5lbssmall pickling cucumbers, cleaned and with blossom ends carefully cleaned or trimmed
4cupswater
4 cupscider vinigar
1/2cupsugar
1/4cup+ 1 Tbsp salt
1/4cupdry mustard
grape leaves
Instructions
Place the clean cucumbers in the crock. Stir together the brine ingredients and pour over. Lay the grape leaves over the cucumbers.
Weight down with a plate and cover with towel. If you are using a jar with a lid to close them, you could do without a weight as long as the cucumbers are submerged.
Leave on counter at room temperature. (If the weather is hot, put them somewhere cooler, such as the basement.) Can start eating in just a few days, but these are best at about 2 weeks. You can put more cucumbers in the bottom as top ones are eaten, but after 2 weeks they should be refrigerated to halt development.
They are good for a couple of months after refrigerating, possibly longer, but we haven’t been able to keep them that long without eating them all!