Hot Dilly Beans!

Look what Dustin made this weekend! Hot Dilly Beans! His family loves these and Dustin has been itching to use his canner, which up until recently has only been used for salsa.



Here is Dustin's Mom's recipe. It makes (4) 1 pint bottles -- (Since we used quart jars, we just doubled the recipe to fill the jars)

Ingredients:

2 lbs green beans, both ends trimmed (leave them as long as you can)
2 1/2 cups cider vinegar (white vinegar also works)
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup pickling salt (canning salt)
1/4 tsp. dried red pepper (like the kind you put on top of your pizza)
4 fresh garlic cloves

Directions:

1) Place bottles into the oven and set the temp to the lowest setting to keep them warm.
2) Boil vinegar, water, and salt in a large pot.
3) Trim the green beans evenly (both ends) and wash.
4) In each jar, pack the green beans. To make it easier to pack the green beans, set the jar on it's side and stack the beans in the jar.
5) Sprinkle the dried hot pepper over the beans, place one clove of garlic in each jar and top it off with a head of dill.
6) Fill each jar with the boiling liquid leaving 1/2" to 1/4" of head space. Remove air bubbles, make sure nothing is on the lip of the bottle, and place the lid and ring securely on each bottle.
7) Boil the bottles for 10 minutes. Start the timer when the water comes to a boil. After 10 minutes turn off the heat and let the jars 'settle' in the hot water for about 5 minutes, remove to a towel to cool for 12 to 24 hours. (if after 30 minutes or so one of the bottles fails to seal, unscrew the lid, clean the lip of the bottle, and try placing a new lid and ring on the bottle, then re-boil).
8) Wait at least 2-4 weeks before eating the beans. (It's hard to wait that long but well worth it)

Dustin's family has been canning these hot dilly beans for as long as he can remember. Its definitely one of the Gray family favorites. Hope you try this recipe and in a month let us know what you think!