In a pickle as to what to fix? Go Cuban!

Without commenting as to whether it’s a good or bad thing, social media has enabled the bombardment of our senses with an untold number of kitchen and cooking hacks. However, even before the opening of the social media floodgates, I had read and heard suggestions on what to do with pickle juice, once the last pickle is gone from the jar. What to do? Re-use it.

With two jars of pickle juice in the fridge (I saved one, waiting until I had finished a second jar of pickles so that I’d be sure to have enough juice to try this), the process was very easy.

Buy a couple of cucumbers. If available, English cucumbers (also called hothouse cucumbers) are a better alternative. Their skin in thinner, they have fewer seeds, have a denser core, and make for a crisper, crunchier pickle. Slice them about 1/8″ thick (4 mm), and just put them in the jar of pickle juice. You really want to re-use the glass pickle jar; it’s non-reactive with the vinegar (acid) in the pickling liquid. Put as many slices as you can in the jar, just be sure that the liquid covers the pickles (that’s one reason a second jar of pickle juice helps). Put them in the fridge for about a week, flipping them over several times in the process, and they’re ready to go.

Want a different taste? Add a garlic glove, if garlic is your thing. Or add some mustard seeds or some fresh dill. They’re you’re pickles, so make them like you want them. A small pepper will add some heat.

Want spears instead of chips? Cut sections of cucumber that will fit vertically in the pickle jar, being sure that you’ll be able to cover them with juice, then quarter them. Listo!!! Pickle spears!

So what does Cuba have to do with this?

I’d heard of a Cuban sandwich, and knew that pickles were a prominent constituent. The traditional sandwich (which, while it may have Cuban roots, is called Cuban because of its appeal to Cuban immigrants in Tampa and Miami) is ham, roasted pork, pickles, Swiss cheese, and mustard. Of course, I had the pickles; and with no roasted pork, I just doubled up on the ham. No Swiss cheese either, so I used a very sharp cheddar (which has a bit of bite, just like Swiss cheese does).

And there you have it. No longer in a pickle as to what to have for dinner. And the pickles, as you might expect, lighten the taste and feel of the sandwich. It’s filling, without leaving you feeling too full. Give it a try, and enjoy!

And let me know how your pickles turn out!!!