Fried Sriracha-Bread n’ Butter Pickles with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Ice Cream & Sriracha-Cajun Seasoning

Fried Sriracha-Bread n’ Butter Pickles with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
 Ice Cream & Sriracha-Cajun Seasoning 

I think I may be pregnant... Nahhhhhh, just kidding. Always kidding about that. But, I really start to question my cravings because this is just not normal. I mean, fried pickles + ice cream, those are go-to's for me when I get that itch to eat something unhealthy. The list usually goes chocolate, ice cream, fried pickles, french fries, teriyaki sauce... yeah, I would like that all on one plate, for delivery, to be eaten in my pajamas, while watching lifetime movies. But that's besides that point. Why not put two of my favorite junk foods into one dish and call it dinner? I think it's necessary, and for those of you who don't, move along and stop judging us please (thankyouverymuch). So let's get down to the nitty-gritty, I made some bomb-ass pickles two weeks ago. They are my official addiction because they are a sweet bread n' butter pickle spiced up with a'whole'lotta Sriracha and yummy pickling spices. We had gone through majority of the jars, but I just knew I had to save them for some fried pickles, and I'm so glad we did. I dunked them in an egg batter and coated them in my "demon flour", which is just code for really spicy flour, and then fried them up until they were golden brown + gorgeously crispy. We played around with it a little bit and this dredging method was the best combination of all of them. When they are hot out of the fryer, you've got to sprinkle them with some homemade Sriracha Cajun Seasoning, just for a little extra kick (and let me tell you, this cajun seasoning will be on many more recipes this year). But with all this spice, you hav'ta have somethin' to cool it down y'all!! And that's where the Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Ice Cream comes into play. Yeap, I made ice cream... outta ranch. I get that it sounds absolutely disgusting, but it isn't. The ice cream is perfectly dreamy & creamy, melting just perfectly on top of a fried pickle chip. So, in essence, savory ice creams are the new jam, my people. Get on my level, okay? Because you and I both know that I will be making some buffalo wings, burgers, and chili-cheese fries with a big 'ole scoop of this bad stuff on top, just sayin'. Give a shot, it's totally worth every jean-huggin' calorie, y'all!! Enjoy :)

A big 'ole plate of fried pickles... and ice cream.

Oh hey, that's ranch dressing ice cream!

Fried Pickles + Ice Cream can be fancy too, y'all :) 

Fry... Scoop... Nosh...

For the Homemade Sriracha-Bread n’ Butter Pickles:

5C Sliced Cucumbers, Sliced to ¼-½inch Thick Slices (depending on your preference)

1 Large Sweet Onion, Thinly Sliced

¼C Kosher Salt

2C Sugar

2C White Vinegar + 1C Apple Cider Vinegar

½C Light Brown Sugar, Packed

½C Sriracha

2T Pickling Spices

2t Mustard Seeds & Coriander Seeds

5 Black Peppercorns & 5 Pink Peppercorns

¼t Ground Turmeric

1 Cinnamon Stick (per pickle jar)

5-10 Garlic Cloves (per pickle jar… depending on how garlicky you want them)

1T Chili-Garlic Sauce (per pickle jar)

For the Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Ice Cream:

1C Buttermilk, Well-Shaken

2T Heavy Cream

½C Mayo

¼C Sour Cream

1t Lemon Juice

2T Buttermilk Powder

½t Ground Mustard, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, & White Pepper

¼t Paprika

1T Fresh Parsley, Minced

1t Fresh Dill & Fresh Chives, Minced

1 Small Garlic Clove, Minced into a Paste

Salt, Fresh Cracked Black Pepper, & Sugar, To Taste

For the “Demon Flour” Fried Pickles:

Prepared Sriracha-Bread n’ Butter Pickles

1C AP Flour

2T Cornstarch

½t Each of Ground Mustard, White Pepper, Paprika, Cayenne, Chile Powder,

Onion Powder, & Garlic Powder

Salt & Pepper, To Taste (I roughly did 1T salt and 1t Black Pepper)

2T Buttermilk, Well-Shaken

Vegetable Oil, For Frying

For the Wet Batter:

2 Eggs

1C Buttermilk, Well-Shaken

2T Sriracha

For the Sriracha Cajun Seasoning:

2T Sea Salt

1T Homemade Sriracha Powder

1t Garlic Powder & Onion Powder

1t Black Pepper

½t Ground Mustard

Pinch of Ground Chinese Five Spices

Directions:

1. For the Homemade Sriracha-Bread n’ Butter Pickles: In a medium bowl, combine the cucumbers, onion and salt. Mix well. Cover the mixture with ice. Let stand at room temperature for two hours. In a pot, bring sugar, vinegars, Sriracha, and spices to a boil. Drain cucumbers and onions in a colander and place into a large bowl. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the cucumbers and onions, and then let it cool completely to room temperature. This recipe made roughly 3-4 jars of pickles, so make sure to boil the jars in hot water to sanitize them before filling them. In the bottoms of the clean jars, pour in 1T of the Asian Chili-Garlic Sauce, and then drop in some cloves of garlic, and a cinnamon stick. Ladle in the room temperature pickle slices and Sriracha pickling liquid to fill the jar. Process them in a hot bath and make sure the top has sealed before storing them. I like to let my pickles marinate for 1-2 weeks before enjoying them, but they will begin to taste pickled after about 4 hours.

2. For the Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Ice Cream: In a medium bowl, stir together the buttermilk, heavy cream, mayo, sour cream, and buttermilk powder until smooth. Add in the other ingredients until it is completely incorporated, adjusting for taste with the salt, pepper, and sugar. Once you have reached your desired ranch dressing, cool the custard base until completely chilled. Once the mixture is chilled, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. As soon as the mixture is done churning, transfer to a bowl or airtight container. Store in the freezer until firm.

3. For the Fried Pickles: Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat in a pot to 350 degrees. Next, you have to set up a battering station. I use two pie tins. For the first station, I mix the flour and cornstarch with seasonings to make “demon flour” or really spicy flour mix. . Drizzle the 2T of buttermilk into this last pie tin, and using a fork, and mix until little shaggy pieces form (these will help build a nice crunch to the pickles). For the second station, I whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and Sriracha. Now, place the Sriracha Pickles into the egg batter, then into the demon flour, making sure to completely coat and press the pickles into the flour. Fry the breaded pickles for 2-4 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on all sides. Once cooked, remove from the oil to drain and sprinkle with some Sriracha Cajun Seasoning. Keep warm until ready to serve.

4. For the Sriracha Cajun Seasoning: Combine all of the seasonings together in a bowl and mix until completely incorporated. You can also pulse with a food processor to make a finer texture for sprinkling. Store in an airtight container.

5. For Serving: Serve the hot fried pickles with a scoop of the homemade ranch dressing ice cream. You can either dip the pickle chips into it or scoop ice cream on top of an individual pickle.