Fried Pickles

January 13, 2012

Ode to the Pickle

Pickle, I have loved you for as long as I can remember. Some of my fondest memories are with you.
I recall the jars of pickling baby cucumbers my grandfather would have sitting out on his back porch in the summertime. I remember how the warm sunlight would illuminate the jars so beautifully. It was truly a joy plucking a freshly pickled pickle out of the jar and crunching into it.
My next memory of you, pickle, is when my keen culinary prowess began to bloom. I was six years old and thought how good your sharp acidity would taste with the sour of sour cream. (Don’t knock it until you have tried it people!) So, I lathered up two sides of rye bread with sour cream, placed a few pickle spears inside, and have been enjoying that staple Stefanie sandwich ever since.
You were at every family summer BBQ. Your pickling juices started the game of “I Dare You to Eat/Drink This” with my brothers. One of my brothers, who shall remain nameless, still enjoys a gulp of pickling liquid every now and then. No judgement.
I have always ordered extra pickles on sandwiches and burgers especially. (Confession: sometimes even extra-extra pickles). There are some nay-sayers who leave the pickles on the side of their sandwich plates and try to ignore you and send you back to the kitchen on a dirty plate just to be thrown out. I have always come to your aid and eaten you before you received that fate.
I would never want to do anything to destroy the integrity of your sour, vinegary appeal. So don’t be scared. It won’t hurt that bad. When you hit the frying pan, just know that this is for the best. It will only enhance your charm and whimsy. We may even convert some of those nay-sayers into lovers, not haters!
Ingredients
3 Claussen Pickle Spears (Any brand is ok, but I prefer Claussen. Call me a pickle snob, I don’t care.)
½ Cup Sour Cream
½ Cup Flour
1 Egg, beaten
1 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs
1 ½ Cup Vegetable Oil
First, remove the seeds from the pickle spears. Then cut the spears into fourths or fifths, length-wise. You want small slivers of pickle.
Next, dredge each individual pickle sliver into the sour cream. Be sure just to drag it through smoothly. You want to make sure there is a thin layer, no clumps.
Then dredge the pickle through the flour, egg, and finally through the panko bread crumbs.
The idea is to get a thin coating on the pickle. It doesn’t have to be coated entirely. Place the breaded spears on a wire rack to set up until the oil is heated.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until the temperature of the oil reaches about 220 degrees.
Add the pickles to the oil three or four at a time. Fry them for two minutes on each side. When the breading turns lightly golden, they are done. Place pickles on a wire rack to drain.
The great thing about this breading and the fry time is that the pickle still maintains its integrity. It still has a crunch and holds on to its pickle-y taste.
The pickles are great as an appetizer. Serve them with some horseradish mayo for an extra kick. All you need is 3 tablespoons of mayo, a tablespoon of grated horseradish, and a dash of salt and pepper.
Or…..If you really wanna be a fatty…Add them as a topping to a cheeseburger.
Might as well call today FRY-DAY! Get it?

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  • Michelle
    January 15, 2012 at 7:32 am

    these look REDONKULOUS! …. and then you put them on a burger. drooling.

  • mealpod
    January 14, 2012 at 2:56 am

    I loved your ode to pickles! They deserve it, delicious little guys. This is making me wish I didn’t eat gluten free. I may have to create a special batter and fry my own. Thank you for the inspiration!

    • Stefanie
      January 14, 2012 at 3:21 am

      Thanks! One of my best friends just found out she can not eat gluten. I am trying to come up with some more gluten free adaptations. If I figure something out for these fellas I will let you know!

  • Sweets0387
    January 13, 2012 at 9:52 pm

    oh I remember the pickle sammys from 104 W Vernon (when you were a real vegetarian), 608 Hillview (when you started to dabble) and whatever our address was at Lincoln Park Townhomes (when you ordered your own meat)…

  • claire @ the realistic nutritionist
    January 13, 2012 at 8:17 pm

    I absolutely LOOOVE fried pickles. I usually eat them as the chips, but I like this look too!

    • Stefanie
      January 13, 2012 at 8:39 pm

      Thanks! It’s taking all of my willpower not to sit here and eat the whole platter of them!