Easy Homemade Dill Relish Recipe

I did it again.

I PROMISED myself I wouldn’t let my pickling cucumbers turn into monsters this year.

And then I did.

In my defense, I was checking the plants regularly… one day the cucumbers were the size of my pinky finger, and the next day, they suddenly resembled a baseball bat.

How does that even happen?

Regardless, foot-long pickling cucumbers aren’t super desirable for making homemade pickles… mostly because they yield a less-then-crunchy pickle, which no one appreciates.

I fed the biggest cukes to the pigs (who didn’t mind the mushiness one bit) and brought the rest into the house.

Considering I had enough small cucumbers to put up all the pickles my heart desired, I decided to switch things up with the big ones.

So relish, it is.

Historically, I haven’t been a big relish fan, but I decided to live on the wild side this year.

17 pints of homemade relish later?

I pleased to report that I’m digging it.

(And no, I’m not just saying that for the sake of the blog post!)

Thus far, I’ve been putting it on brats and hot dogs, and also mixed it into some chicken salad I made the other day.

Is 17 pints of dill relish a wee bit overboard? Perhaps. But I’m planning to use it as an easy mix-in for potato salad and tuna, as well as offering it at the eleventy-billion BBQs we have each summer, so I’m not one bit worried about using it up.

I’m pretty picky about the canning recipes I add to my repertoire each year (let’s face it– even the Ball Blue Book has some clunkers…), but this little gem of a dill relish recipe (with a few of my own modifications) has officially earned a spot.

Homemade Dill Relish Recipe

Based on the recipe from the Ball Blue Book 

Yield: 7 pints

• 8 pounds pickling cucumbers (big or small)
• 1/2 cup non-iodized salt (I like this one)
• 2 teaspoons turmeric (where to purchase)
• 2 medium onions, finely diced
• 1/3 cup organic sugar (like this one)
• 2 tablespoons dill seed (where to purchase)
• 1 tablespoon mustard seed (where to purchase)
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 cups white vinegar

Instructions: 

Wash the cucumbers and peel if desired (I peeled about half of each one– I didn’t mind leaving some of the peel on for color/texture, I just didn’t want the peels to be overwhelming.)

Finely chop the cucumbers– I used the blade of my food processor, but I was careful to not overprocess and end up with cucumber puree.

Put the chopped cucumbers in a large bowl and mix in the salt and turmeric. Pour water over the cucumbers until they are completely covered and let them soak for 2-3 hours.

After the soaking period is complete, drain the cucumbers and rinse them under cool water. I used a fine-mesh sieve for this.

Placed the drained cucumbers in a stockpot and add in the chopped onions, sugar, dill, mustard seed, bay leaves, and white vinegar.

Bring this mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

At this point, I like to taste the relish to check the flavor balance and adjust accordingly. Add more sugar if you feel the vinegar is too strong.

Remove the bay leaves.

Ladle the relish into hot pint jars with 1/4″ headspace. Affix lids and rims, then process pints in a hot water bath canner for 15 minutes. (Altitude Note: Add an additional one minute of processing time for every 1000 feet you’re above sea level.)

Homemade Dill Relish Notes

• You can put your relish into 1/2 pint jars if you wish– I would still process it for the full time.
• You have 100% liberty to adjust the sweetness, herbs and spices of this recipe without jeopardizing the safety of the canning technique.
• I think honey would work as a sweetener in this recipe as well, I just haven’t tried it.
• If you don’t want to can this, you can eat this dill relish fresh, too. The vinegar should mellow a bit after it has a chance to sit in the fridge.
• To freeze your homemade dill relish, simple ladle it into freezer-safe containers instead of canning jars after the simmering step. Although I can’t vouch for the crispness of the cucumbers after they’ve been frozen and thawed.

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Other Pickling Recipes You Might Like:

• How to Ferment Pickles
• Dilly Green Beans Recipe (Lacto-Fermented)
• How to Make Quick Pickles from Any Vegetable
• 5 Tricks for the Crunchiest Homemade Pickles