Saturday, October 2, 2010

Dilly Beans

I first read about dilly beans in an old Blue Ball canning cookbook. Immediately I thought it was something that both my husband and sister would adore: crispy, salty, vinegary beans spiced with cayenne, garlic and dill. These are actually the very first thing that I ever canned! The beans came from the farmers market, along with the dill. Nervously I boiled my cans, packed the jars, filled with brine, carefully placed the lids on top & set them into the water bath. After 15 minutes of boiling I removed them. The sweet sounds of POPing can lids soon filled the air and the Witch was happy. I did it!! I canned something! But how are they? We'd have to wait 2 long weeks to find out.

When we finally cracked open a jar of dilly beans, the tight seal reassured us that I had done it right. Now as I've said before, I'm not a pickled things fan so I didn't try one, but the husband did. And he loved them, just as I had thought he would. Hooray, canning success!

This year I decided to use cider vinegar instead of traditional white distilled. I got the idea from the pickle recipe I used, a generations old recipe that used cider vinegar. The milder flavor of the cider helped tone down the sharp edge of the bean. I also increased the cayenne pepper this year based on feedback from the family - they like them spicy. And they really like the cider vinegar, as well.


Dilly Beans

makes 1 quart size jar, easily increased based upon number of beans you have
1 quart size mason jar, cleaned and sanitized
enough green and or wax beans to fill the jar, about 1/2 lb
1 T pickling/canning salt
2-4 heads dill
2 cloves garlic
1/4 t cayenne pepper
Brine (makes about 1.5 jars worth):
1 c cider vinegar
4 c water

Clean and sterilize the jar. Pack trimmed beans into the jar with garlic and dill. Pour salt over top.

Bring the vinegar and water to a boil. Once boiling pour into jar, leaving 1/4 inch headroom. Cap with a new sealing lid and a tighten the screw top. Process in a water bath for 10 min (adjusted for altitude 15 min at 6,000 ft). Remove from water bath and allow to cool for 24 hours. Test lid for seal, it shouldn't pop, it should be indented and tight. If its not sealed refrigerate and use with in 2 months.

Allow to cure for a minimum of 2 weeks before enjoying.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
16 servings per jar, amount Per Serving
Calories 7.5
Total Fat 0.0 g
Saturated Fat 0.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 437.2 mg
Potassium 48.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 2.1 g
Dietary Fiber 0.5 g
Sugars 0.9 g
Protein 0.3 g


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14 comments:

Scuttleboose said...

I wonder how this would taste with other beans (white beans, kidney beans, wax beans, etc)... that was my Dad's suggestion! :)
Yummm!!!

Unknown said...

My grandma used to can dilly beans... They were delicious!

Cranberry Morning said...

Oh my husband would LOVE these!! We have so many jars of hot things in our refrigerator, but no dilly beans. I'll add some of my red jalapenos. (We've never had them turn red before - a real surprise). So I'm saving this recipe for next year. Thanks. :-)

Tonya said...

Canning scares me so you have to share these next time I'm out there!

smokinronniesbbq said...

im hooked on apple cider vinegar. sr

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh! I forgot all about Dilly beans! My mom used to make them all the time when we lived in Texas. Awesome!

Angie's Recipes said...

Didn't know these beans are called Dilly Beans..as they are known to me as "Garden Beans". Or are they the same thing?

Unknown said...

I prefer apple cider vinger too, Dilly beans is something new for me to know!

Chef Dennis Littley said...

I have never canned anything, your dilly beans sound really good! I would love to try those!

Anonymous said...

Great job canning. I've never canned but you make it sound easy.

Cranberry Morning said...

Thanks for the compliments on my Pumpkin Cheesecake! :-) There's one piece remaining in the refrigerator. I managed to avoid it all day yesterday, but won't make any promises about today.

Have a great day!

Travel Blogger said...

I love playing around with the Dilly Green Bean recipe - try adding a jalapeno instead of cayenne or mustard seeds.

Laurie {Simply Scratch} said...

How weird... we both post "Dilly" recipes!!! I love the green bean pic! I'm so making these!!

Stella said...

Yum, Andrea! I think I would actually adore these too-they sound so good. Copied & saved to my files;)!

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