1 lemon

1/2 small onion, sliced thin

2 tbsp. vegetable oil or olive oil, optional

1/4 cup white vinegar or white wine vinegar

1 tbsp. Old Bay seasoning

1/2 tsp. seasoning salt or plain salt

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. mustard seed

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper or cayenne pepper

1 tsp. dried parsley flakes

4 bay leaves

1/2 tsp. celery seed

1 tsp. black pepper corns

Using a wide mouth quart canning jar or other large container with a tight fitting lid, thinly slice half the lemon and set aside; squeeze the juice from the other half of the lemon into the jar and drop the squeezed lemon into the bottom of the jar. Add some of the onion slices and a bay leaf and a lemon slice, 1/4 of the shrimp and continue layering until all the lemon slices, onion, bay leaves and shrimp is used. 

Add the oil if using, Old Bay seasoning, seasoning salt or plain salt, minced garlic, sugar, mustard seed, crushed red pepper or cayenne pepper, parsley flakes, celery seed and black pepper corns. Pour vinegar over all and fill with cold water to cover the shrimp. Cover jar or container with lid and shake to distribute spices throughout the jar and refrigerate until chilled, up to 5 days, if they last that long. 

They're better after they marinate at least 24 hours. Recipe may be doubled, and you may use any size shrimp and tweak the recipe to suit your tastes.

4 pounds of 4-6 inch cucumbers
2 pounds of onions, about 6 medium
1/3 cup canning and pickling salt
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons mustard seed
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
3 cups white vinegar

Wash cucumbers and trim ends. Slice into ¼-inch rounds.

Peel onions and slice into thin rings.

Combine sliced cucumbers and onions in a large bowl, layering with salt; cover with ice cubes. Let stand for 1½ hours. Drain; rinse; drain again.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large pot; bring to a boil. Add drained cucumbers and onions and return to a boil. Pack hot pickles and liquid into hot pint jars, leaving a ¼-inch head space. Remove air bubbles by running a wooden spoon handle into the jars to release air bubbles.
Cover with new bands and lids and tighten lids, wiping the top of the jar and threads to make sure it's clean and the lid will seal well. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.
Remove jars from hot water and cool on a cloth on the table or countertop.
Store in your pantry with your canned and dry foods, no refrigeration needed until you break the seal on a jar. Any opened jars or jars that don't seal should be refrigerated at all times.

Yields about 4-5 pints if memory serves me correctly.

To make about 1 quart of pickling brine:

1 cup white vinegar
3 cups cold water
2-3 tablespoons canning/pickling salt if you have it, if not, you can use table salt


Additional ingredients:

2 tablespoons black peppercorns, or coarse ground black pepper
1 large onion, sliced in rings
3 or 4 large cloves of garlic, sliced
small whole cucumbers and/or peeled and sliced cucumbers
fresh hot peppers or crushed red pepper as desired, optional


Stir brine ingredients to dissolve salt as much as possible.

In quart jars or any airtight container that can be used in the fridge, pack fresh whole cucumbers or peeled and sliced cucumbers, adding sliced onion and garlic equally among the jars/containers. Stir brine again and pour over cucumbers to cover, then cover tightly and place in the fridge.

You can also use small zucchini squash in this recipe or almost any pickling recipe that calls for cucumbers, including relishes, chow chow, piccalili and my favorite, bread and butter pickles.

For the refrigerator pickles I'd use equal parts cucumbers and small zucchini if using the squash in this recipe.

According to how many cucumbers you have you may need more onion and garlic and more brine to cover your cucumbers. These have to stay refrigerated because they're not processed in a canner for long storage. However, they will keep indefinitely in the fridge, if they last that long. Hope they turn out well for you.