Ice Cream Pail Pickles

What are ice cream pail pickles?

Ice cream pail pickles, also called bucket pickles, pail pickles, or old-fashioned icebox pickles, are sliced cucumbers and onions packed in a bucket and covered with a sweet-and-sour brine. The name comes from the habit of reusing an empty ice cream pail as the container. They taste somewhat like bread-and-butter pickles: sweet, tangy, and crunchy, with a mild onion flavor.

They are refrigerator pickles. You do not process them in a canner, and they are not shelf-stable. That is what makes them easy. If you want to learn the canning side of pickles, start with our easy pickle recipes for canning.

Choose a safe container

The traditional ice cream pail is part of the charm, but it is worth thinking about before you use one. Pickle brine is acidic and salty, and it sits for days.

• Use a food-grade bucket or tub, ideally one sold for food storage and marked as food safe. Buckets from a hardware store that were not made for food are not a good choice.
• A thoroughly washed ice cream tub can work if it is in good shape, but it was designed for freezing, not for long contact with vinegar. If you are unsure, use glass jars or a food-grade container instead.
• Glass jars work well and make gift jars easy. Avoid reactive metal such as aluminum or copper for the brine and for storage.
• Make sure the container has a lid and fits on a fridge shelf.

Ingredients

This makes roughly one 4-quart pail. Brine proportions come from the common bucket pickle recipes; this is a refrigerator recipe, not a canning one.

• About 3 pounds cucumbers (small pickling cucumbers, Kirby, or thin-skinned varieties), sliced about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
• 2 medium onions, sliced or chopped
• 6 heads fresh dill (or about 2 teaspoons dill seed)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons garlic powder, or several smashed garlic cloves

Brine

• 6 cups water
• 3 cups white vinegar (5% acidity); cider vinegar also works
• 1/3 cup canning or kosher salt
• 3/4 cup sugar

If the brine does not cover the cucumbers, make a little more in the same proportions rather than topping up with plain vinegar or water.

Step-by-step

1. Make the brine. Combine the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar in a large pot. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar and salt dissolve. Boil for a few minutes.
2. Cool it. Let the brine cool to room temperature, or cool it further in the fridge. Hot brine will cook the cucumbers and soften them.
3. Slice. Slice the cucumbers into rounds (or spears, if you prefer). Trim off both ends.
4. Layer. Put half of the onions, dill, and garlic in the bottom of the container. Add the cucumbers. Top with the remaining onions, dill, and garlic.
5. Pour. Pour the cooled brine over everything until the cucumbers are covered. Press them down if they float.
6. Chill. Cover and refrigerate. Wait at least 3 days, and up to a week, for the best flavor.

Keep the pickles in the brine in the refrigerator at all times.

Tips for crisp pickles

• Soak the sliced cucumbers in ice water for 15 to 20 minutes before packing.
• Use fresh cucumbers, ideally within a day or two of picking.
• Always add cooled brine, never hot.
• Skip the oversized, seedy cucumbers if you can.
• Some cooks use filtered water, since heavily chlorinated tap water can affect the taste. This is a matter of preference, not safety.

How long do they last?

Recipes online claim anywhere from a few weeks to a year. We would not plan on anything beyond a couple of months. Texture softens over time even when the pickles are still fine to eat. Keep them cold, use a clean fork rather than fingers, and discard them if you see mold, notice a bad smell, or the brine turns slimy or unusually cloudy. If in doubt, throw them out.

Variations

• Heat: add red pepper flakes or a sliced fresh chile. For a fuller treatment, see jalapeno garlic dill pickles.
• More spice: mustard seed, whole black peppercorns, or celery seed.
• Color: red onions give a pinkish tint.
• Less sugar: you can reduce the sugar in a refrigerator pickle, though the flavor will be tangier. For a low-carb approach, see keto pickled cucumbers.
• Spears for jars: pack into mason jars and top with brine to give as gifts, labeled as refrigerator pickles.

Can you can bucket pickles?

Not in this form. The recipe is built for the fridge and has not been tested for water-bath processing. If you want shelf-stable pickles, use a recipe tested for canning, such as the ones from the National Center for Home Food Preservation, and process them for the time listed. The traditional multi-day sweet spears are covered in our icicle pickles guide.

The 3-2-1 brine question

You may see a “3-2-1” shorthand (3 parts vinegar, 2 parts sugar, 1 part water) for fridge pickles. That is a much sweeter, more vinegar-forward brine than the one above. It can work for refrigerator pickles, but it is not a tested canning ratio.

FAQ

What are the ingredients for old-fashioned icebox pickles? Typically cucumbers, onion, dill, a vinegar-water-sugar-salt brine, and sometimes mustard seed or garlic.

Do I have to use an ice cream pail? No. Any clean, food-safe container with a lid works, including large glass jars.

Can I reuse the brine? We suggest starting each batch with fresh brine, since the old brine is diluted by the cucumbers’ water.

Do they need to be refrigerated? Yes, from the start.