Crispy, crunchy and craveworthy
These restaurants are serving up pickles fried to perfection
The tang, the juice, the crunch, the salt. The perfectly soft, hearty inside covered in a satisfying breaded outside fried to perfection — the fried pickle is all about balance, and these five Mile High City establishments have struck it well.
It’s a simple appetizer with a complex flavor profile. A dynamite fried pickle comes down to multiple factors: cut (chips versus spears); breading, and that delicate breading-to-pickle ratio; sauce; crunch and quality of the pickle.
We asked two local pickle pros to weigh in on some of these criteria as well.
Tyler DuBois, owner, co-founder and pickler at The Real Dill in Denver, has been pickling since he was 5 years old. He knows his vegetables and vinegar.
“I think crunch is essential,” DuBois said. “The other two things for me are acidity, salinity.”
Greg Skufca, owner of Trü Pickles in Littleton, who’s been pickling for 35 years, said the spear beats out the chip. “For deep frying, if you make them in a wedge, less of the cucumber is touching the oil,” Skufca said. “It will stay crisper that way.”
Skufca said the perfect fried pickle starts with the pickle itself.
“The more skin you can keep on the pickle in the jar, the crisper they’ll stay,” he said. “It’s a great appetizer. The acidic taste, the vinegar base, kind of gets your stomach ready for a bigger meal.”
So prepare yourself, because these fried pickled vegetables are about to become the main dish of your life.
has ticked all of the perfectpickle boxes. They serve spears, giving customers the most pickle for their buck. The texture of the breading is crunchy, golden and even, and the breading-topickle ratio is perfect. When held horizontally, the pickle supports itself, and yet, the pickle is juicy.
The panko-style breading is herby and flavorful without clashing or overpowering the dill. When you bite into the pickle, the breading stays in place — unlike that unpleasant experience with most onion rings.
“We try to make the ratios work so that the breading stays on so you have a good amount of pickle,” said Andrea West, owner of Fire on the Mountain and selfproclaimed fried-pickle aficionado. West believes in using spears instead of chips. “Chips are just a sub-par fried pickle experience,” she said. “You end up getting way more breading than pickle, and then the buttermilk ensures the breading stays on the pickle.”
Fire on the Mountain; 3801 W. 32nd Ave.; $7.50 Black-eyed Pea serves huge crinkle-cut dill pickles. These do not fit into your mouth in one go, but you’ll want to try.
The amazingly crispy breading is rough; pockets peek through to the pickle underneath. Bite into the pickle and the breading holds. No need to drink water with this appetizer -- the pickle is juicy and hydrating enough. This golden-brown, perfectly warm delight is served on a bed of lettuce to keep your fingers dry.
Black-eyed Pea; 1470 S. Colorado Blvd.; $6.99
Mercantile Dining & Provision earns mad respect for their fried pickles. These dedicated chefs pickle their own cucumpickles
Mercantile Dining & Provision; 1701 Wynkoop St., #155; $4
Bayou Bob’s; 1635 Glenarm Place; $4.99
Freshcraft does you one better than fried pickles — fried pickled carrots and fried pickled jalapenos also accompany the pickle. These pickles are smaller and thinner, and the breading is light, but these vinegary coins pack the same punch as their bigger predecessors. The plate is dressed with a chipotle aioli, cutting the time it takes for the pickle to go from the plate into your mouth since dipping is not necessary.
Freshcraft; 1530 Blake St.; $10.50