varieties
You can actually make a few different varieties of bucket pickles. Try some of these variations:
- Spicy Seasonings – Sprinkle in your favorite spicy seasonings to add some heat to the pickles.
- Cauliflower – Pickled cauliflower is seriously so good.
- Beans – If you haven’t tried pickled green beans yet, then it’s time to try!
- Carrots – They add some pretty color to any dish, but they have a wonderful flavor when pickled too.
- Jalapenos – Another way to add some heat and they are amazing!
- Beets – Pickled beets are like candy!!
Brine being poured into the mason jar
How Long Will These Bucket Pickles Last In the Fridge?
Under proper refrigeration, they will last up to 3-4 months. Usually, they don’t last that long!
I have had them in my fridge for up to 6 months once and they were fine, but you can totally use your discretion. The fact that they are submerged in a vinegar-type brine will help hold their freshness.
More Pickle & Cucumber Recipes
Can’t get enough pickles? Have extra cucumbers left over? Try some of these other amazing recipes:
- Tangy And Creamy Dill Pickle Veggie Pasta Recipe
- Crispy Pickled Brined Fried Chicken Recipe
- Summer Cucumber Avocado Salsa Appetizer
- The Best Creamy Cucumber Tomato Salad
Well, I hope there’s enough information here that you feel totally confident in making these bucket pickles! I hope you make great use of your garden cucumbers (or store-bought!).
Please comment below if you have any questions or give me a shout and let me know how these turned out for you! Thanks so much for stopping by The Salty Pot today, and I really hope you have a fantastic day!!
How To Make Your Own Delicious Bucket Pickles
Sweet and tangy, these bucket (often called pail) pickles are the easiest ways to make pickles! Similar in taste to bread and butter pickles, there's no canning involved to making these summertime favorites!!
Ingredients
- 12 - 15 baby cucumbers (or Egyptian cucumbers)
- 1-2 sweet onions
- 2c water
- 2c vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pickling salt
- 1 teaspoon mustard seed
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 ¼c sugar
Instructions
- Slice both the cucumber and onions. Place into your bucket/ice cream pail/mason jars
- Heat the water to the boiling point.
- Carefully add the vinegar and sugar. Stir until the vinegar dissolves
- Add the pickling salt, mustard seed, and celery seed.
- Carefully cover the cucumbers and onions with brine.
- Cover and let sit in the fridge for 1 - 3 weeks before eating. The longer, the stronger the flavor will develop.
Notes
1. Taste the brine before you put it in the with the cucumbers. Adjust for your flavor preferences. If you like the brine, you'll love the cucumbers.
2. Choose cucumbers that are firm and blemish-free. Same with the onions. Use sweet onions rather than regular onions as they will taste much better with the brine.
3. These pickles will last a long time in the fridge. They make an excellent side to any dish!
4. Be sure the bucket you use is BPA free.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 128 Serving Size: 1 tablespoonAmount Per Serving: Calories: 5Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 5mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 0g
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
***DON’T FORGET TO PIN THIS BUCKET PICKLES RECIPE PIN TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD TO SAVE FOR LATER***
Linda says
Do you use regular white vinegar, or could you use others such as apple cider vinegar?
Joanne says
Hi Linda – yes, I use regular white vinegar, but I don’t see why you couldn’t use apple cider vinegar. Let me know if you give a try with the ACV, and how you like it!
Linda says
I followed your recipe with white vinegar and added some pickling spice, also doubled the brine (lots of Fall cucs) and put them in mason jars. Tasted great going in! I’m letting them cool before lids are on and refrigeration. Is that recommended?
Joanne says
Perfect Linda! Thank you for commenting!
Mary says
Hi Joanne,
Your recipe sounds delicious. However, I have read through it 3 different times and did not see that you stated what size bucket or pail to use. I don’t buy ice cream in a pail so I don’t know what size that is.
I make a lot of pickles, both refrigerator style, and canned.
Thank you for your help.
Mary G.
Joanne says
Hi Mary! I use different containers whenever I make these, but I’ve used a few glass mason jars and/or BPA FREE, FOOD SAFE plastic container/pail that is about 4 liters or around a gallon. It really depends on how much you want to make or how many cucumbers you have to use, but those are the sizes I usually use. I hope this helps!
Mary says
Thank you, Joanne.
Joanne says
You’re very welcome!
Teresa Russell says
Can you put these in the pantry as well if you make several jars?
Thank you
Teresa
Joanne says
Hey Teresa! Great question! So it’s important that if you want these pickles to be shelf stable, you have to can them. It’s not safe to make them up and put them in your temperature pantry.
They will however, stay very well in the fridge so even if you want to separate them and put them into jars, as long as you keep them refrigerated, they will be safe to consume for quite a while.
Darlene Ray says
I made this pickle last week and it is delicious. The sugar, is it 1 and 1/2 cups or 1/2 cup? I can’t remember what I used.
Joanne says
Hi Darlene, I’m sorry I didn’t respond quicker – I just saw your comment now! So the sugar is 1 1/4 cup is what I used. Hope this helps!
Dianne L Falconer says
could you process this recipe of pail full of pickles to seal the jars and store them longer like a bread and butter pickle?
Joanne says
Hi Dianne 🙂 You know, I think it would depend on how you wanted to process them. I’ve never done it to be honest, so I don’t know how the processing time would affect the texture of the pickle. I prefer the crunch the pickles retain by keeping them in the fridge with no processing. I”m sorry I couldn’t be more help!
Cheryl says
The recipe I use calls for mixing in all ingredients cold! Mix up brine, stir in cucumber slices, take to the fridge! Add more cucumber slices as veggies shrink in brine.
Joanne says
Hi Cheryl! Sure, it’s possible to do it with a cold brine as well. I prefer to initially heat my brine so I can be sure that the sugar dissolves perfectly into the brine. Also, when it’s carefully poured over the pickles and onions, it slightly softens the onions just a tad. I’m not crazy about the sharp, crunchy flavor of the onions in the pickles.
And yes, always add more cucumber slices as the process progresses and people eat more of them as well!
Judye Heimerl says
I made these last year and by the seconds week, they were gross and mushy. Do you know why they turned to mush?
Joanne says
Wow, I’m sorry that happened! I’ve never had that happen to me!! What kind of cucumber did you use? I can’t imagine why they would have turned mushy like that. If you want, shoot me an email to Joanne@thesaltypot.com and we can try and trouble shoot what happened!
Kathy J says
You have to cut off the ends of the cucumbers n too out. Using the blossoms end will affect the pickles.
MZ says
did you use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar?
Joanne says
Plain old white vinegar! My mom has been making these for years, and that’s all she’s ever used 🙂 Hope this helps!
Kareemah says
Can you leave off the sugar if you want more of hot and tangy pickle and maybe add red pepper or a hot pickles packet?
Joanne says
I think you could Kareemah. It’s the vinegar that does the pickling so I think it would be ok. I’d be sure to taste the brine you make to be sure you like it and to adjust any other seasoning before you add the cucumbers. Let me know what you added and how it went, I’m super interested!
Judy says
Can you make dill pickles
Joanne says
Hi Judy – this recipe is only for a sweet and tangy type pickle. Dill pickles use a different brine and spices.
Dyenna says
Great recipe. My only disagreement is in the CANNING section. NEVER use a canner or pressure cooker, makes the pickles soft and mushy. HOT PACK them.
TheSaltyPot says
Thanks for the suggestion Dyenna, I’ve added that option to the post!
Marie says
My Mom used to make these by the bucketfuls. Our cold room shelves were filled with them every Fall and she had a list of people who wanted jars. Brings back memories! Pinned 🙂
TheSaltyPot says
That’s a great memory Marie, thanks for sharing!!