Food + Drink
RECIPE: Fried Pickles & Spicy Ketchup
Football truly bores me into a deep "my eyes are open but I'm not actually paying attention" trance, but it manages to pull out one huge benefit--friends and families gather to eat delicious snacks and sip on tasty beverages to add some life to the snooze-fest (sorry I'm not sorry to all the fans out there). In these situations, I can get down with football.
So when I was scouring my refrigerator for something to whip together quickly after a last minute get together was planned for my place, an easy crowd-pleaser popped into my mind: fried pickles! Why do I love making fried pickles so much, you ask? For the same reason that any recipe becomes one of my favorites--you can customize it to include the flavors that you love the most. And it's easy! I also love coming up with new dipping sauces and fried pickles are a great dipping candidate to try a new mix-up. Here is what you will need...
Fried Pickles
1 Jar of Pickle Spears*
Panko Bread Crumbs
Salt & Pepper
Garlic Powder
2 Eggs
A Splash of Milk
Flour
Sunflower Oil
*If you do not like pickle spears, you can absolutely use a different variation. However, I have tried this recipe time and time again with all different versions of a pickle slice and I find that the spears have the best flavor and texture.
Spicy Ketchup
Ketchup
Mayo
Siracha Sauce
1. Place pickle slices on a paper towel and let them sit for about 10 minutes to let the paper towel absorb some of the juices.
2. Shake some flower onto a plate and crack the eggs into a bowl. Scramble the eggs with a splash of milk. Also put some panko bread crumbs in a bowl along with garlic powder, salt and pepper. At this phase you can mix any of your favorite spices into the bread crumbs. I crush up the panko a bit as I mix in the spices. Line up in the order pictured below (pickles, flour, egg mixture, panko). Have an empty plate waiting at the end of the line.
3. Take your pickles and coat in flour, dip in egg mixture, then roll in the bread crumbs until generously covered. Place on empty plate.
4. Pour a generous amount of sunflower oil in the pan (you can use just about any oil but I love sunflower), enough to completely coat the bottom of the pan and set the burner to medium heat and let it get hot.
5. Place pickles in the hot oil carefully and pay attention--they don't take long to cook! Check on the progress every couple minutes and let them brown as much as you prefer. I don't know about you, but I'm a well done kind of gal.
6. Turn the pickles as each side browns until every side is crisped to perfection! Carefully remove from pan and set aside on a paper towel to drain.
7. Time for the dipping sauce. A dollop of mayo, a bigger dollop of ketchup, and a squirt of Sriracha in a bowl. I like a good, spicy kick, so I'm generous with the Sriracha. Mix it all together until blended.
8. Once your pickles have cooled down for a couple minutes, plate them and serve up with dipping sauce! They taste best nice and warm so time the cooking process appropriately so your guests will get them as soon as they're ready!
