Southern Fried Pickles
” Southern-style fried pickles seasoned to perfection! Paired with a sweet and tangy dipping sauce”
Visual learner? Watch me make these Southern-style fried pickles from start to finish!
Fried pickles- love’em, hate’em or meh????
From my polling, it seems most people are “meh”.
For many years I was just meh about fried pickles as well.
I mean…pickles…fried. Whoopty doo, what’s the big deal. It sounded dumb, to be honest.
I sampled one or two at different restaurants (because 1 or 2 was all I wanted). I wasn’t blown away enough to ever order them, let alone want to make my own.
Sounds familiar?
Well, let me tell ya, that all changed with I got pregnant with Ethan and went through this “deep fried” stage. I wanted everything fried or crispy and nothing sounded like heaven more than fried pickles!
I ordered them from a restaurant again…ick! Still wasn’t a fan. Came home and made my own, MONEY SHOT!
They were so addictive! I thought my love for this appetizer would fade after pregnancy but fried pickles are still one of my favorite appetizers, snack or even a side dish (when done right).
And by right I mean, it must have that southern-style breading! I want my fried pickles to look like fried chicken lol You know what type of coating I’m talking about right? One that’s full of flavor, crispy, cracklin’, and golden. You can achieve this by using flour or panko. I go with flour!
Some folks like to marinade the pickles in buttermilk or beer beforehand but I’ve never done that. Dredging them through an egg-buttermilk mixture and a nice coating of well-seasoned flour is all I need to get my fix!
Who Invented Fried Pickles?
Now just where the heck did fried pickles come from? Like seriously, who thought this interesting concept up??? My first guess was that it’s probably something a carnival vendor came up with, According to thv11.com, fried pickles were the brainchild of Bernell “Fatman” Austin. He owned an eatery called Duchess Drive-In and was looking for creative ways to make money off of pickles.
Since Southerners love their fried foods, it made sense to bread them, fry them, and see what happened. It actually started as a gimmick to drive sales to the store but became a loved menu item and eventually made its way to many restaurants and carnivals throughout the US. Although the Duchess Drive-In has closed down, you can still enjoy these original fried pickles at the Picklefest held yearly in Arkansas.
What kind of sauce do you use for fried pickles?
For me, there is only one sauce for the job and it’s any sauce that uses a mixture of mayo and ketchup as a base! Add whatever kind of seasoning you want but a mayo-ketchup sauce (whether is a french fry sauce, Mississippi comeback sauce, or slap yo mama sauce) with fried pickles tastes AMAZING.
This Southern-fried pickle recipe has a golden breading that is slightly spicy, pair that with the saltiness of the pickle and slight tang and sweetness of the sauce…see where I’m going here. It’s incredible! But of course, you could just do ranch dressing.
Make the sauce Annie Mae!! I kept it super simple here with only 4 ingredients so you have no excuse.
Make the sauce!
Ingredients For Fried Pickles
- Dill pickle chips, pressed dry with paper towels ( I use Mt. Olive mini stuffers or Grillo’s pickle chips)
- all-purpose flour
- Cajun seasoning
- smoked paprika
- Italian seasoning
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- black pepper
- cayenne pepper
- buttermilk
- egg
- vegetable oil for frying
Sauce Ingredients
- mayonnaise (I use Duke’s)
- ketchup
- granulated sugar
- Italian seasoning
How to Make Fried Pickles
- Heat oil to 375 F.
- Line a baking sheet or cutting board with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a bowl mix together flour and spices. Set aside.
- In another bowl combine buttermilk and egg. Set aside.
- Dip pickle slices into buttermilk egg mixture, and shake off excess.
- Next, coat the pickles in flour mixture and shake off excess flour.
- Place pickles on the prepared baking tray.
- When all pickles have been coated with flour, coat them again. (Some of the flour from the first coating will be absorbed)
- Quickly place the pickles in the hot oil (I did 2 batches)
- Cook until golden brown and then remove pickles with a slotted spoon.
- Place on paper towels to drain.
- To make the sauce, stir together sauce ingredients.
- Serve the fried pickles immediately with the sauce.
Tips for Making the BEST Fried Pickles
1. Dry them off: Be sure to dry the pickles off really well by pressing them between paper towels. This helps the coating cling on better.
2. Use your favorite pickles. I use to use Mt. Olive mini stuffers hamburger dill chips. They are a bit thicker than the regular dill pickle chips and have a nice crunch. However, all that changed with I discovered Grillo pickles. They are so good!
Happy Fried Pickle Making!!
Get the Recipe: Southern Fried Pickles
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups dill pickle chips, pressed dry with paper towels ( I use Mt. Olive mini stuffers)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- oil for frying
Sauce
- ½ cup mayonaisse, I use Duke's
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Heat oil to 375 F.
- Line a baking tray or cutting board with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a bowl, mix together flour and spices. Set aside.
- In another bowl combine buttermilk and egg. Set aside.
- Dip pickle into buttermilk mixture, shake off excess.
- Next, coat the pickles in flour and shake off excess flour.
- Place pickles on the prepared baking tray.
- When all pickles have been coated with flour, coat them again. (Some of the flour from the first coating will be absorbed)
- Quickly place the pickles in the hot oil (I did 2 batches)
- Cook until golden brown and then remove with a slotted spoon.
- Place pickles on paper towels to drain.
- To make the sauce, stir together sauce ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Serve the fried pickles immediately with the sauce.
Video
Fried Mozzarella Bites
Girl you put your foot into this one. I have never had a fried pickle so crunchy and flavorful in my life. Your’s stayed crispy for several hours, I loved them and so did everyone else. I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart from me and my friends too, they all say thank you so much for this delicious recipe. I have told them I’ve been cooking with you for a while now. I love the cakes and cobblers and now these crispy, crunchy fried pickles. Oh My Goodness. Thank you Diva for another fantastic recipe. I even made your fried cheese. Good Lord, God Bless you…
This recipe is perfect! I made them for the first time brought it for a appetizer..everyone loved it! Thank you for sharing!
I’m pregnant and have had serious cravings for fried pickles, I’ve tried a few recipes but this one by far is the best! They have the perfect amount of flavor and coating. Thank you for sharing this with everyone and satisfying my cravings!