Hot & Spicy Fried Pickles

Fried pickles sound kind of weird, but if you've ever had them then you know exactly why I had to make a hot & spicy version. They are DELICIOUS!! This instructable will show you how to make your own spicy pickles from scratch, and how to fry them. It also shows you have to make a delicious chipotle ranch dipping sauce that compliment the fried pickles perfectly. Grab your ingredients and Lets go!

For the pickles:

• 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup distilled vinegar
• 2Tbs salt
• 2Tbs sugar
• 2 cups cold water
• 3 medium pickling pickles (Kirby)
• 4-5 jalapenos
• 1 1/2tsp mustard seeds
• 1 1/2tsp coriander seeds
• 1 1/2tsp red pepper flakes
• 6 cloves
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 6 sprigs fresh dill
• jars for pickling

For the Chipotle Ranch Dip:

• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3Tbs (1 packet) ranch seasoning
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
• 1tsp adobo sauce from can
• blender

For Frying:

• 1/2 cup half & half
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
• 1tsp salt
• 1/2tsp chili powder
• vegetable oil

Mix both vinegars, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Heat the mixture until boiling and then remove from heat. Add the cold water and allow to cool to room temperature.

Slice the cucumber and jalapenos to your desired thickness. You can either cut them with a knife or use a mandolin. I set my mandolin to 2.5mm which results in a rather thin pickle chip. If you want a thicker chip feel free to make them thicker. You can also cut them into spears if you prefer to make fried spears.

Divide the spices and garlic to the jars. I used 1/2 pint jars because that's what I had on hand. If you use pint jars, simply double the amounts of spices I used. I ended up with 6 1/2 pint jars total.

1/2 Pint Jar:

• 1/4tsp mustard seed
• 1/4tsp coriander seed
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 clove
• 1 sprig dill
• 1/4tsp red pepper flakes

Add the cucumbers and jalapeno slices to the jars in layers. I was able to cram about 1/2 a cucumber and 3/4 of a jalapeno into each jar.

Fill the jars with the brine and refrigerate until pickled. They can be used in as little as one day, but I find they taste the best after about 3 or 4 days of pickling.

Remove the pickle chips from the jar and drain on paper towels for a few minutes.

While the pickles are draining, mix the flour, breadcrumbs, salt and chili powder in a small bowl. In another bowl add the half & half.

Take a chip and dip it into the half & half and then into the flour mixture. Set the breaded chip aside and bread the remaining chips.

You can bread and fry the pickled jalapenos using the same method to make fried jalapenos aka bottle caps!

Heat a small pot of oil to 350 degrees F. Carefully drop the breaded chips into the oil and fry for 2 minutes, flipping the chips over half way through.

Remove the chips from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Put the mayo, sour cream, ranch mix, chipotle pepper and adobo sauce into a blender. Puree the ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate the dip until serving.

Left over dip is great with chopped vegetables or as a salad dressing!

Serve the fried pickles warm with a side of the Chipotle Ranch dip. You can also serve them with regular ranch or blue cheese if you prefer a more mild dipping sauce.