Darryl’s Hot Sweet Pickles

Are you ready for this? Give a big Nicole-Parton’s-Favorite-Recipes’ welcome to our old pal Darryl Paulsen and his lovely wife, Judy! 

Darryl.

Judy.

You remember Darryl, creator of one of the best paella recipes ever? The recipe blew your socks off when I posted it in October, 2012: It remained each week’s best-read recipe for ages and ages. You’ll find it indexed under Main Dish: Seafood (Darryl Paulsen’s Spanish Paella). It’s excellent!

At the time Darryl whipped up his paella recipe, he waxed enthusiastic about a hot sweet pickle recipe he claimed was the easiest ever! “Hot” is the operative word: It requires ½ c. of Tabasco sauce! Heck, many long-married couples aren’t even on their second bottle of Tabasco. 

Says Darryl: “This recipe turns a whole lot of dill pickles into a whole lot of hot sweet pickles!” Says Judy: “You have to try this! If you’re over 60, take a Pepcid before eating one of these pickles!”

Originally named Super Sweet Pickles, the recipe came from Minnie Lewis, who hails from parts unknown. I’ve taken the liberty of renaming this tasty dish Darryl’s Hot Sweet Pickles. Anything Darryl cooks is outstanding, so I’ll just move out of the way before the stampede starts, because everyone will want to get their mitts on the recipe. With no more (or less) ado, here’s what Minnie invented, Darryl perfected, and Judy consumes with such pleasure.

Darryl’s Hot Sweet Pickles:

This recipe requires three 

days’ marination 

½ gallon (64 fl. oz. or about 2 L) dill pickles (Darryl favors the priced-right pickles from Costco) 

8 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

½ c. (125 mL) Tabasco sauce

3 c. (750 mL) granulated sugar, divided

Your starting point.

  

Drain dills, saving juice.

Slice dills into chunks.

Drain pickles, reserving juice if desired (see Note). Slice large pickles into 1-in. (2.54 cm) chunks; leave the smaller ones whole.

Return chunked pickles to empty jar.

With pickles in empty jar, layer with garlic, hot sauce, and 1 c. (250 mL) granulated sugar. 

Did someone say garlic and hot sauce?

Replace lid tightly, shaking until sugar starts to dissolve. Let stand overnight or up to 24 hr. at room temperature. The second morning, add another 1 c. (250 mL) granulated sugar. 

Add granulated sugar over three days.

Replace lid tightly, shake, and repeat standing process at room temperature (I turned the jar upside-down the second time). The third morning, add the final 1 c. granulated sugar. Shake jar until sugar dissolves completely. Label with date and contents; refrigerate. Will keep up to three months.

These pickles aren’t as hot as the Paulsens made out. They’re also sinfully addictive. Ron and I are going to have another one right now! 

My, oh, my! These are great!

Note: You’ll think this recipe doesn’t have enough liquid. No worries - by the second and third days, it will make plenty of pickle juice on its own. Don’t change a thing in the recipe and it will turn out just fine. 

Further Note: Don’t discard that dill pickle juice! See my terrific recipe for Easiest-Ever Pickled Eggs, indexed under Appetizers: Egg-Based. I made this great egg recipe at the same time I prepared these pickles. As with the pickles, these eggs also need three days’ marination. Ron and I are about to have a pickled egg, too. There’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight!