Fried green tomatos recipe?

[jackal10]

I have to ask for the recipe, ever since seeing the film, I’ve been trying to find a good one.

Egg or no egg? Cornmeal, polenta, breadcrumbs, crushed cornflakes(!) Matzo meal(!!), oatmeal, panko, flour or nothing? Bacon grease or oil, if so which oil? Cream added at the end to the pan for sauce or plain? How much salt, pepper? Other spices like a little nutmeg? Some chilli or red pepper flakes?

The combinations are endless as is the green tomato supply from the garden.

I tend to the cornmeal and bacon grease traditional version, myself, but as these are not soul food for me I'm ignorant of the one true version. Enlighten me.

[Busboy]

Idip the tomato in flour, then a wash made of egg white and milk and then a 1/2 flour, 1/2 corn meal plus salt mixture. Deep fry. Since I'm an urban yuppie, and my Alabama grandma never made these, I have no idea how authentic this is.

Almost all your ideas sound good to me (though panka may be a little cute).

I had a friend from Austin who dusted them lightly with flour and fried them with oil, then assembled them in a pie crust with cream cheese.

[FoodMan]

This is my recipe, give it a try and let me know what you think;

FGT

FM

[zilla369]

At the restaurant where i'm staging, they simply dredge in seasoned flour, dip in egg wash, dredge in panko, and deep fry in salad oil. Kinda blah, though. I think i'd add some cayenne to the flour and use cornmeal in the final dredge if i was doing it at home. Also, might use peanut oil and pan-fry.

[theabroma]

My Mud Lick, Ky grandma cut 'em thick (3/4"), dredge in flour, egg wash, cornmeal, and fry in bacon grease. Her dredge: ap flour, salt, and a goodly grind of black pepper; wash: eggs w/an extra yolk and a little milk; cornmeal: an internecine family debate over white or yellow. Bacon grease, well what else would anyone fry them in?

Her granddaughter: still cut 'em thick, season flour w/salt, pepper, and red pepper or chile, or sometimes Old Bay; egg wash, water or milk, no extra yolks; and me, I adore panko, or fresh white breadcrumbs. But when I'm wanting to channel my roots, so to speak. then I use white cornmeal or soda cracker crumbs (Southerners bread shrimp for frying with these, as well as croquettes).

Now if you want to take them home (botanically speaking) slice 'em and spice 'em with a chile & cumin rub, dredge in seasoned flour, then in the batter used for chiles rellenos: eggs, separated. Yolks salted & whisked; whites whipped to medium peak, and folded in to yolks. You can even make up some kind of layer of cheese, or picadillo on top of or between tomato slices) then dredge, dunk, and fry. Surprisingly good.

Theabroma

[Basilgirl]

LOVE fried green tomatoes, done any way. I've never tried a beer batter, do you think that would work?

I always serve mine with a mayo/tomato paste/cayenne mix on the side.

[Jaymes]

Fried Green Tomatoes

4 large green tomatoes

1 C cornmeal

1 C all-purpose flour

1 T garlic powder

pinch cayenne

1 1/2 C buttermilk

S&P to taste

1/2 C vegetable oil

1 T butter

hot sauces like Tabasco, etc., and lemon wedges to garnish

I slice them thick - at least 1/2" or more - and lay them out on a paper towel for a couple of minutes. Not long - just long enough to draw out a little of the water. But since they're green, they don't really have all that much.

Get a big bowl and put the buttermilk into it. Add S&P and stir to mix. I usually just drop all the tomato slices into the buttermilk.

In a separate shallow bowl, combine all dry ingredients.

In large skillet, combine oil and butter. Heat until a small bit of flour dropped into skillet sizzles.

One by one, take tomato slices from buttermilk, dredge well with flours and place into hot skillet. Do not crowd your slices - give them plenty of space.

When tomatoes are golden brown on one side, flip and brown other side.

Drain on paper towels and serve hot with hot sauces and lemon wedges.

Edited August 28, 2003 by Jaymes (log)

[NewYorkTexan]

Since having this at the Driskill Grill, this is one of my favorite versions:

Forest Mushroom Salad with Fried Green Tomatoes, Peppered Arugula and Creamy Goat Cheese Vinaigrette

[sabg]

my mom used to serve them with some type of millky/creamy gravy. de-lish but i don't have recipe. any body have an idea? i was thinking fry them in some bacon fat for flavor then make a roux.

[Jaymes]

my mom used to serve them with some  type of millky/creamy gravy. de-lish but i don't have recipe. any body have an idea? i was thinking fry them in some bacon fat for flavor then  make a roux.

My grandmother usually fried some sort of meat that we ate with the tomatoes. She did fry the tomato slices in bacon grease, or at the minimum, added a spoonful of bacon grease from the jar of it that she (and everyone else) kept nearby the stove.

She often made a standard cream gravy either from the drippings from the pork chops, or ham slices, or whatever else she was serving with the tomatoes, and the grease that she had fried the tomatoes in.

I'm sure that'll suit just fine.

[theabroma]

They're real good w/a spicy remoulade. But grandma never put cream gravy on them - sometimes a little cider vinegar in the bacon grease they were fried in, and poured that hot over them. But we were German back there somewhere, and we got a lot of those versions of German potato salad dressing.

Theabroma

[FoodZealot]

Thanks for the recipes, everyone.

I've seen some people treat green tomatoes with a lime solution - is that unnecessary?

~Tad

[jackal10]

They make a good pickle. Like dill cucumbers, but with more sugar and a few cloves

[Toliver]

Thanks for the recipes, everyone. 

I've seen some people treat green tomatoes with a lime solution - is that unnecessary?

~Tad

Green tomato ceviche?

I would think the tomatoes would be tart enough without the lime solution. Can't think of what other purpose it would serve.

[KNorthrup]

They're real good w/a spicy remoulade.

A local southern type restaurant does that as an appetizer. And very well.

There was a recipe recently in I think Food & Wine that used fried green tomatoes as the T part of a BLT, along with a spicy mayo.

[jsolomon]

Sounds like pig-boilin' time...

[rxrfrx]

I've seen some people treat green tomatoes with a lime solution - is that unnecessary?

Wouldn't this just be to crisp them up a bit for pickling? I don't think it has anything to do with their edibility (which, as far as I know, is cooked-or-pickled-only).

[FoodZealot]

Thanks, jackal10 and rxrfrx -

the lime solution must be for pickling purposes.

~Tad

[theabroma]

It is to crisp them up for pickling. You do the same thing with watermelon rind before pickling it.

[Blue Heron]

Fried Green Tomatoes

4 large green tomatoes

1 C cornmeal

1 C all-purpose flour

1 T garlic powder

pinch cayenne

1 1/2 C buttermilk

S&P to taste

1/2 C vegetable oil

1 T butter

hot sauces like Tabasco, etc., and lemon wedges to garnish

I slice them thick - at least 1/2" or more - and lay them out on a paper towel for a couple of minutes.  Not long - just long enough to draw out a little of the water.  But since they're green, they don't really have all that much.

Get a big bowl and put the buttermilk into it.  Add S&P and stir to mix.  I usually just drop all the tomato slices into the buttermilk.

In a separate shallow bowl, combine all dry ingredients.

In large skillet, combine oil and butter.  Heat until a small bit of flour dropped into skillet sizzles.

One by one, take tomato slices from buttermilk, dredge well with flours and place into hot skillet.  Do not crowd your slices - give them plenty of space.

When tomatoes are golden brown on one side, flip and brown other side.

Drain on paper towels and serve hot with hot sauces and lemon wedges.

I made a version of Jaymes recipe tonight for fried green tomatoes, and hubby and I agreed they were the best ones I ever made.

As per Jaymes recipe I blotted them and then dipped them in buttermilk w/s&p, and then coated them in 1/2 corn flour (I was out of corn meal) and 1/2 all-purpose flour seasoned with garlic powder & cayenne pepper. Then fried em up like Jaymes said. Afterwards I squeezed fresh lime juice over them (didn't have lemon), and ate them with cocktail sauce! They were so yummy! My slices were about 3/8" thick. I forgot all about the hot sauce, so I will have to make them again soon.

[Jaymes]

I made a version of Jaymes recipe tonight for fried green tomatoes, and hubby and I agreed they were the best ones I ever made. 

As per Jaymes recipe I blotted them and then dipped them in buttermilk w/s&p, and then coated them in 1/2 corn flour (I was out of corn meal)

Hey, cool! Just no better feeling than knowing someone enjoyed something you suggested. Thanks for telling me!

And sometimes I use corn flour, sometimes cornmeal. Doesn't seem to make a lot of difference - they're good both ways.

A dash of Tabasco, or Tapatio or Marie Sharp's is good, but they're good plain as well, as you found out.

Thanks again for taking the time to let me know.

Girlfriend.

[Bicycle Lee]

what about tempura fried green tomatoes?