Deep Fried Recipes: Fried Pickles and Fried Jellybeans

On Monday, we told you how to make fried Coca-Cola should you ever be so inclined. After all, we talked so much about it on page 25 of the October issue of ec.

But are you more interested in the other fried food items on that page? Well, never fear! If you want to make fried pickles or attempt fried jellybeans, this is just the post for you!

Fried Pickles
Yes, fried pickles sound weird. And they're definitely a Southern dish. But don't count them out until you try them. Ec's editor (who grew up in Missouri) thought they would be gross, but loved them when she tried them!

You'll need:
Oil to fry the pickles in
1 quart dill pickles. Use dill chips or slices since they're already bite-sized.
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups plain cornmeal
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more, if desired

Directions:
Place enough oil in a 4 to 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven to come halfway up the side of the pot. Place over medium-high heat and bring to 390 to 400 degrees F. Remove pickles from the jars, lay them on a sheet pan lined with paper towels and pat them dry. Place the buttermilk in a shallow dish. Mix together the cornmeal and salt in a separate dish. Dip each pickle, 1 at a time, first into the buttermilk, then into the cornmeal and then repeat. Carefully place each spear into the hot oil and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 minutes. You can fry 3 to 4 pickles in the pot at a time. Adjust the heat, if necessary, in order to maintain a constant temperature of 390 to 400 degrees F. Transfer the pickles to a cooling rack set You can add spices to zest up cornmeal coating mixture. We'd suggest things like pepper, cajun spices, chili powder, cumin, hot sauce, and so forth.

(This recipe is adapted from Alton Brown's recipe for fried pickles. We want to give him all the credit he deserves.)

Deep-fried jelly beans
This recipe is a whole other batch of craziness. The directions are simple:
Get jelly beans.
Make a funnel cake batter.
Dip jelly beans in batter and deep fry in hot oil.