THE CHEF FROM HELL

Fried pickles were always one of my favorite snacks when I was living down South.  They make a great appetizer for a cocktail party or a summer barbecue!

Ingredients:

1 cup White Flour, sifted

1/4 cup Cornstarch

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 large Egg Yolk

1 cup cold Water

3 TBS Dill Pickle juice

4 cups sliced Dill Pickles

Oil for frying

Dry Spice Mix:

1/4 tsp Kosher Salt

1/4 tsp Basil

1/4 tsp Thyme

1/4 tsp dark Chili Powder

Cooking Procedure:

Preheat your oven to 250

Combine the ingredients for the spice mix

Mix well & set aside

To make the batter:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and spice mix

Form a well in the center

Add the egg yolk, water & pickle juice

Using a whisk, stir the batter until it is smooth

Cover the batter tightly with plastic wrap & place in the fridge for 1 hour

To fry the pickles:

Heat the oil in your deep fat fryer to 375 degrees

Remove the batter from the fridge & stir it several times

Working in batches (so you don't overload the fryer), dip the pickle slices in the batter & carefully slide them into the hot oil

Fry for 2 minutes -- the pickles should be golden brown & crispy

Note: As each batch of pickle slices is fried off, place them on paper towels to absorb excess grease -- once each batch has drained a bit, place them on a lightly greased sheet pan & put them in the oven to keep warm while you finish frying off the rest of the pickles

To Serve:  Place the fried pickle slices on a platter with a side dish of dipping sauce

Chef's Note:  There are a variety of dipping sauces you can make to use as a condiment; a sour cream mustard sauce, a gorganzola Tabasco sauce, jalapeno ketchup, blue cheese salad dressing, roast garlic mayonnaise etc.  Have some fun with deciding which type of sauce you'd like to serve with these tasty fried pickles!