Deep fried pickle spears popped up at my favorite sandwich shop about a year ago, and I’ve been secretly obsessed with them since the minute I spied them on the menu. I mean, I love pickles–the salty tartness is the perfect complement to any sandwich, and I always steal Jeff’s when we’re served one on the side.
Even though I was intrigued, I didn’t actually try them until a few months ago when I confessed my need for them to Jeff one day while we were ordering sandwiches. I was really unsure about how the breading would interact with the pickle–would the pickle just get all warm and soggy (yuck!) or would something magical happen when they dropped them into that vat of oil?
The first bite was definitely pure magic. The crust only enhanced the pickle-y flavor and how could it go wrong when it’s served with ranch dressing? Not possible.
While I was perusing Cost Plus the other day as I waited for an oil change, I came across this:
Wickles Pickles A unique blend of dill, garlic, and sweetness with just enough spice. Sounds good to me!
So, of course, I bought a jar and went home to tell Jeff that we were having deep fried pickles for dinner. While, maybe just as a side, but with how many I ate, it should have been the only thing we made!
Be sure to just let the pickles fry until golden brown–about 3 minutes–if they’re undercooked, the corn meal gets really hard and chewy but if they’re overcooked, they start to taste like popcorn! When in doubt, we always just test a few at different frying lengths until we get the desired taste.
Maybe I’m meant to live in the South after all!
Ingredients:
1 cup Wickles pickles (get them here: http://bit.ly/1abLMTE)
1 egg, whisked
1 tablespoon milk
1 cup corn meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 cup flour
Vegetable oil
Ranch dressing
Steps:
Heat vegetable oil in a large pot to 380 degrees.
Set up dredging station by combining egg and milk in one small bowl, corn meal, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and mustard powder in another, and then flour in a 3rd small bowl.
Dip pickles in flour then egg then corn meal mixture, and then carefully drop into hot oil.
Fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes, then remove and set on a paper towel to dry.
Serve with ranch dressing, and enjoy!
Time: 15 minutes
more at: http://www.aslolife.com/2012/06/14/deep-fried-pickles/
