A few weeks ago, the Philips AirFryer XXL entered my life, and I have been obsessed ever since. One of the first weekends that we had the air fryer, Brad and I headed over to Kevin and Renee’s house for a “frying party”, and one of our favorite items were these fried pickles. We could have eaten twice as many as we made, so it was a good thing we only made a single batch.
This isn’t the first time that we’ve had a “frying party” with Kevin and Renee, but this is the first time of doing it with an air fryer rather than deep fryer. I can say with 100% certainty that all four of us preferred the the air fryer versions of our menu.
I was willing to switch to the air fryer for the sole reason that I could make onion rings without my entire house smelling like cooking oil for two days. But I learned that there is so much more that can be done with the air fryer.
These fried pickles are the perfect texture. They have a crunchy, flavorful crust with warm and soft centers. The final key is a delicious dipping sauce. The flavors of these pickles are versatile that they can go with a variety of dipping sauces.
The first time we made them, we had ranch and BBQ sauce in the fridge so we used that. I made more for a certain popular football game that happens in February, and made an avocado ranch dip as well. It might be my favorite dip ever for fried snacks and was super easy. Basically it is 4 ounces sour cream, 1/4 of a ranch dip powder packet, and half an avocado (riper is better so it is softer) that is all mixed together. Delicious.
As we head into a weekend of potential snowmageddon here in Seattle, I stopped at the grocery store on my way home from work.
Madness. Seriously. Madness.
Like people parking in the “passenger drop-off only” area in front of the store and not a single loaf of bread left in the store madness.
I had planned on just getting a couple items for snow day necessities (such as yeast for cinnamon rolls); however, since I was there, I decided to look around for a few other recipes. I also picked up a jar of pickles so we could make this delicious snack if we do actually get snowed-in.
The following recipe makes about 45 individual pickles (depending how thick you cut them). We have the Philips AirFryer XXL which holds a good amount each batch; and just this past week i ordered the Party Accessory Kit which basically lets you get a second layer of food into the fryer.
- 4 Whole Dill Pickles
- 3 Tablespoons Corn Starch
- ½ Cup Flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 5 Tablespoons beer (dark beer works best)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch Salt
- 2-3 Tablespoons water
- ½ Cup Breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- Cut the whole pickles into ¼-1/2 inch rounds
- Place in a single layer on a paper towel to dry (about 10 minutes)
- Flip if necessary, or put another paper towel on top
- Whisk together all the batter ingredients other than the water into a bowl
- Gradually whisk in the water until it forms a consistency similar to pancake batter
- On a plate, mix together the breadcrumbs and spices with a fork. Spread them out on the pate in a thin layer
- Pour the cornstarch onto a small plate
- Coat each individual pickle in cornstarch
- Coat each pickle into the batter and then in the crust.
- Lay the pickles in a single layer in the air fryer (I was generally able to get about 20 per batch)
- Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes or until golden brown and crispy, flipping halfway through.
- Repeat with additional pickles.
I can’t wait to make more of these fried pickles in the air fryer for my next party (even if the next party is simply a snowed-in Saturday afternoon). What is your favorite fried snack?
Sarah says
Have you tried panko in place of breadcrumbs for extra crunch?
Can you make mozzarella sticks in an air fryer?
Billy says
Love fried pickles. I’ve never made them by air frying before – but I’m definitely gonna check it out after seeing this. Thanks for sharing!