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.
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.
Recipe author: MJ of MJ's Kitchen