My daughter-in-law brought ripe tomatoes from her garden on
our camping trip. I don’t have ripe
tomatoes yet, so I think I’ll have to go with the green ones while I’m waiting
and waiting. I’ll share a vintage recipe that I found and then share how I make mine. I’ll also give you a couple of variations.
1881 Fried Green
Tomato Recipe
Slice the tomatoes and lay in salt water a half hour, drain
and roll in corn-meal and fry in hot lard; salt and pepper to taste. The lard tells the recipe is old doesn't it
although my grandmothers and mother used lard a lot in the 50’s? It probably would make a better fried tomato. I think this is how they made them in the
movie because of the era the movie represented.
My Fried Green
Tomatoes Recipe
Flour
Kosher salt and pepper
½ tsp. of paprika
1 tsp. of sugar
Buttermilk
Panko bread crumbs
Clean your tomatoes and cut as thin as you can (1/4 to 1/8
of an inch is ideal). Get out your best
cutting knife and sharpen it so you can slice the tomatoes super thin.
Mix the flour with salt and pepper. Add paprika and a teaspoon of sugar to your
first dusting mixture. I like to use
paper plates or parchment paper for easy clean up. I know it is not as economical, but I
sometimes have to go with easy first. I
do not own a dish washer so paper plates or parchment paper makes it easier for
me. I mix the flour mixture right on the
paper plate with my fingers. If I need more I just add a little at a time so
there is no waste.
Salt your tomato and let it sit on a paper towel and get
some of the moister out of it. Dip your
tomato in the flour mixture, then in buttermilk, then into Panko bread crumbs
for a thick crust. The Panko gives the
fried tomatoes a great crunch. If you do
not want the expense of Panko crumbs, substitute it with corn meal and flour (50/50). If you don’t have buttermilk, a good
substitute is to dip them in a beaten egg instead. I do prefer the buttermilk though; however,
they both help you get a thick crust. I
set up stations and move from the flour mixture, to milk, to the Panko crumbs
to the cast iron skillet using one hand because you do get messy.
Fry in hot olive oil or lard if you want to go old school,
in a hot cast iron skillet on medium heat (a secret is the old cast iron
skillet). Be careful the olive oil is
not too hot or it will burn, but make sure the oil and skillet are sufficiently
heated before frying, so you get a really crispy tomato. Do not over crowd the pan or play with the
tomatoes. Fry them until they are golden
brown on both sides using a pancake turner to flip them when they are brown and
drain on paper towels.
Taste for seasoning and if needed add additional salt and
pepper while still hot. I always find it
could use a little more.
Variations - You
seekers of heat, you might want to put in a pinch of Cheyenne pepper in your flour mixture, or a dash of hot sauce in your egg mixture, or
maybe garlic or onion powder to really goose it up. As you know, I like it simple.
How about using bacon grease for the frying? It would add a whole new flavor to the
tomato.
Making these makes me think of a great movie Fried Green
Tomatoes, staring one of my favorite actresses Kathy Bates. Make a batch and rent the movie and celebrate
your green tomatoes. Or you can go to Fried Green tomatoes in Galena .
Their address is 213 North
Main Street , Galena , IL
Be happy and may God bless you and yours.
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