Canning Dilly Green Bean Pickles

Everyone loves pickles. So lets pickle green beans! Pickles don't necessarily mean cucumber pickles though, so using beans is a great alternative. Whenever I pull these guys out at parties, they are always a hit!

Canning is a great cheap way of making the most of the summer harvest. You don't have to grow your own food either to enjoy the savings. Living in Chicago, I don't have any space for a garden. I just wait until the veggies are cheap at the store or farmers market, and buy low to put that stuff away for the winter.

Please note: Canning is fun and easy, but you do need to be careful to sterilize all your jars properly. For high acid foods like pickles or fruit preserves, boiling them for a short period of time is an easy way to kill any bacteria. Have fun, but be careful and be safe, so you don't poison everyone.

-ForkableBlog.com

Step 1 Gather Your Beans

If you are lucky enough to have a garden, go out and pick your beans. If you have beans left from your last harvest, this recipe is great for the hard woody beans left on the vine too long.

As I said, I don't have a garden, so I keep an eye out at the store for good sales. I found some cheap beans at our local market, so it was time for the annual Dilly Green Beans! My recipe calls for about 4 lbs , which cost me approximately $2.50.

Comments

[hellaroms]

so whats the shelf life on them? better than canned?

[EvelynRay]

You say let them sit for a couple of months. What's the earliest you can eat them?

[imbignate]

I'm just guessing, but should that be 1/4 [b]tsp[/b] red pepper flakes?

[imbignate]

An easy alternative to a canning rack is to lash 5-6 jar rings together with bagties in a sort of "snowflake" shape. The rings are durable and then you can do a full batch at once.

[sassycrafter]

 I love using dill beans in martinis, too! Here's a recipe I created using some dill beans I bought from Our Lady of Perpetual Pickles.

Dill-Beany Martini
3 oz. vodka
1/4 oz. dry vermouth
1/4 oz. dill bean pickle juice
Shake ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with one garlic dill bean

I can't wait to try your recipe and make my own beans!

[sdbigguy]

These really look good and reminded me that a friend of mine used to garnish his martini's with a Dill Pickled Green Bean instead of an olive. I hven't thought about that in a while... Thanks

[Forkable]

Nice! That sounds like a great idea. We also use dilly greens to garnish our bloody mary's. Its awesome!

[advancetech]

wonderful recipe

[csaenz]

This is great thank you so much!!! My grandma used to make these for me and they have always been my favorite. She had died and well im out of beans and have not been able to find the recipe so thank you.

[Forkable]

glad to help you get the beans again! Thanks for your awesome comment

[yankee]

What size jars do you use?

[Forkable]

I used mostly pint jars but I used one quart jar for the last group of beans which was slightly too much for a pint. When using quart jars, just double the amount of seasonings. You can really use any size jar you want. I wouldn't go smaller then a pint jar for beans, though you could break all the beans in half or thirds to fit inside the smaller 1/2 pint (cup) jars.

[STF]

This is great. I didn't grow any beans this year but I did do some okra. I just canned 2 jars of okra yesterday for the first time ever. I put all of my garlic and onions in the brine to boil. I didn't think of putting the seasoning directly in the jar. Great instructable.

[Forkable]

Thanks. I have never canned okra before but it sounds great!

[STF]

We will see if mine is good. Its the first time I've ever canned anything. I love pickled okra from the store but its kinda pricey.

[thematthatter]

did you ever have any problems with jars exploding because you didn't sterilize them enough.

[Forkable]

No, I never have had my canned goods explode. I was however just about to edit this instructable and add info about canning times in higher altitudes. You have to process your canned goods longer at higher elevations. 5 minutes longer for every 2000-3000 ft above sea level. I'll get more specific info posted in the next week or so. Also this canning info can only be used for high acid foods- foods pickled or with fruits with an acidic content. You cannot use this canning practice for canning such things as meats, poultry, seafood, or vegetables with low acid content.