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Deep fried pickles, not just bar food anymore. They are easy to make at home and certainly a fun treat. The best pickles for this recipe are large, crispy dills that are not precut. These retain their overall crispness over the precut ones.

Pickles first appeared in Mesopotamia over 4,000 years ago. Originally grown in India the Romans brought them back to Europe. Europeans were fascinated by this new exotic food and began experimenting with different pickle recipes. The word “pikel” is rumoured to have appeared in the English language as early as 1400 and originally meant a spicy sauce served with meat. The Dutch word “pekel” meant a brine used to preserve food. Over time the English word came to mean both a spicy sauce and a brine. The Dutch phrase “in de pekel zitten,” which translates to “sit in the pickle,” may have led to our modern phrase “in a pickle.”

Ingredients

1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
6 drops hot sauce
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
3 1/2 cup flour
2 dozen sliced dill pickles, drained and cut lengthwise
oil for deep-frying

Directions

Combine 3 1/2 cups flour, salt and pepper, stirring well. In a separate bowl combine milk, egg, Worcestershire a, hot sauce and a tablespoon of flour. Dip pickles in milk mixture and dredge in flour mixture; repeat.
Deep fry the coated pickle spears in hot oil 350 F until pickles float to surface and are golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving.

FOOTNOTE: Deep fried pickles first appeared in 1963 in a drive in restaurant in Arkansas. Wonder why they are not on the menu of any fast food restaurants.
Hmmm…there’s a thought a restaurant called The Crispy Pickle.

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