New York Style Deli Pickles - cooking recipe

Ingredients

10 gallons pickling cucumbers, medium sized, scrubbed
2 heads fresh dill, plants flower heads only
2 heads garlic, peeled
1 cup pickling salt
1/2 cup pickling spices
3 tablespoons peppercorns
3 dried hot red chili peppers
2 cinnamon sticks, broken
5 bay leaves
water, to cover

Preparation

Layer the cucumbers and dill heads with garlic.
Pour the remaining ingredients over all and cover with cold, fresh water, filtered if you can.
Cover with cheesecloth.
Weigh down the pickles with a plate and jar of water. Cover with a clean tea towel.
Check after 72 hours, remove any scum that may have formed and wash cheesecloth, plate and jar of water and replace them.
Check after another 72 hours and see if they are done enough for you. If so, pack into sterile jars and cover with the brine.
Store in the refrigerator to slow the fermentation process.
I make these in a big dough bucket and pack into gallon jars and some plastic containers to give as gifts.