Events and Updates

Holy hops! Craft Beer Week starts today! With over 50 participating breweries and 100+ events at top notch bars and restaurants, there’s no denying the power of the brew. It certainly has power over me. It wasn’t long ago that I never, ever drank beer. I didn’t like the way it tasted – too watery and bland. What was the point? Then along came the explosion of craft beer, and with Bierkraft a few blocks from my apartment (and Lorelei right around the corner from work), I started experimenting with a la carte bottles to figure out which ones I like best. Turns out that my beloved IPAs and pilsners are terrific with the fried pickle recipes below. One has a thick and crunchy cornmeal crust while the other is crisp and crackly like tempura. It’s the perfect snack for your Monday Night football get-together. Enjoy!

PS: Definitely check out all the fun Craft Beer Week events, including Brewer’s Choice on Thursday 9/30 which highlights beer and food pairings. We’ll be there sampling pickles with some of our favorite breweries. 

Cheers,

Jina

Deep Fried The Peoples Pickle

Recipe:  

1 jar The People’s Pickle

1 c. cornmeal

1 T. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 egg

1/2 c. milk 

Equal parts olive oil and canola oil for deep frying, about 1″ in pan (peanut oil works well too)

Remove pickles from the jar and pat dry with paper towels.  Set aside.  Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir together egg and milk in a separate bowl until well combined.  Add pickles to the egg and milk mixture.  Remove and toss pickles in cornmeal mixture until all surfaces are well coated and no wet spots remain.  Heat oil in cast iron pan or other heavy pan until a test drop of cornmeal batter sizzles on contact.  Carefully add 1/2 the pickles until both sides are crisp and nicely browned, about 4-5 minutes.  Set on paper towels and fry the second batch.  Serve hot with aioli (recipe below).  Serves 4-6 as an appetizer.  

Aioli:   

1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 c. canola and olive oil blend (straight olive oil is too strong)
Brine and spices from 1 jar The People’s Pickle

Strain The People’s Pickle brine into a colander set in bowl, reserving brine.  Keep residual garlic and spices in colander.  In a separate bowl, beat egg yolk with mustard.  Slowly add oil, incorporating with whisk, until all oil is emulsified. Add garlic and spices to taste. Season/thin with brine. 

You will have some leftover aioli that you can use for tuna salad or potato salad.  Enjoy!

Deep fried Hotties

courtesy of St. Anselm, Brooklyn NY

1 jar Hotties

1 c. cornstarch

Equal parts olive oil and canola oil for deep frying, about 1″ in pan (peanut oil works well too)

Remove pickles from the jar and pat dry with paper towels.  Put cornstarch and drained pickles in a large bowl and toss until all surfaces are well coated and no wet spots remain.  Heat oil in cast iron pan or other heavy pan until close to smoking point. Carefully add 1/2 the pickles until both sides are crisp and nicely browned, about 4-5 minutes.  Set on paper towels and fry the second batch.  Serve hot. Serves 4-6 as an appetizer.