Some of my sources of inspiration for trying out new dishes are cooking shows. My favorite shows, which will come as no surprise, deal with Mexican foods or Mexican fusion, Southern foods or Southern fusion. Recently, I’ve been watching Taco Trip, hosted by Aarón Sánchez. This show takes the viewer to different cities within the United States (e.g., Atlanta, Boston, Portland, Austin) to discover the best of the local tacos. A taco in Atlanta, Georgia, is what inspired these Fried Pickled Jalapeños. They were used as one of the toppings for a chicken taco and it all sounded quite delicious.
Every summer I put up a jar or two of pickled jalapeño, so I just happened to have a quart in the refrigerator. The process for making the fried pickles is relatively simple. Dip the slices of pickled jalapeños in buttermilk, then into a “seasoned flour mixture”. Since the chef didn’t share the recipe for his “seasoned flour mixture”, I made up my own – a very simple seasoning of salt, pepper and smoked paprika. I thought of using smoked chipotle, but the jalapeños are plenty hot as is. Once coated with the seasoned flour, fry the jalapeños in a hot vegetable oil until golden brown. That’s it.
One thing I have found is that frying up pickled jalapeños is like frying up bacon. Always fry up a little extra that you can snack on before the meal, because you are not going to be able resist eating some right from the skillet.
Fried Pickled Jalapeño Peppers
A spicy, crispy topping for tacos, tostadas, hamburgers, sandwiches, salads and more. Also makes a great snack if you can handle the heat.
*See Kitchen Notes for more information, related links and substitutions.
- 1 cup pickled, sliced jalapeño peppers*
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup flour*
- 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika*
- Vegetable oil for frying
Pour oil into a 6" to 8" cast iron skillet to about halfway up the sides.
In a small bowl, add the buttermilk. Drain the jalapeño slices and add to the buttermilk.
In a second bowl, combine the flour and seasoning. Stir to evenly distribute seasoning.
Heat up the oil over medium high heat.
When you think the oil is hot enough, drop a little flour into the oil. If it sizzles, the oil is ready to fry.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer about 3 to 4 tablespoons of sliced peppers to the flour. Toss to coat. If the flour coated slices stick together, separate with a fork.
Transfer to the hot oil. Fry until golden brown and crisp. Scoop out of the oil with a heat resistant slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel (or flat paper sack*) to drain.
Continue with the remaining peppers.
Pickled Peppers – If you have whole pickled jalapeños, slice them into 1/4″ to 1/2″ slices. If you don’t have pickled jalapeños, then just about any thick-sided, pickled hot pepper would work. I tried pickled shishito peppers but they just didn’t work for us. They are too thin-sided, so there wasn’t much of a “bite”.
Flour – Use all-purpose flour, a gluten-free flour of your choice or a cornmeal flour.
Smoked Paprika – If you want an even spicier fried pickled pepper, then use smoked chipotle powder. My jalapeños are so hot that the chipotle would have made this way too hot for us.
Paper Bag – My mother taught me to repurpose paper bags to drain fried foods. They work so much better than paper towels because they don’t get soggy and tear.
For more great topping for tacos, sandwiches and salads, check out these recipes.
I always have pickled jalapenos in the fridge but this is just genius! Thanks MJ! Hope you are doing well!
Wow! Who would have thought!
I will probably use some besan along with some rice flour and try these. Thank you for sharing MJ 🙂
Thanks. Very tasty little treat.
What a clever idea…those crispy, spicy jalapeños sound like a great topping for many things. By the way, my mother taught me to use paper bags to drain fried foods as well.
Thanks. I’ve actually been surprised on how many people haven’t ever heard of using paper bags. It’s just makes so much sense. 🙂
How interesting! And I’m so glad you made some suggestions about what to do with them. I think I’d like to eat them as-is, maybe with a dipping sauce. But putting them on a burger sounds fantastic!
Thanks Jeff. Oh yes, They are GREAT on a burger. Tacos, too.
Hi MJ, we used to deep fry fresh jalapeno strips (without seeds), but it never occurred to me to try to fry pickled ones. A summer must. The fresh jalapeno lost much of its heat when cooked, does the same hold true for pickled?
Thanks Ron! I agree that the fresh jalapeño tend to lose their heat. That is NOT true for the pickled jalapeños. My husband thinks they got hotter when we fried them. Of course that didn’t stop him from eating them. 🙂
Wow! I love this idea! I have some pickled jalapenos in my refrigerator (though they’re not homemade!). I need to give them a try. I think they’d make a great snack, or a garnish on a creamy soup. YUM. And I need to find Taco Trip!
Thanks Tamara. Love the idea od using them as a soup topping. The best thing about a soup are the toppings. 🙂
Oh hello to our new favorite snack! Frying pickled jalapenos is a brilliant idea. The boys are going to love this one for sure.
Thanks! Oh yes, I bet the boys will love these. You probably will as well.
I’m going to have to watch that Taco Show, thanks for the heads up. And I love the idea of these fried pickled jalapenos as a taco topping. Thanks for sharing this great idea.
Thanks Lea Ann. I put some on a green chile cheeseburger the other night and they were so good!.
Great idea for all spicy food lovers! Must do !
Thanks Darlin.
this sounds delicious MJ. I do love the taste of jalapenos! and this method looks fabulous. Fried pickles is not something i’ve ever eaten but i’m an adventurer so here goes …
Thanks Sherry. I love fried pickles. Have you ever had fried dill pickles? They are a huge thing here recently and I can taste why. 🙂
nope never had fried dill pickles but it sounds marvellous!
Thanks Sherry. Thse are marvelous and so very addicting.
Next time I’m going to go with draining a can of jalapeno en escabeche; carrots and all. Woo Hoo!
You keep knocking this chile pepper stuff right out of the park, in our opinion.
We are exiles in Texas, but want to move back to NM as soon as possible.
Thanks so much Gregory! I’m thrilled that you are enjoying my recipes and truly appreciate your nice comments! Hopefully you can make it back home to NM some day soon. Cheers, MJ
*laughter* As a European-born Australian I barely know jalapenos and had certainly never heard of the fried variety ! Great to be on the learning ladder again . . . tho’ I fry very little I shall definitely try and copy your recipe . . . what an interesting ‘food lesson’ !
OMG! And here I thought the jalapeño was a worldwide thing. Silly me. I can’t remember a time in life when pickled jalapeños weren’t readily accessible. Growing up, there were a jar on the dinner table almost every night. As an adult, I’ve always got a jar in the fridge or pantry. Obviously, we love them. 🙂 I hadn’t started frying them until recently, which is another delightful way to use these culinary delights. So glad to introduce you to something new!
*grin* Geography as usual . . . for certain some people here may know and use such but it is not well-known or common. Now I was born in Estonia in the Baltics – because of severe and long winters a big variety of pickles were used – esp pickled cucumbers, beetroot and pumpkin, chillies being hardly known . . . here with most fresh produce being available the year thru’ and a multicultural cooking saga of over 200 different ways of decking the table . . . well, Korean kimchi probably has gazumped sauerkraut 🙂 !
I’ve been watching some shows about Alaska and they pickle everything as well. My mother was a big pickler most so because she loved pickled stuff than out of necessity. I picked up her love of pickles as well, although I only pickle select item. You can buy anything pickled nowadays, so sometimes that’s just easier – like Kimchi! 🙂
These must taste delish! What a fun idea to spruce up traditional pickled jalapeño and create something all together different as a topper; i was wondering the same thing about the paprika and/or adding other heat, the spiciness from the jalapeño would probably be enough for us too; maybe some garlic or onion powder tossed in with the flour might be a fun trial. What a great one to play with, thank you MJ!
Thanks Kelly. Love the idea of adding the garlic/onion powder. I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be a great complement in flavor.
Oh I love this idea!! I can jalapenos each year and love fried pickles, so this is perfect.
Thanks Amy. I know, this is a great use for some of our canned jalapeños.
It’s always fun to find a unique idea from a cooking show. I love this idea of frying pickled jalapenos. There are so many ways to use them as toppers to add a little crunch with a kick! Hope all is well on your side of town!
Agreed Jan! It’s hard just not to eat them by the handfuls. 🙂 It’s windy over here!!!!
What a fun recipe! I don’t recall ever having fried pickled jalapeños. Neat idea. These would be dynamite on tacos. Or all by themselves. 🙂 Thanks!
Thanks John. It is a fun recipe! And yes, they are great on tacos and add a crunchy spiciness to burgers.
I have never had fried pickles! These look so good and would be perfect as the salad toppers!
Thanks Angie. In general I love fried pickles, but I think I’m especially addicted to these fried jalapeños. 🙂