“Fried” Pickles
I imagine that if you were born and bred south of the Mason-Dixon line, fried pickles are as familiar as sour cream and onion potato chips. Served at every backyard barbecue, baseball game and baby shower. For us Yankees, they are still somewhat of a curiosity.
I like pickles. The sour ones that make you pucker; the new pickles that are crisp and fresh tasting. I am really going to date myself here but as a kid, I remember walking down the block from my elementary school to the neighborhood candy store, Louis Sherry, and leaving with a huge half-sour pickle pulled from a barrel and wrapped in a white paper napkin. I swear I’m not 80-years old but writing this post makes me feel as though I am. A 10-year old leaving school for lunch? Buying a pickle–which I’m sure cost anywhere between a nickel and 25 cents? Making it back to the classroom without being abducted or run over by a car? Just life on Long Island in late 70s. I digress.
Somewhat surprisingly, I am not a fan of fried foods. Sure, I enjoy french fries (although I prefer the less-crispy ones–everyone wants to share an order with me) but tempura, shrimp po boys, hushpuppies…not so much. So when I came across a recipe for Baked “Fried” Pickles on Pinterest, I had to give it a try.
I served the “Fried” Pickles to a group of friends and they proved to be quite addictive. The panko coating somewhat tempers the tartness of the pickle slices and makes them the perfect foil for a swipe of creamy dressing. The original recipe called for a homemade ranch but blue cheese dressing is more up my alley, so that’s how I served mine. Either works and, of course, if you’re not inclined to make your own from scratch, a favorite bottled dressing would be just fine.
Baked “Fried” Pickles
- 1 jar pickle slices, any variety (I used bread & butter)
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup Hellman's Light mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/2 tsp finely minced garlic
- 3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbls chopped fresh parsley
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Turn oven broiler on high. Set a rack above a baking sheet and spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and flour. Add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder, Old Bay, and pepper. Mix well.
- Place panko bread crumbs in a shallow dish.
- Dunk each pickle slice into the egg mixture, than dredge it in the panko bread crumbs.
- Place coated pickles on a the prepared rack.
- Place pan in the middle rack of the oven. Broil for about 3 minutes on each side.
- Slices should be golden brown but not burnt--watch carefully. Remove and serve with dressing, recipe below.
- Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Add more buttermilk if consistency is too thick. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Blink and they’ll be gone!