Beer-Battered Kosher Dill Pickle Spears
These things are so freaking awesome! I love love love these! The dip is really good with them but I also like ranch with them as well!
These things are so freaking awesome! I love love love these! The dip is really good with them but I also like ranch with them as well!
- salt and fresh ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 pinch cayenne
- beer battered and pickles:
- 1 cup all purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 1 pinch cracked black pepper
- 1 cup beer
- 5 fresh kosher dill spears
- horseradish buttermilk dip:
- 1 2 inch piece fresh horseradish
- 1 lemon juiced, plus more if necessary
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 pinch white ground pepper
- 1 gallon peanut oil for frying
- Carbohydrate 27.8830501133265 g
- Cholesterol 56.2805833354994 mg
- Fat 697.658992772507 g
- Fiber 2.59806007879073 g
- Protein 5.84264608063306 g
- Saturated Fat 120.425995600982 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (890g)
- Sodium 1270.30895152251 mg
- Sugar 25.2849900345358 g
- Trans Fat 34.393985434199 g
- Calories 6308 calories
Step-by-step
- For the dip: Peel and roughly chop your horseradish root.
- Puree it in your food processor on high with the lemon juice, buttermilk, Dijon, and egg yolk.
- If the mixture is not a wet puree, add a few drops of water.
- Turn the machine to low and drizzle the oil until an emulsion is formed.
- Taste and adjust with salt, white pepper, and lemon juice, if necessary.
- Chill until ready to serve.
- For the batter and pickles: Heat the peanut oil in your deep-fryer or Dutch oven to 375 degrees F.
- Whisk together all the dry ingredients for your beer batter.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients, and then combine.
- Pat the pickle spears dry with a paper towel, dust with a little flour, coat with the beer batter, and gently drop into the hot oil.
- They are ready in about 2 minutes when they are golden brown.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve with chilled Horseradish Buttermilk Dip.
The Frying Constraint
Maintaining a stable temperature of 375 degrees Fahrenheit in a heavy Dutch oven prevents the peanut oil from cooling down too quickly when cold items enter the pot. Deep frying requires enough thermal mass in the cooking vessel to absorb the temperature drop without causing the batter to become greasy. Achieving the ideal golden brown exterior in just two minutes depends entirely on this steady heat management.A History of Preservation and Crunch
Deep-frying pickles emerged in the American South during the mid-twentieth century as a clever application for commercially canned dill spears. Vinegar-cured cucumbers naturally resist spoiling, making them an enduring pantry staple long before refrigeration changed home kitchens. Culinary innovation eventually paired these tart vegetables with carbonated batter coatings to balance high acidity with rich fats.Techniques That Protect the Crunch
Moisture remains the primary enemy of adherence when coating high-water vegetables in batter. Patting the pickles thoroughly dry with paper towels and applying a preliminary dusting of dry flour creates a microscopic barrier that stops steam from blowing the crust apart. Furthermore, over-mixing the wet and dry batter components activates too much gluten, transforming a light, crisp shell into a heavy, rubbery casing.
