Ingredients:
Vegetable oil to 1/2 inch deep in your skillet
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp dry ranch dressing mix (from 1-oz package)
1 tsp smokey paprika
4 large eggs
2 cups plain panko bread crumbs (unseasoned)
1 (24 oz) jar crisp pickle spears (about 14)

Directions:
1. Remove pickle spears from jar and place on a paper lined plate to absorb excess moisture
2. Heat oil to 375°F in a large skillet with tall walls
3. Meanwhile, in shallow bowl, stir together flour, ranch dressing mix, and paprika
4. In another shallow bowl, beat eggs with whisk until the yolks and whites are well blended
5. In a third shallow bowl, place the panko bread crumbs
6. Dip each pickle spear into the flour mixture, shake off the excess, and dip in the egg
7. Allow them to rest, not touching each other, on a cooling rack in a sheet pan
8. Starting with the one you first coated, dip into the flour a second time, then into egg a second time
9. Coat the pickle spear with panko, covering well, and place back on the cooling rack to set up
10. After all pickles have been breaded, fry in hot oil, turning once, until deep golden brown (2 to 3 minutes)
11. Drain the fried pickles on a clean cooling rack or paper towels (centers will stay hot for several minutes)

You can cook these spears right away, but I like to put them on a cooling rack in a sheet pan, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight to let the panko crust set up more, and produce an even crunchier crust. If you only have flavored panko on hand, delete the dry ranch mix and paprika ingredients to make sure you don’t have competing flavors in your crust.