Our friends at LOWBROW have shared their beloved Nacho-Fried McClure's Pickle Chip recipe, straight from the kitchen.
The key to a good pickle chip is to have the nacho cheese sauce already made – so when the fried pickles are ready you can enjoy 'em while they're hot!
NACHO CHEESE SAUCE
INGREDIENTS:
- 200g Cheddar cheese (grated on large holes of a grater)
- 1 Tbsp corn flour
- 1 can of evaporated milk
- 2 Tbsp Huffman's original "not too hot" sauce
METHOD:
- Add cheese and corn flour to bowl. Toss them together to combine. Transfer to medium saucepan.
- To the saucepan, add 1 cup evaporated milk and the Huffman's hot sauce. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk until melted, bubbly and thickened (about five minutes).
- The mixture will look thin and grainy at first, but will thicken and emulsify after heating. Thin to desired consistency with additional evaporated milk.
PICKLE CHIPS:
INGREDIENTS:
- 50g Cheese Flavoured Corn Chips
- 100g Tempura Flour (any good supermarket will have this).
- 200g Soda/sparkling water
- 1 Jar McClure's Sweet & Spicy crinkle-cut pickles
- Salt
- Vegetable oil and vessel for deep frying.
BATTER METHOD:
- You'll want to use this straight away – the longer it's left to sit the more the corn chips hydrate and thicken the batter.
- In a mortar and pestle (or food processor), crush the corn chips into pieces no larger than 3mm. In a medium bowl, mix the tempura flour and the corn chip pieces, whisk in the water. This should have a loose pancake batter consistency. If it's too thick, add a little more water. If it's too runny, add a touch more tempura flour.
FRYING METHOD:
- Heat oil to 180 Celsius for frying – either in a deep fryer or, a pot on the stove. If using a pot, have a candy or frying thermometer handy to check and maintain the heat.
- Drain the pickle slices and pat them dry, place the slices into the batter. Using a small set of tongs, individually pick them out of the batter, making sure they're fully covered and gently place them into the oil – hold each slice in the oil for a few seconds so they don't stick to the bottom of your fryer.
- Fry in batches for 2-3 minutes until crisp, place onto a paper towel-lined tray and season lightly with salt. Serve with the nacho cheese sauce.
Photography: Babiche Martens
Hand Model: Nick Brown!
