Two Alternatives to French Fries for the Fourth

Serving french fries with hamburgers or sandwiches can become boring. Over the last few weeks I made two different alternatives to plain old fries, fried pickles, and fried zucchini. You can make the zucininni fries baked or fried but I highly recommend frying the pickles. They use very little oil and are done in a flash.

Southern Fried Pickles

plain flour

I will be jarring my own pickles in about a month or so. In the meantime, for this recipe I used store bought hamburger pickles. The breading is seasoned flour with a touch of breading magic or you could use any type of Cajun seasoning.

3 cups flour divided
2 TBSP Cajun seasoning (like Zatarans Creole)
1 egg beaten with 1/2 cup milk
2 inches vegetable oil for frying
salt and pepper
a slotted spoon for draining, a table spoon (for flipping) is helpful.

step 2 into the eggs 

It is good to use the one clean hand, one dirty hand method here and with all frying. That way you have one hand clean to remove items from the pan with the clean hand. I also use paper plates for fast clean up. Divide the flour among two plates and add seasoning to one of the plates of flour. Preheat the oil on low heat in a frying pan.
Firstly add the pickles to the plate without the seasoning. This will help the egg and seasoned flour sick butter. Next dip the pickles in the seasoned batter and set aside until you have about 10-12 pickles ready to go.
 The oil will begin to ripple at the bottom when ready. Add about 10-12 pickles at a time. I used about half of the jar.
I also used a spoon to flip the pickles over after 2-

step 3 into the seasoned flour 

 3 minutes of cooking time per side. They were then moved to paper towels and drained.  As they come out of the oil, season with Kosher salt and some pepper. They go perfectly with ranch dressing and hamburgers.

step 4 frying the pickles

These are sure to be a hit in your house!


Zucchini Fries

These can be baked in a 375 degree oven by spraying the pan and the tops and the cookie sheet with Pam and baking for 30 minutes(flipping half way through) Or you can use the oil method with about 1/2 cup oil in a medium sauce pan. That is the method I used for these Zucchini fries.

4 large zucchini cut into planks and then fry sized pieces
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/4 c. Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 cup All purpose flour divided
salt and pepper
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup milk combined


Begin by heating the veggie oil in a medium sauce pan. Add 1 cup of the flour with the Panko and regular
bread crumbs. You will be using the same breading method above. Have one plate with a cup of regular flour where the zucchini goes first. Then dip into the egg and milk mixture and then into the bread crumbs.
Fry for 3-4 minutes per side and drain on a paper bag or paper towels. Season with salt as soon as you remove them from the oil.
Your family will love them!