Cut a thin slice from blossom ends to help prevent softening.
Cut wide cucumbers into quarters lengthwise and long cucumbers in half lengthwise so they fit in jars.
Place in ice water bath while preparing everything else or up to 8 hours to keep crispness.
Prepare Canner & Jars
Fill large pot or canner with water so that jars will be covered by 1" of water.
Check jars for cracks, wash with warm soapy water, rinse well and place in canner.
Heat jars in canner (no need to sterilize as final processing will be longer than 10 minutes).
Prepare Brine
In medium size pot, combine vinegar, water and pickling salt. Bring to boil and simmer five minutes until salt is dissolved.
Fill Jars
Remove hot jars from canner.
Place 2 dill heads, 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp peppercorns and 1/8 tsp hot pepper flakes into each pint jar (double if using quart jars).
Tightly pack cucumbers into jars to within 3/4 inch of rim.
Add hot vinegar brine to cover cucumbers. Use a plastic utensil to remove any air bubbles and add more brine, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Wipe rim with clean cloth and seal with hot sealing lid. Screw band on top and tighten finger tight.
Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes for pint (500 mL) jars or 15 minutes for quart (1 L) jars.
Makes 4 pint (500 mL) jars or 2 quart (1 L) jars
Processing time from National Center for Home Food Preservation. Remember to adjust cooking times if you're at altitudes higher than 1000 ft (306 m) above sea level.
Notes
Allow pickles to mellow for 4 weeks before eating. Heat processed, sealed pickle jars will last for years, but for best flavor and texture use within 1 year. Once opened, store in fridge for six months up to 1 year. Optional: Add 2 to 3 Tablespoons of sugar to the brine with the salt to cut the acidity of the vinegar without turning these into sweet pickles.