Fried Pickle Poppers

Fried Pickle Poppers

Serves: 2 people
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Fried Pickle Poppers

Ingredients

  • 6 kosher dill pickles
  • Diced bacon
  • ¾ cup grated cheddar
  • ¾ cup grated gouda
  • 1-2 oz. water
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3 eggs
  • Panko bread crumbs
  • Canola or grapeseed oil, for frying
  • ½ cup ranch
  • 2 Tblsp Sriracha (or your favorite spicy sauce)
  • 1 ziplock bag
  • Pot for frying
  • Candy thermometer

Instructions

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  1. Over medium-low heat, begin to heat your oil in a pot. Make sure you have a good 3-4 inches of oil in the pot. Our target temperature is 375 degrees.
  2. In a food processor, add your grated cheddar and gouda. Add 1 oz. water to help smooth. Process until smooth. You may need to add a little more water to smooth it out as it’s processing. The end product should be smooth and have a peanut-butter type consistency. With a spatula, scrape out cheese filling into a ziplock bag (you’ll use this as a piping bag to fill the pickles).
  3. Using an apple corer, remove the centers of the pickles. To do this, stand the pickle straight up, twist the corer to break the pickle skin, and then push it down until you reach the opposite end of the pickle. Twist and pull towards you to remove the inside of the pickle. You can discard these centers or save them to use in relish, macaroni salad, potato salad, or tartar sauce.
  4. Snip a small corner of the ziplock bag (not too big). You just want to be able to fit a corner of the ziplock into the pickle, so that you can squeeze the cheese into the pickle without making a mess. Squeeze the cheese into the cored pickle, pressing it in until the pickle is full. You will want to hold your thumb against the opposite end of the pickle to make sure that the filling doesn’t squeeze out as you’re pushing more in. Repeat until all pickles are stuffed.
  5. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat into a homogeneous mixture.
  6. Now set up your breading station. From left to right, you’ll have the stuffed pickles, a plate of flour, the bowl of beaten eggs, and a plate of panko breadcrumbs.
  7. Take your stuffed pickles and roll them in the flour to completely coat. Next put into the eggs to make sure they are completely coated and there are no dry flour parts showing. Once coated with egg, drain for a second and then coat in the breadcrumbs, again making sure to fully coat. Make sure the ends of the pickles are coated in each stage so that the cheese doesn’t come out when frying.
  8. When all the pickles are coated, we’re ready to fry.
  9. Check the temp of your oil. It should be 375 degrees, as the temperature will lower once you add the pickles. With a slotted spoon, gently lower the pickles into the oil and fry until golden brown (2-3 minutes). When ready, lift the pickles out of the oil and place onto a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Season with salt immediately. Repeat the process until all pickles are fried.
  10. While the pickles are cooling, make the spicy ranch dipping sauce. Mix your ranch and sriracha (or hot sauce of choice). Dip the pickles into the sauce and enjoy!