"Fried" Pickles

There are two things I know for certain.

First, I have an unnatrual love of fried pickles.

Two, I'm terrified of frying things. Seriously. I don't even like to fry bacon, I'm just so scared of getting burned with oil.

So when I saw a recipe on Pintrest for "fried" pickles that are actually baked, I knew I had to try it. (See pinned post here.)

What they should look like

The recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 jar pickle slices (we like large, thick slices of Claussen dill pickles)
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
• ranch dressing + hot sauce for dipping

Directions

1. Turn oven broiler on high.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and flour. Add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, and pepper. Mix well.
3. Place panko bread crumbs in a shallow dish. Dunk each pickle slice into the egg mixture, than dredge it in the panko bread crumbs.
4. Place coated pickles on a rack set above a baking sheet and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Place pan in the middle rack of the oven. Broil for about 3 minutes on each side.
5. Serve with ranch dressing and a dash of hot sauce.

Now. When I went shopping for ingredients, I looked for the suggested pickle brand. Evidently, my grocery store doesn't carry Claussen. So I went with regular ol' dill pickle chips. And I purchased Cajun seasoning because I didn't know what was in it to make my own substitute.

I followed the directions exactly. And proceeded to blacken parts of the first batch. Because, really, broiling? Unnecessarily hot. I turned it back to 400 degrees and kept a better eye on them.

You do actually have to flip the chips in order for them to crisp up. I usually avoid flipping things even if the recipe says to because I'm lazy.

How mine turned out

I have to say, they didn’t turn out bad! Sure they were best hot out of the oven, but not awful for a first attempt.

Something I didn’t understand though was, when I took a bit without dip, all I could taste was pickle and crunch. Where were all the seasonings I put in the egg wash? I asked My Brother the Chef what was up.

 “Well, of course you couldn’t taste the seasonings,” he said. “You put them in the egg wash.”

 “But that’s what the directions said to do!” I countered.

 “That’s wrong,” he said. “If you want the seasoning to come through, you have to season every step. Especially the panko.”

So now I know for next time, and every time I use an egg wash from now on: Season the breadcrumbs.

Conclusion: Tasty. More seasoning. Try it with a better pickle next time. And when it says “dash of hot sauce,” keep adding dashes until you can actually taste the dang hot sauce.