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Tangy dill pickle chips wrapped in a shatteringly crispy cornmeal crust, fried until golden and piled high, served alongside Mississippi's famous comeback sauce that keeps you reaching for just one more.
Good bar food is honest food. That's something I've believed since my early days cooking in New Orleans, when I learned that the simplest things done right can bring more joy than any fancy dish ever could. Fried pickles fall into that category. They're humble. They're salty. They're exactly what you want when friends gather around the table with cold drinks and big appetites.
The secret is in the breading. You need cornmeal in there for that real crunch, the kind that shatters when you bite through it. And you need to season every layer of the process, not just dump spices on top at the end. The flour gets seasoned. The buttermilk gets hot sauce. The cornmeal mixture gets the full Cajun treatment. By the time that pickle hits the oil, flavor is built into every crevice of the coating.
Now let's talk about comeback sauce. This Mississippi invention might be the most addictive condiment in the South, and that's saying something in a region that takes its sauces seriously. It's creamy, tangy, a little sweet, and packs just enough heat to keep things interesting. They call it comeback sauce because once you taste it, you keep coming back for more. At Lagniappe, we go through gallons of this stuff on game days. People ask for extra containers to take home.
Quantity
2 (32-ounce) jars
drained and patted dry
Quantity
2 cups
Quantity
1 cup
preferably stone-ground
Quantity
2 teaspoons
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
1 teaspoon
freshly cracked
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
2
Quantity
1 cup
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
for frying
Quantity
1 cup
Quantity
1/4 cup
Quantity
2 tablespoons
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dill pickle chipsdrained and patted dry | 2 (32-ounce) jars |
| all-purpose flour | 2 cups |
| cornmealpreferably stone-ground | 1 cup |
| Cajun seasoning | 2 teaspoons |
| garlic powder | 1 teaspoon |
| onion powder | 1 teaspoon |
| cayenne pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
| black pepperfreshly cracked | 1 teaspoon |
| kosher salt | 1 teaspoon |
| large eggs | 2 |
| buttermilk | 1 cup |
| hot sauce | 1 tablespoon |
| vegetable or peanut oil | for frying |
| mayonnaise | 1 cup |
| chili sauce | 1/4 cup |
| ketchup | 2 tablespoons |
| Worcestershire sauce | 1 tablespoon |
| hot sauce (for comeback sauce) | 1 teaspoon |
| Cajun seasoning (for comeback sauce) | 1 teaspoon |
| garlic powder (for comeback sauce) | 1/2 teaspoon |
| onion powder (for comeback sauce) | 1/2 teaspoon |
| smoked paprika | 1/4 teaspoon |
| fresh lemon juice | 1 tablespoon |
| kosher salt and black pepper | to taste |
Whisk together the mayonnaise, chili sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire, hot sauce, Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and lemon juice in a medium bowl until smooth. Taste it. This is where you make it yours. Add salt, pepper, more hot sauce if you like heat. The sauce should be tangy, a little spicy, and bold enough to stand up to that salty fried pickle. Cover and refrigerate while you fry. The flavors marry and mellow as it sits.
Spread your pickle chips in a single layer on paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. Pat them completely dry, pressing firmly. This step is not optional. Wet pickles will spatter hot oil across your kitchen, and the coating will slide right off. You want those chips as dry as you can get them. Let them sit while you prepare the breading station.
Set up three shallow bowls in a row. First bowl: one cup of flour seasoned with half the Cajun seasoning, half the garlic and onion powder. Second bowl: eggs whisked with buttermilk and hot sauce until smooth and pale orange. Third bowl: remaining flour mixed with cornmeal, remaining spices, salt, and pepper. This is your assembly line. Seasoning goes in every bowl because we're building flavor in layers, not adding it at the end.
Pour three inches of oil into a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot. Clip on your thermometer and heat over medium-high until it reaches 375 degrees. This temperature is critical. Too cool and the pickles absorb oil and turn greasy. Too hot and the coating burns before the inside heats through. At 375, the coating sets instantly, sealing the pickle inside a crispy shell.
Working in batches, dredge pickle chips in seasoned flour, shaking off excess. Dip into buttermilk mixture, letting excess drip off. Finally, press into the cornmeal mixture, coating all surfaces completely. The cornmeal is what gives you that shatteringly crisp texture. Set breaded pickles on a wire rack while you finish the batch. Do not stack them or the coating gets soggy where they touch.
Carefully lower eight to ten breaded pickles into the hot oil using a spider or slotted spoon. Do not crowd the pot. Overcrowding drops the oil temperature and steams rather than fries. The pickles should immediately sizzle and bubble vigorously. Fry for two to three minutes, turning once halfway through, until deep golden brown on both sides. The color tells you everything: pale means underdone, dark brown means bitter.
Transfer fried pickles to a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Season with a light sprinkle of kosher salt while they're still glistening with oil. The salt sticks better now than it will in thirty seconds. Let the oil return to 375 degrees between batches. This patience is what separates good fried food from great fried food.
Pile the fried pickles on a platter while they're still warm and crackling. Set the bowl of comeback sauce in the center for dunking. These are best within ten minutes of frying, when the coating is still audibly crisp and the pickle inside is warm and tangy. Put them out and watch them disappear.
1 serving (about 250g)
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