Fried Pickle Chips with Zippy Feta Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:
16 oz sliced pickles, drained
2/3 cup Instant Blending Flour*
2/3 cup cornmeal
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt
pepper


for the dipping sauce
8 oz sour cream (reduced fat is okay)
4 oz crumbled feta
1/4 cup minced chives
3 tablespoons mayonnaise or buttermilk (if needed to thin out the sauce)
2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
pepper



canola oil for frying

Directions:

Mix together all dipping sauce ingredients. Set aside. Heat about 1/2 to 1 inch of oil in a large, shallow skillet, enough to cover the pickles. Meanwhile pour the egg, flour and cornmeal into separate shallow bowls. Stir the the spices to the cornmeal. Stir the Worcestershire sauce into the egg. Dredge each pickle in the flour, then in the egg then the cornmeal. Drop the pickle slices into the hot oil, taking care that they do not overlap or bump into each other. Cook until golden on all sides, about 1 minute. They should float to the top when ready and not need to be flipped. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Serve hot with the dipping sauce.



*aka Wondra flour. It is very fine and dissolves easily in water (or in this case, doesn't make the pickles too thick with flour). Use all purpose if you have to.

My thoughts:

Fried pickles are a bit of a Southern thing but they can be found on menus else where. I've had several different varieties including ones breaded with panko, bread crumbs and even crackers but I think the best flavored ones have a cornmeal crust. The slightly sweet flavor complements the salty pickle. I've heard complaints about the difficulty of getting the cornmeal to stick to the pickle but this is a fool-proof recipe. The trick is thoroughly dredging in super fine powder before the egg dip and resisting the urge to soak the pickle in anything other than pickle juice. Ranch dressing is a bit more traditional but I had it with a cheesy dip before and I liked the combination a lot so I developed a robust a zesty feta sauce to go with them. It was the perfect partner.