This one's a Southern Favorite! Sour taste from the pickle, makes for GREAT bar food. You probably won't even care about a dipping sauce.
My first offer of fried pickles was a pretty strange emotion. I though about it, and decided, that, I like pickles, and I liked fried food when I'm at a bar enjoying my favorite adult beverage. So, why not!
I was truly amazed by the flavors. I've since learned that this is quite a Southern tradition, and that they're quite commonly served in a lot of the bars and restaurants here in the South.
Make sure you use pickles, cold, right out of the refrigerator, because they fry long enough to brown, and crisp up the coating, but the pickles will remain crisp on the inside.
Ron's Note:
Frying something cold, like these pickles can cause a quick drop in the temperature of the oil. If the oil isn't hot enough, the batter won't stick to the pickles. You can fix this by using more oil, or by frying less pickles at a time.
If you still have problems with the batter sticking, you can dredge the pickles in seasoned flour before dipping in the batter. The flour will dry the outside of the pickle, and help the batter stick.
1. Make the batter by first placing all of the dry ingredients into a bowl, and mixing them up with a whisk. Add 1 1/4 cups of the beer, then whisk. Add more beer to get a thick batter. If you prefer a thin batter like I used for the pictures, use up to 2 cups of the beer.
2. Slice the pickles into Wedges (quartered lengthwise), Chunks (1/2" - 5/8" thick), or Thin Slices.
3. Dry the cut pickles real well or the batter won't stick.
Ron's Note:
For a thicker coating, you could coat the pickles with seasoned flour before placing in the batter.
4. I use a black frying pan for frying, I find it's easy to control the temperature, and I'm only cooking for one anyway. Place 1/2" of vegetable oil in the pan, heat it to 350 degrees, and place battered pickles in carefully being sure not to spatter the oil. Since you're using cold pickles, you've got to be careful that you don't place too many in the oil at one time, because it will make the temperature drop too much, and the batter will slide off.
5. As the pickles get browned, place them in a pan with a rack in it to drain. I don't use paper towels because they will make the pickles soggy.
Serve while hot with or without your favorite dipping sauce.
This recipe prints as a shortened version, with only 1 Picture, Ingredients, and Directions.
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This recipe prints as a shortened version, with only 1 Picture, Ingredients, and Directions.
By Cap'n Ron
