FRIED PICKLES
Feeds 4 to 6
I must admit that when I heard about fried pickles, a much-loved Southern side dish, I immediately thought of them as an abomination, like deep-fried Twinkies. Oh, but I was wrong. Take a great dill pickle, slice it up, dip it into a simple batter made of flour, egg, and milk, and fry up those slices in hot peanut oil. Oh my. This sometimes treat deserves its adulation. Nothing wrong with this at all.
- 1 cup All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup full-fat milk
- 3 cups fat or oil of your choice for frying (we use peanut oil)
- 4 whole dill pickles, cut into ½-inch slices
Make the batter. In a large bowl, whisk the flour blend, baking powder, and salt and pepper. Make a well in the center of the ingredients and add the egg and milk. Stir together all the ingredients with a rubber spatula.
Heat the oil. Set a large wok over high heat. Pour in the oil. Heat the oil to 375°F.
Fry the pickles. Using a pair of tongs, dip a pickle slice into the batter and put it directly into the hot oil. Put in no more than 10 pickle slices at a time, to avoid overcrowding. Fry for 1 minute or so, then flip the pickles and fry until golden brown, about 2 more minutes. Move the fried pickles to a paper towel–lined plate. Bring the oil back up to 375°F and fry the remaining pickles the same way.
Serve immediately. (Most people seem to like ranch dressing for dipping.)
