These Fried Pickles Are Crispy, Salty, and Downright Irresistible (2024)

FAQs

Why aren't my fried pickles crispy? ›

While you're prepping your pickles and batter, you need to get the oil hot, really hot. About 375 degrees Fahrenheit is great. This is an important step, because if your oil isn't hot enough your pickles won't fry in a way that achieves that perfect super crispy texture.

Crispy battered thin cut dill pickle fries lightly coated in a cornmeal and spicy mustard batter.

It's important to dry food before applying the breading because a high moisture content prevents dry ingredients from correctly reacting with hot oil. If improperly prepared, the batter on your pickles will soak up all that grease instead of frying to perfection.

Per Wikipedia: Fried dill pickles were popularized by Bernell "Fatman" Austin in 1963 at the duch*ess Drive In located in Atkins, Arkansas. The Fatman's recipe is only known to his family and used once each year at the annual Picklefest in Atkins, held each May.

And if your leftover pickles appear too dry, a quick spritz of cooking oil can be beneficial. Air fry the pickles for three to four minutes, but always be attentive as the size and thickness of your pickles and varying air fryer models can alter the ideal reheating time.

The best way to keep your pickles crisp is by taking an extra moment to remove the blossom from the end of the cucumber. By adding this extra cut, you have a crisper pickle. Other ways to ensure a crisp pickle is by adding grape leaves to your jar. I tend to cut off both ends of the cucumber as I quickly process them.

Calcium chloride (CaCl2), sometimes known as “pickle crisp”, is a type of salt that helps preserve the crunchiness of food. It is used in the food industry to help preserve the texture of canned fruit and vegetables. Sea salt is sodium chloride. In this case, we're talking about calcium chloride!

When I tried them this way, it was kind of just like eating deep fried batter (tasty, but not what we're aiming for!). Slices that were just shy of ¼″ thick provided the perfect amount of pickle. This way you can actually taste the pickle and experience that satisfying pickle crunch in every bite.

The term pickle is derived from the Dutch word pekel, meaning brine.

Pickles live in liquid and they need to be very dry before frying if you want the breading to stick well. Keep the oil hot. These fry very fast and if you don't have your oil hot enough, they will soak up some oil and won't get nice and crispy. Give your oil time to reheat between fry batches.

What are the ingredients in pickle crisp? ›

Pickle crisp is a product put out by ball, but I'm sure other brands sell it as well. All it contains is calcium chloride, which is supposed to help maintain the firmness of pickles. You simply add a very small amount to each jar when you are packing them. Quick, easy, and just calcium chloride.

Fried pickles are nearly perfect on their own, but fried pickles and Ranch Dip are truly perfect. We think that our all-time favorite dipping sauce–Fry Sauce–would make another superb fried pickle dip.

Fried pickles are a side dish and appetizer found commonly in the Southern U.S. They are made by deep-frying sliced battered dill pickles.

Turns out the creator was Charlie Boghosian, an Armenian living in Los Angeles. He was only 16 years old at the time, but had already built a reputation as “The Man Who Fries Everything.” He debuted Deep Fried Oreos at the LA County Fair in 2001, and the world has never looked back.

As much as we love regular pickles we had to elevate the ordinary pickle into something really craveable and extraordinary. We wish we had invented the fried dill pickle but the popular side has a long history. Fried pickles have been enjoyed for decades in the United States, particularly in the South.

Using too weak a salt brine or vinegar solution may cause soft or slippery pickles, as can using moldy garlic or storing the pickles at too warm a temperature.

To achieve crispiness, it's key to frying your food at the right temperature. If the oil is too hot, the food will burn and become too crispy. If the oil is too cold, the food will absorb too much oil and become soggy. The ideal frying temperature is between 350°F and 375°F.

Dry the pickles well.

Pickles live in liquid and they need to be very dry before frying if you want the breading to stick well.

It replaces pickling lime, which home picklers have long used to firm cucumbers into pickles . Calcium chloride aka pickle crisp is easier to use: you add 1/8 teaspoon along with the fruit or vegetable pieces and the pickling liquid to a pint jar, or 1/4 teaspoon to a quart jar and voila! Your done!