Our Lake of the Ozarks family restaurant serves up a half pound of pickle chips per order. They are hand-breaded in our specially seasoned flour, fried to a golden brown, and served with a delicious Chipotle Ranch dipping sauce. Either as a snack, an appetizer, or side dish, the fried pickles at Wobbly Boots BBQ are an excellent choice.
Who Created the Fried Pickle?
As with many origin stories, there is more than one. There is a record of a "French Fried Pickle" recipe being published as early as 1962 for the Food Editors Conference in New York.
Another popular story, which seems to have come about much too late to be the original, is from the Hollywood Cafe out of Hollywood, Mississippi. Their tale from 1969 begins with a crowded restaurant and a cook without enough catfish to feed them all. In desperation, he reached for the industrial-sized jar of dill pickles that was handy, rolled them in the catfish batter, dropped them in the fryer, and served them to the patrons. They were an immediate hit.
The most popular story, which seems to fit into a more plausible time frame, is out of Atkins, Arkansas. In 1963, Bernell "Fatman" Austin owned the Duchess Drive-In across the highway from the Atkins Pickle Plant. (FYI: Atkins is known as the pickle capital of Arkansas!) Staring across the street at the pickle plant, Bernell was inspired to create a recipe.
That particular recipe is a well-guarded, family secret to this day. You can now only get a taste of Bernell's original creation once a year at the annual Picklefest held each May in Atkins. The family dishes up about 2,500 orders of the "Fatman's Original Fried Dill Pickles" at every festival and the money raised is used for scholarships and charities that Bernell supported.
Sometime in the late 1990s, three high school friends brought the southern deep-fried pickle to the Minnesota State Fair, calling them the "Preferred Pickle." They were so popular, the same three friends began manufacturing them under KWF Foods and selling them to the foodservice industry.
As with many origin stories, there is more than one. There is a record of a "French Fried Pickle" recipe being published as early as 1962 for the Food Editors Conference in New York.
Another popular story, which seems to have come about much too late to be the original, is from the Hollywood Cafe out of Hollywood, Mississippi. Their tale from 1969 begins with a crowded restaurant and a cook without enough catfish to feed them all. In desperation, he reached for the industrial-sized jar of dill pickles that was handy, rolled them in the catfish batter, dropped them in the fryer, and served them to the patrons. They were an immediate hit.
The most popular story, which seems to fit into a more plausible time frame, is out of Atkins, Arkansas. In 1963, Bernell "Fatman" Austin owned the Duchess Drive-In across the highway from the Atkins Pickle Plant. (FYI: Atkins is known as the pickle capital of Arkansas!) Staring across the street at the pickle plant, Bernell was inspired to create a recipe.
That particular recipe is a well-guarded, family secret to this day. You can now only get a taste of Bernell's original creation once a year at the annual Picklefest held each May in Atkins. The family dishes up about 2,500 orders of the "Fatman's Original Fried Dill Pickles" at every festival and the money raised is used for scholarships and charities that Bernell supported.
Sometime in the late 1990s, three high school friends brought the southern deep-fried pickle to the Minnesota State Fair, calling them the "Preferred Pickle." They were so popular, the same three friends began manufacturing them under KWF Foods and selling them to the foodservice industry.
The Boot's Are the Best!
Regardless of how the fried pickle found its way to the Midwest or who actually invented it, the best BBQ restaurant at the Lake of the Ozarks has perfected it! The next time you have a craving for some Wobbly Boots BBQ, add an order of our Fried Pickles to the mix. We just know you are going to love them!
4717 Osage Beach Parkway
Osage Beach, MO 65065
573-348-2277
Dining Hours:
11am - 10pm, 7 Days Week
Bar Hours: --
11am - 1am, Mon-Sat
11am -12pm Sun
11am -12pm Sun
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