Dad's Sweet & Spicy Hot Dill Pickles

I have been meaning to post this recipe for years. This was my Dad's recipe for his wonderful sweet, spicy and hot dill pickles. I don't think the original recipe was ever written down, so I wanted to document it before I forget how to make them.

Ingredients:
Original Recipe 1/16/2012

• 1 gallon of whole dill pickles, any brand, but not Kosher or Polish, just plain dills (I haven't a clue why you couldn't use Kosher or any other dill for that matter. Perhaps dad thought there would be too much garlic.)
• 2 kilos, or 4 pounds, of granulated sugar
• 1 whole pod of garlic
• 1 small bottle of Tabasco sauce

Variation 2/4/2017

• 1.36 liter jar (46 ounces) of plain whole dill pickles
• 650 grams of raw sugar (about 1.4 pounds for those of you not yet on the metric system)
• ½ pod of fresh garlic
• ¾ small bottle of Tabasco sauce

... if you are a brave soul, and like it really hot and spicy, substitute the Tabasco for the following:

• 60 ml (or 2 ounces) of Costa Rica's red Chilero Salsa
• ¼ of a smidgen of Carolina Reaper granulated powder (if you dare) dissolved into the Chilero Salsa 

Directions:
Prep the Ingredients:
Drain the vinegar from the pickles. Just pour it out. Yes, that does means pour it down the drain, unless you can come up with some other use for the vinegar, in some other recipe. Cover your table with a waterproof table cloth, because it could get messy. Peel all the cloves of garlic and slice them into somewhat thin slices (or a coarse chop is fine too) and set them aside. Now, slice all the pickles into ¼" disks and put them in a large bowl. Wash and dry the original jar and lid.

Pack the Ingredients:
Pour about an inch of sugar in the bottom of the jar, layer in some pickles and garlic, and cover it with more sugar. Keep building layers until the jar is completely filled. I know it will look like everything won't fit, but trust me, it will. You may have to shake the jar a bit to get everything to settle. Once you have the jar tightly packed, pour the ENTIRE bottle of Tabasco sauce (or Chilero Salsa) in. Don't worry about mixing it. Wipe up any spills around the mouth of the jar with a clean damp cloth. You don't want the outside of the jar to be sticky with sugar, or you won't get a good seal. Now, screw the lid on nice and tight, and set it somewhere out of the way, but where you will see it everyday. If you have trouble packing the jar, and can't get the lid on it, just shake the jar until some of the sugar starts to dissolve and then the lid will fit.

Age the Pickles:
You will need to leave the pickles in the jar for a minimum of 10 day. Every morning rotate the jar upside down onto the lid and every evening turn it back right side up onto the base. Do this for 10 to 14 days and don't cheat and don't taste them. I actually rotate the jar every time I think about it, and this is frequently several times a day.

Enjoy!!
Once the pickles have aged you will be rewarded with the best sweet, spicy hot pickles you have ever tasted. The sugar will draw all the remaining vinegar out of the pickle slices they will be very crisp. You can repack them into smaller jars and store some in the pantry and some in refrigerator. I like these best when they are very cold. They also make a great homemade gift for the holidays.