Fatman's Fried Dill Pickles

One of the little oddities of my region is the neighboring town's former claim to fame: "The Dill Pickle Capitol of the World."

The loss of the Atkins Pickle Plant, victim to merges and a failing economy, hasn't dampened the correlating claim as being the home of Fatman's Original Fried Dill Pickles.

He’s mentioned in The Encyclopedia of Arkansas, and his creation, Fatman’s Original Fried Dill Pickles, is to Atkins’ natives what nectar is to bees. In fact, for the lines of folks who flock to the booth during the annual PickleFest the event just wouldn’t be the same without the unique breaded tartness of Fatman’s pickles.


Born Bernell Austin in 1921, but known throughout his entire life as “Fatman,” he cooked in the Navy and ended up leaving a culinary legacy to his hometown community when he passed in 1999, son David Austin said.

Under a constant threat of severe thunderstorms which were in effect on Friday, the Austin family labored under a canopy at the same corner in downtown that they’ve occupied since 1992 when the first PickleFest convened.

“Last year, the water was so high we were backed up all the way to the sidewalk,” Austin said, and gestured to the much higher ground off the street level. “That didn’t slow down the customers, though.”

And so dozens of fans, half of them peering from under brightly colored umbrellas, patiently waited in line for their yearly fix.

“It all began when my dad ran a drive-in restaurant called the Duchess right across the street from the Atkins Pickle Plant,” Austin continued. “He was always trying new things to attract customers, and one day in the summer of ’63, when business was slow, he decided he needed to capitalize on the whole pickle theme.”

Oh, the fried pickle concept wasn’t new, he admitted, “but my dad thought he could do it better.”

Fatman first toyed with jarred pickle slices, ala hamburger-style. “He was a typical Southerner,” Austin said. “Deep frying was the only way he even considered cooking them.”

He sold them, 25 for 15 cents.

“From day one, they were a complete hit, but dad wasn’t completely thrilled with them and was always devising new recipes for the batter,” Austin added. “One thing he thought was that the jarred pickles were too salty, so he moved on to fresh pickles and started slicing them long-ways and came up with a batter that worked.”

They were so popular Morton Frozen Foods (now ConAgra) approached him and expressed interest in buying the recipe, Austin said.

“He wouldn’t sell it for anything, and when the company told him they could take a sample to their lab and figure out what ingredients were used in the batter, my dad told them it wasn’t the ingredients alone that was important but how you added them that made the difference,” he said. “It is tricky to make a batter that sticks to the pickle.”

Fatman opened a restaurant called the Loner in 1968, to take advantage of the traffic resulting from the newly built Interstate 40. He took the Original Fried Dill Pickle with him and for 10 years the local diners were joined by traveling Arkansas Razorback fans who routinely stopped for the iconic pickles.

After closing the restaurant, Fatman and his family joined the PickleFest festivites never dreaming their business under two white tents would perpetuate their pickles for 20 more years, Austin said. “And the support is as strong as ever.”

The secret is safe within the family ranks. “We’re the only ones who have the recipe, and that’s the only way it’s ever been,” Austin said.

“I grew up with a sister and a brother, and we all worked after school and during the summers at the restaurant,” he continued. “Some of us started out standing on coke crates washing dishes.”

David and Karen, ConAgra employees, take a week of vacation to make preparations and run the pickle venue. They are joined by David’s sister Sharon, their mother Sue and four members of the up and coming generation.

“Mom and dad worked side by side. They met as teenagers when they both worked at Sadie and Jack’s (Atkins restaurant from way back). She took care of him until the day we lost him,” Austin said. “PickleFest keeps her active, and she sees so many friends that e only sees that one time a year. She loves hearing the memories. You couldn’t get her to stay home during the festival.”

We serve ketchup and ranch dressing, but every one of us generally likes them plain,” he said.

“People would always asked my dad what they tasted like,” Austin began, “and one day he said, ‘Stupid, what do you think they taste like? Pickles!’ Finally, one day a woman asked, and my father told her they tasted like ice cream. That’s become a family joke.”

Now that the Atkins pickles are no more, the Austins use Vlasic dills purchased in 5 gallon tubs.

“It takes a good, hard month of preparation to put this pickle frying marathon on every year,” Austin said. “And then theres’ the standing all day and leaning over the deep fryer. If it wasn’t for the guys at the Masonic lodge helping we just couldn’t do it all. We typically fry 10,000 pickle slices for PickleFest.”

All the proceeds from the pickle sales, $3300.00 from this year’s sales, are directed to and dispersed by Atkins Masonic Lodge 172 to support the charities close to the heart of Fatman and his family.

The family enterprise has entered into the modern age, somewhat, with the opening of a Facebook fan page. “We recently celebrated our 1,000th member,” Austin said. “People have shared such wonderful memories about my dad on that page.”

The pickle is still king in Atkins, and the local economy continues to profit from PickleFest where a preponderance of pickle-related endeavors such as the pickle eating and pickle juice drinking contests draw the natives home and the curious from far and wide.

Sucking up the delicacy, Jagger Hendrix and Molly Gibson, members of the Atkins Red Devil softball team, are on a rush to leave town for a game.

“But we couldn’t leave without eating our pickles,” Gibson said. “We’ve been eating them since we were, like, babies.”

She adds, “There’s other people who make these, but they don’t compare.”

Her companion agreed, “There’s absolutely no caparison,” Hendrix said.

"It's what our family is known for,” Austin said.

Fatman’s Original Fried Dill Pickles will be selling at the 64 Galore Yard Sale slated for August 12-14 at Mrs. Fatman’s home 3 miles east of Atkins. “We’ll have our banner up, so you can find us,” Austin said. “Even if you don’t want pickles, stop by and visit if you get the chance. We’re always glad to see everyone.”

Recipe for Ice Box Pickles
Submitted by Sue Austin (Fatman's wife)

Ingredients:
Approximately 4 cups cucumbers, sliced into chips
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups sliced onions
1 tablespoon celery seed
2 cups white sugar
White vinegar, quantity needed to fill jars

Directions:
Fill canning jars with cucumbers, peppers, onions, celery seed and sugar, cover with vinegar, seal and place in refrigerator for 2 days. Remove from refrigerator and eat. Refrigerate uneaten portion. Makes 1/2 gallon.