Not So Fried Green Tomatoes
Sorry guys, it’s been a while since I have blogged but I am back!
So, a couple of months ago I decided to plant my first garden. Not having a single clue how it was going to turn out, I was shocked to see my little garden explode into its own little forest of tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and basil.
My two tomato plants have basically taken over my garden and I have run out of sticks to prop the plant stems up. I am sad to say some of the stems have broken off due to my own lack of care. Plus the fact that a we had a terrible few days of fierce storms with extremely high and damaging winds, so this didn’t help my poor plants either.
Yesterday I decided it was time to start caring for my garden again, so I took all the broken stems out and picked the green tomatoes that never would have a chance to ripen. I used these green tomatoes to try and make Fried Green Tomatoes for the first time.
I was told by my boyfriend’s mother that the only thing I really needed to do to make Fried Green Tomatoes was just put oil in a pan (I used EVOO), bread the green tomatoes with breadcrumbs and fry them on the stove. Easy enough!
I think not! My Fried Green Tomatoes turned out mushy, slimy and hot. The bread crumbs hardly even stuck onto the sliced tomatoes.
Do any of you have a good recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes? There are a ton on Recipe4Living, but I still have about four left and I would love to try this again.
-Sarah, Editor for Recipe4Living
I think you have to dip the tomatoes in an egg and milk mixture first.It makes the bread crumbs stick better.
Posted by Sharon at August 27th, 2007, 3:30 pm[...] welcoming Sarah back to the blog! Editor, Recipe4Living This entry was posted on Monday, August 27th, 2007 at 5:00 pm and is [...]
Posted by Chew On That » Blog Archive » Pepperific at August 27th, 2007, 5:00 pmThanks Sharon! I will try your idea next time. I have heard to use cornmeal instead of breadcrumbs as well. I never thought to actually dip the tomatoes in an egg and milk mixture but that totally makes more sense then just trying to bread the tomatoes as is.
Posted by Sarah at August 29th, 2007, 7:57 amSarah…
Posted by Angie S at September 5th, 2007, 4:41 amI learned to make fried green tomatos from my grandmothers…we are from the deep south….and green tomatos are a staple in our home…..I slice mine, lay them all out on a cutting borard…salt and pepper them….the trick is flour….just flour both sides….just flour….then place them in a pan with a little vegetable oil……get the side good and done before you flip them over and the crust will stay in place…..hope you have great luck, these are really yummy….i could and do at times in the summer eat them everyday, my family never gets tired of them…we rarely eat red tomatos from the garden, in our house they usually never get to ripen before we are picking them and eating them green…ENJOY!!
I’m not sure, but I think that the green tomato is a special heirloom varity that stays green even when it’s ripe. I’m just getting into this too. I bought 2 of those “Year Round” Tomato Kits and have planted all the seedlings. Since you’ve got so many from just two plants (I’ll have 6), I’m wondering if I’ve over done it.
Posted by Gary at September 5th, 2007, 5:48 amI was just wondering if you had tried anything yet? I am with Angie S. I have made them with just flour and I have made them the egg milk corn meal way. I like the flour way alot better!! I salt and pepper my flour and they are excellent!!.
Posted by Jessi at September 5th, 2007, 6:38 amBy the way have you ever had an herb garden?
One trick is do not let tomato slices dry out before breading. I use basically flour to bread with, and maybe a few spices or salt, pepper, a little sugar to help them brown.
Posted by flowergirl at September 5th, 2007, 6:56 amI wash and slice tomato about 1/2 in thick, salt and pepper to taste, and dip in cornmeal MIX. This has flour in it so best of both worlds. I also let tomato have a VERY little pink on it. Just better flavor if you do this. Get oil hot not too hot or will burn about 350-375. Sprinkle alittle water on oil , if it spits at you it’s hot. Fry on both sides, let cool for a min. or your tounge will burn. Then ENJOY!!! Good Luck!!
Posted by Snicker at September 5th, 2007, 7:21 amWhen making fried green tomatoes the oil (vegetable or canola) needs to be very hot so the tomatoes dont have to fry too long, other wise they get mushy. Also I make my tomatoes slices nice and thick to give them more stability. I make a mixture of bread crumbs and flour with spices, dip the tomatoes in egg first then the bread crumb flour mixture and fry, They are delicious!
Posted by Sheriberi at September 5th, 2007, 7:22 amAngie S has the same recipe my mother used – flour…except she cooked bacon first and then fried the tomatoes in a little fat left over from the bacon. Then she made a white sauce from the left over bits in the pan. Oh it was sooooo good. My kids love it when I make them. Enjoy.
Posted by Carole D at September 5th, 2007, 7:32 amWhen you are using totally green tomatoes, add a pinch of sugar to your breading mixture. Some varieties are so acidic it can really affect the taste. You can also use slightly ripened tomatoes for fried green ones as well. As long as their still firm. Good eatin! Yummy! Just did a mess up the other night. One of my sons dropped by with the grandchildren and I had to get back up and cook somemore, LOL My granddaughter who is 3 thought these were wonderful….she likes Nana’s mato fries, LOL….
Posted by doccat5 at September 5th, 2007, 7:35 amThese are the two ways I fix Fried Green Tomatoes.
Coat green tomatoes in buttermilk; then dip them into a mixture of flour, salt and pepper. Fry in vegetable oil. Make sure to turn tomatoes and fry both sides. Drain on a paper towel
Coat green tomatoes in an egg mixture that has been beaten; then dip them into a mixture of flour, salt and pepper. Fry in vegetable oil. Make sure to turn tomatoes and fry both sides. Draon on a paper towel.
You could use both of these methods using iehter the flour mixture or the breadcrumbs.
Posted by Mary Beth at September 5th, 2007, 9:11 amI find the family (all having individual tastes) like the tomatoes in varying degrees of ripeness some like the softer blushing ones and others like the palest green tomatoes, some like them served with tartar sauce like fish, and others are into the creamy white gravy, its a matter of finding out how your personal tastes are best served. I was born in michigan and treated to my first fried green tomates in the first few years of life. I cannot imagine a garden clean-up with out at least a few of the emerald gems. My best friend a cook in the best of southern traditions makes what she calls fried soup. A mix of potatoes, okra, onions, green tomatoes and what every else she has ie. peppers, or squash, all breaded and fried tomatoe style and done to a tender perfection of softness to the tooth. The blend is served as a vegie medly guarnteed to please. I was very impressed, it takes know how long to cook the veggies to get the right tenderness without the mush. Just keep trying I’m sure you will have the sucess you desire
Posted by sueshe at September 5th, 2007, 9:18 amBelieve it or not I was raised in the south by a country mother and had never had fired green tomatoes but they sounded great so I sliced some fairly thick slices and dipped them in buttermilk and then self rising cormeal and fried them in vegtable oil and they were great. I would probably like breadcrumbs also as that is how I fry my eggplants.
Posted by Micki at September 5th, 2007, 10:02 amMy husband and I used to mix mayo and horseradish to dip them in.
I learned to make Fried Green Tomatoes this summer and they are soooooo good!!
Posted by Patricia Wright at September 5th, 2007, 6:00 pmSlice tomatoes (be sure and peel them), dip them in flour then in milk or buttermilk. Make a mixture of Panko Bread Crumbs and grated parmesan cheese and coat each slice. Fry in hot oil and enjoy.
here is my recipe slice tomatoes about 1/4 to 12 inch use 1 egg in1 1/2cups milk mix dip slices in milk mix. Breading mix conbinei 1cup flour 1cup crushed potato chips a tasp of suger 1Tsb onion powder 1Tsb garic powder or you can sprinkle onion an garlic powders on top as cooking after you have fliped your fried tomatoes add a clump of shered cheese to the browned side remove from pan place on paper towles to drain. The trick to making this is haveing HOT cooking oil in the pan PS the kids love ranch dressing or chip dip on then
Posted by russell wozniak at September 5th, 2007, 11:46 pmWe allways used green or slightly pinkish tomatoes and sliced them about 1/4″ thick. They got dusted in seasoned flour and fried in vegatable shortening in a cast iron pan. Allow crust to form on side one before flipping and frying on other side.
Make sure to NEVER mix up the flour shaker can with the confectioner’s sugar shaker can! What a mess!!
Posted by Linda, Newtown, PA at September 6th, 2007, 1:04 pmI slice thin dip in flour and fry in 0trans crisco oil until brown to dark brown. My family likes them cooked from a little to alot. Don’t need bread crumbs or anything else. When done add salt and pepper. Eli
Posted by eli at September 6th, 2007, 2:06 pmWow and a BIG thanks to everyone for giving me advice! I haven’t had a chance yet to try any of these but I plan on it sometime real soon and I am so excited to try all these different and creative ways. It seems like from reading what most of everyone is telling me, that FLOUR is the best ingredient. So that is what I will try next. I want to try and respond to all of you the best I can so here I go-
Angie- Thanks for the recipe! I always love recipes that come with a memory or story behind them!
Gary- A word of advice to you- be careful with six tomato plants! I was honestly kidding myself thinking two would be fine. BUT I also have a small area where my garden was planted. The plants will grow tall and big overnight. You will have no idea what happened. It is very strange but exciting. Good luck with your garden!
doccat5 – thanks for making me smile with your story.
russell – garlic powder sounds fantastic! I am for sure using that!
Sueshe – Fried Soup! Delicious! It sounds like a person would have to have some patience for this recipe but when I have the time I will try this. I am hungry just thinking about it!
Jesse- No I haven’t tried an herb garden yet. I did plant basil this year and now I have three huge plants in my garden. I think next year I will focus less on so many tomatoes and cucumbers and more on herbs. Any advice?
Thank you to; Sharon, flowergirl, snicker, sheriberi, Carole D, Linda, Marybeth, Micki, Patricia, and eli! I am grateful that all of you were here to help me in my time of desperate need!
Posted by Sarah at September 7th, 2007, 8:51 am[...] I still need to try making Fried Green Tomatoes again! This entry was posted on Friday, September 28th, 2007 at 2:17 pm and is filed under [...]
Posted by Chew On That » Blog Archive » My Garden Is Dying! at September 28th, 2007, 2:17 pmhiya not sure if this has been suggested but – i use my grandfather’s seeds, so i am not sure what type of tomato i use but i believe theyre sold in heirloom catalogues as green tomatoes. they’re really meaty, low on seeds, and very firm and tart when picked just before blushing yellow or pink. the stalks are thicker and hairier than typical varieties, darker green and extremely fragrant. I slice thick and finely sea salt them, they need to rest a a minutes before they are moist enough for the flour. I also like to then coat them in milk & yoghurt or egg & water then more flour or panko bread crumbs. i always fry in a cast iron pan with safflower oil and sometimes i add a bit of bacon or pork drippings yum. you can fry them on a bit higher heat than you would chicken since you dont need to thoroughly cook the tomatoes. when they’re done, give them a minute or two to congeal while you’re pouring a bowl of grits or hot lady peas and grabbing the hot sauce. i also like to eat them with ariston balsamic vinegar over dandelions blanched and rinsed in cold (unless you could use a liver tonic :) then sauteed in garlic and onions. itadakimasu!
Posted by k at February 24th, 2008, 10:27 pmHi, the way we make fried green tomatoes, is by using cornbread batter. I do not make a sweet corn bread. I slice my tomatoes and then salt them. I put canola oil in a cast iron skillet and heat. I dip the tomatoes in the batter and then fry until golden. I usually always have batter left over, so I just pour the batter up and fry, like I was making pancakes. Hope this helps
Posted by Sheri at May 17th, 2008, 8:22 amI live in Atlanta and went out to one of the best resturants in town. They serve an appetizer called green tomatoe fries. I have never had them sliced like fries before, but it was an excellent finger food, paired well with a cracked pepper spiced bleu cheese dip.
Posted by Jennifer at June 2nd, 2008, 9:35 amTry dipping egg-coated green tomatoes in Italian style bread crumbs! Yumo!
Posted by Lynn at August 18th, 2008, 9:59 pmVery interesting take on this subject. I saw a comment mention this on Digg. I will put a link to this article from my facebook page.
Posted by Garden Miser at January 2nd, 2010, 4:25 pm