How To: Dehydrate Dill Pickles
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Dehydrated dill pickles are a culinary gift. Eat them as chips or turn them into dill pickle seasoning. Add dill pickle flavor to anything and everything.
My kids love a good bowl of popcorn, but what they like even better than that is dill pickle popcorn.
They love that mouth watering vinegar, lip smackin salt and delicious dill.
It was all good. Until I read the ingredient list! Yikes.
This how to make dill pickle seasoning guide is dedicated to my kids.
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Tips + tricks
No. 1 –> If you’re sensitive to salt, at the very least, you should give your pickles a good rinse before you begin. Alternatively, you could soak them in a cold water soak for a few minutes to help draw out some of the salinity.
No. 2 –> Don’t toss the pickle juice! Seriously. Keep that jar in the fridge for times when you want to make dill pickle chicken wings, in your egg salad, potato salad, in your Caesers, and more.
Key ingredients
Dill pickles – use home-canned, store-bought, or the jar your grandma gifted you! Although, Gramma’s pickles probably deserve to be eaten on a roast beef sandwich instead of ground. That said, use firm pickles with a flavor you enjoy. I prefer extra garlic baby dills for this recipe.
How to dehydrate pickles
- Slice pickles into rounds about 1/8 to 1/4″ inch thick. The thinner, the better they dehydrated, and the more consistent the slice the more evenly they will dry.
- Spread the sliced pickles in a single layer on your dehydrator trays, leaving a small gap between each round for added airflow and increased drying efficiency.
- Dehydrated the pickles at 135f for 4-6 hours. This is only an estimate, based on my environment, yours may be done faster or slower. I recommend checking the pickles for doneness around the 3 hour mark. To check the pickles, remove one or two slices from the dehydrator, allow to cool to room temperature then bend it. It the pickle bends, they are not done. If the pickle snaps, you’re in business!
- Once pickles are dehydrated to the brittle stage, remove the dehydrator trays from the dehydrator and allow the pickles to cool to room temperature before storing.
How to use dehydrated pickles
- eat them like chips!
- add them to a smoked roast beef sandwich for a little crunch
- crush them slightly and add to creamy cucumber dill salad
- turn them into dill pickle seasoning!
How to make dill pickle seasoning
- Add fully dried pickles to the bowl of your food processor, jar of your blender, or mortar and pestle and grind until your pickles reach your desired consistency.
- Store this powder in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
How to use dill pickle seasoning
Oh my gosh, don’t even get me going on this! I’m so pumped over the possibilities here!
- sprinkle it on popcorn
- toss chicken wings in it
- rim your Ceaser or bloody mary with it
- shake it over salad
- add a little bit to your sous vide mashed potatoes for a salt and vinegar mash
- use it as finishing salt for a burger
- skip the salt and toss your fries in dill pickle powder
Batch + storage information
Batch:
I generally make this recipe in 20 pickle increments! It’s enough to have on hand without kicking around in the spice cupboard for too long.
20 baby dills will yield approximately 1 cup of dried pickle chips and a scant 1/4 cup of ground dried pickles.
Storage:
Keep your dried pickle chips or pickle powder in an airtight jar in a cool cupboard.
More dehydrated recipes to love
Recommended Equipment
Dehydrator: I have and love(!) a 9 RACK EXCALIBUR DEHYDRATOR. We use it to DEHYDRATE CITRUS WHEELS, GARLIC, STRAWBERRIEs, PEARS and even, DEHYDRATE MARSHMALLOWS, and much more. It’s got a 24-hour timer and very precise temperature controls so it’s great for dehydrating various foods.
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๐ Printable Recipe
Dehydrated Dill Pickles + Dill Pickle Seasoning
Ingredients
- 20 baby dill pickles
Instructions
Dehydrate the pickles:
- Slice 20 baby dill pickles into rounds about 1/8 to 1/4" inch thick.
- Spread the sliced pickles in a single layer on your dehydrator trays, leaving a small gap between each round.
- Dehydrated the pickles at 135f for 4-6 hours. Begin checking the pickles for doneness around the 3-hour mark. To check the pickles, remove one or two slices from the dehydrator, allow them to cool to room temperature then bend it. If the pickle bends, they are not done. If the pickle snaps easily, they are completely dehydrated.
- Once pickles are dehydrated to the brittle stage, remove the dehydrator trays from the dehydrator and allow the pickles to cool to room temperature before storing.
Make dill pickle seasoning:
- Add the dehydrated pickles to the bowl of your food processor or blender and pulse until they reach your desired consistency.
Notes
how to use dehydrated pickles
- eat them like chips!
- add them to aย SMOKED ROAST BEEFย sandwich for a little crunch
- crush them slightly and add toย CREAMY CUCUMBER DILL SALAD
- turn them into dill pickle seasoning!
how to use dill pickle seasoning
- toss chicken wings in it
- rim your Ceaser or bloody mary with it
- shake it over salad
- add a little bit to yourย SOUS VIDE MASHED POTATOESย for a salt and vinegar mash
- use it as finishing salt for a burger
- skip the salt and toss your fries in dill pickle powder