(This is my friend Mike’s first post on He Cooks, She Cooks. Let him know how much you enjoyed it.)
Fried pickles are one of my favorite deep fried foods. They’re kind of a mess, but pretty easy to make. They’re crispy on the outside, a little soft on the inside, and have a nice, mild pickle flavor. And they go great with a good pale ale or bitter brew. They are great plain, or with a spicy dipping sauce.
Fried Beer-Battered Pickles
- 6 or more large pickles
- beer batter (see below)
First, I very thinly slice some pickles. I used around six whole pickles, but had plenty of batter left over, so feel free to cut more. (Or make onion rings, too.) I cut the pickles a bit thinner than 1/16 of inch. Having a mandolin here would be great, but I don’t, so I just used a sharp knife.
After slicing, I laid them on a kitchen towel and pressed with another to dry them out as best I could. Then I tossed them into a bowl filled with my favorite beer batter. Tempura is excellent on these as well.
When my oil was hot, I took a handful of pickles, shook off the excess batter, and carefully dropped them into the hot oil. I tried to avoid big clumps of pickles, but there were a few stuck together, which was fine.
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I fried the pickles in multiple batches for a few minutes until golden, while stirring occasionally to keep them from clumping.
Transfer them from the oil to some paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Serve with hot sauce for dipping or plain with maybe some extra salt.
Beer Batter
Adapted from Hubert Keller (He uses it for onion rings here. The addition of cream of tartar stabilizes and increases the volume of the whisked egg whites.)
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 12 oz bottled of a pale or amber beer
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Whisk together the flour, paprika, salt, and pepper.
Whisk the egg yolks with the beer and stir into the flour mixture. (This can be made ahead and refrigerated before the egg whites are added.)
Whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar until the whites hold soft peaks. Immediately before frying, fold the egg whites into the batter.
