Posted on 03/30/2016 5:24:44 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
My husband grew up in Pennsylvania, and a generations-old tradition for his family is attending the Bloomsburg Fair, which has been going on since 1855 and was only interrupted for one year, due to Tropical Storm Lee in 2011.
My first visit to the Fair was basically my honeymoon - it was the first time that we were able to get away for an extended period in the year that we ran off to the Courthouse and got hitched.
I loved the fair, especially the giant prize-winning pumpkin, the trotting horses, the beautiful turkeys and other poultry, and all the 4H kids showing off their animals - but also the FOOD.
I tried a few things there that I had never had before, including funnel cakes; but my absolute favorite was: Beer-Battered Deep Fried Vegetables. And as soon as we came home, we searched for a way to make them ourselves.
This is the recipe we always use; and I've found that this can be done ahead, refrigerated, and then reheated in the oven almost without losing any quality whatsoever. We usually do mushrooms, onions, zucchini; but you can also use asparagus, eggplant, cauliflower:
Deep Fried Veggies
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1-1/2 C. Beer
1 tsp. Salt or to taste
1-1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Paprika
Vegetables: Mushrooms, Zucchini, Onions, Cauliflower, etc., cut into bite-sized chunks.
Oil for deep frying (we use Peanut Oil).
Combine flour, salt, garlic, baking powder and paprika in a bowl. Add beer and whisk until smooth.
Cover and chill the batter for at least 30 minutes.
Heat oil to 375 degrees. Dip the veggies in batter, and fry in batches until golden brown.
Place on a rack to drain and sprinkle with salt as soon as taken from the oil. Allow the oil to return to 375 before frying the next batch.
The ones we got at the fair were accompanied by a dipping sauce; I don't remember it very much, but here is another recipe that includes a Mustard-Ranch sauce:
-JT
This week: Deep Fried and Unctuous (and we’re not talking about politicians ;-)
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-JT
I know not related, but did you ever come up with a pickle recipe you liked? I have a batch brining right now.
And, I guess I was in a brine-making mood, I made another and put a brisket in it and cooked it tonight after letting it brine for 10 days.
I never deep-fry at home. I hate the thought of having to toss a whole pan of oil, no matter how well used. But I do have a dipping sauce for your veggies:
French Fry Sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4+ teaspoon white vinegar or dill pickle juice (to taste)
It works for veggies as well as for fries.
Very Cool i worked for Youth for Christ there and lived in town, then a trailer in fishtown, then trailer on fishtown bridge during the flood of 1977? eventually moved the trailer up the mountain above 42 toward millville. we sold corn stalks for fundraising one year at the fair.
No; my husband tried some last year, but they didn’t seem to be doing right, so he dumped them; and we haven’t gotten back to it yet. The little cucumbers will be in the stores soon, so perhaps we’ll try again. I’m very interested in trying the real fermented pickles. Just poking around, I found this:
http://www.simplebites.net/make-old-fashioned-brine-fermented-pickles-like-your-great-grandmother/
Please post your recipe.
-JT
Deep fried jalapenos. Stuffed with sausage, green onion, and cream cheese. And a barrel of IPA.
It is pizza night here. Yes. I make my own.
LOL! Pizza night here, too - but we ordered in ;-)
-JT
I use the salt to water ratio in this recipe:
http://blog.culturesforhealth.com/lacto-fermented-kosher-dill-pickles/
But then I just kind of wing it with what I add; always fresh, crushed garlic cloves, peppercorn and dill, sometimes mustard seed, sometimes whole allspice, sometimes cinnamon stick, never in any measured amount, just what looks good. Though, I find that dill seed gives more dill flavor than the weed. I use quart mason jars and screw down a coffee filter with the lid band instead of burping the jar every day. And, when they are done brining I remove a little of the brine and replace it with white vinegar to get a more dill pickle flavor than the sour pickle that a natural fermentation will create. And to keep them at an appropriate temperature during brining I put them in a cooler with a small ice pack. The cucumbers stay crunchier if you brine them between 60 - 70 degrees.
I haven’t been to Fair in some years, but every time I was there in the past there was always an Evangelical event that you could go to.
-JT
That looks good! But you can fry them in a skillet, too; just have to be careful.
We usually re-use oil, unless ‘animal’ has been done in it. We also use it for deep-frying things that can be frozen; if you do a big batch for future, the oil isn’t wasted so much.
-JT
very timely. we just bought a deep fryer and have used it twice, on frenh fries, onion rings, and fried mushrooms.
What surprised me was that after frying and filtering, I got almost all the oil back! Being temperature controlled, it does get as much oil absorbed as when I used to pan fry.
We have an old thing for deep-frying; it’s also a steamer, and may be one of those ‘Presto’ gizmos. The problem with these is getting the oil hot enough, and bringing it back up to temp with succeeding batches. But we’ve found that we get almost all the oil back, as well. If you filter it well, and keep it in the fridge, you can use it several times. But we try to do all the frying within days, so we’re not having to save it very long.
-JT
This is the grandkids'.
Do you have an outdoor oven, or do you do it inside?
I’ve always wanted a little outdoor brick oven, for bread and pizza.
-JT
That’s purty!
-JT
As an aside, whenever we use the fryer we schedule egg rolls a few day later, saving on the filtering time. Since you never know how many wrappers are in the package, have a can of fruit pie filling handy for a few fried pies.
Liz, Ive never been to Ruth Chris Steakhouse. What is the sauce/glaze around on the dish?
I wish. No, I'm just poor white trash. I use airbake pans in the regular oven at 420 degrees.
Thought about getting a pizza stone, but I think I do good enough with what I have. It all gets eaten. :-)
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