For as long as I can remember my Grandmother has always kept a jar of these on hand. Now that she is older my Mother makes them for her. I’ll bet if I called my sisters they would all have a jar hanging out as well. There is nothing better than these pickles on a ham sandwich or on a sandwich with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. We sometimes make up a couple of batches,put them into cute little jars and give them away to neighbors and friends for the holidays. If you add a couple of Maraschino cherries, rinsed, to the jar they look very “Christmasy.”
1 Gallon Jar of Whole Sour Pickles, sliced into thin circles
1/4 Cup of Black Peppercorns
3 Cloves of Garlic, sliced
5 Pounds of Sugar
Place sliced pickles into a VERY large airtight container. If you have one, a mandoline makes very quick work of slicing the pickles. Sprinkle in the garlic and peppercorns as you fill the container, layering a bit. Pour the sugar over the top and close container.
Depending on how sturdy your container is you can rotate it or just stir. I made the mistake of turning my container over one time and the lid was too flimsy. You can image the mess as all that sugary juice flew into every crevice of the kitchen. Rotate or stir 2 to 3 times a day for 3 days until all the sugar has dissolved (there is no need to add any “juice” the sugar does all the work).
We never refrigerated them, just kept the lid on tight, but if you are nervous about not having a true seal you can keep them in the refrigerator.