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A square image of many fried pickle bites in a white bowl. Nestled in the right of the dish, there is a smaller, white dish filled with garlic mayo. In the left of the background, you can see there is a slate grey napkin tucked underneath the main bowl. This is all on a light grey background.
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Fried Pickles

Tangy pickle slices coated in a light and crispy beer batter. They're a great snack to serve with drinks or with barbecue. I love to serve them alongside burgers and chips!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Appetizer, side dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: beer batter, easy side dish, Fried Food, pickles
Servings: 4 servings
Author Nicky Corbishley

Ingredients

Beer Batter

  • 120 g (1 cup) self-raising flour (see swaps)
  • 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA)
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 240 ml (1 cup) refrigerated pale ale (it MUST be cold) (see swaps)

Also

  • Oil for deep frying
  • 200 g (7 oz) sliced dill pickles, drained
  • 3 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA)

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in your deep fryer to 180C/350F.
    Oil for deep frying
  • Layer the pickles out on pieces of kitchen roll and pat dry.
    200 g (7 oz) sliced dill pickles, drained
  • Place the flour, cornflour and baking powder in a large bowl and stir together to combine.
    120 g (1 cup) self-raising flour, 2 tbsp cornflour, ½ tsp baking powder
  • Stir in the pale ale until no lumps remain.
    240 ml (1 cup) refrigerated pale ale (it MUST be cold)
  • Dust the pickles lightly in cornflour and shake off any excess then place them in the batter to fully coat.
    3 tbsp cornflour
  • Lift the pickles out of the batter with a slotted spoon and allow the excess batter to drain off.
  • Add to the oil and fry to 1-2 minutes, until golden. You’ll likely need to work in 2-3 batches, to ensure you don’t overfill the pan/fryer.
  • Drain and serve.

Notes

How to scale up and down this recipe:

You can halve this recipe to serve a 2 or double it to serve a crowd, as long as you stick to the same ingredient ratios. 

Can I make ahead?

I don't recommend making the fried pickles ahead, but you can make the batter ahead. 
Just cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours, then give it a mix before using.

Swaps

If you haven’t got self-raising flour, replace it with the same amount of plain (all-purpose flour PLUS 1 tsp of baking powder (you’ll also still need to add the additional ½ tsp baking powder to the batter).
If you don’t want to use pale ale, you can use lager, or for a non-alcohol version, replace the pale ale with soda water (remember it needs to be COLD).

Nutritional information

Nutritional information is approximate, per serving, based on this recipe serving 4 people as a snack. I’ve estimated that 75ml (5 tbsp) of oil will be absorbed during frying, but this can vary.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 336kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 408mg | Potassium: 153mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 92IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 0.5mg

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