My in-laws visit us from Brooklyn, NY, every Tuesday afternoon, to see their grandkids and say hello.
The last time they came, they brought with them three cute little green tomatoes.
They had picked them from the garden of a friend. With permission, of course (I can picture if they didn’t and it’s making me laugh: lawless in-laws running away with green tomatoes securely shoved under their arms, while angered friends follow suit cackling, pitchforks in hand.. my imagination runs wild when Halloween’s around the corner).
I was ecstatic!
Not only do I love tomatoes, but I recently wrote an entire blog post about them, too!
You can read it in A TAD ABOUT TOMATOES (AKA LOVE-APPLES).
Anywho, I honestly would not have thought of making it, if it wasn’t for my in-laws schlepping it in through my door. They had decided that I could probably whip up a dish using ‘em.
Well, I didn’t do just that. I also looked up their history.
Here’s the thing —
Fried green tomatoes aren’t from the American South at all.
Fried Green Tomatoes were apparently brought to the US in the 19th century by Jewish immigrants and later appeared in Northeastern and Midwestern cookbooks.
Fried green tomatoes only became popular in the South after the release of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café and the Fried Green Tomatoes book and movie duo.
I realized, having looked through several recipes, that you just need to slice em up, coat these puppies in 3 easy to prepare mixtures (very much like I sometimes prepare my schnitzels), and fry!
Video of Me Preparing It
Preparation
INGREDIENTS
- ~4 large green tomatoes
- 2 eggs (or can substitute with 1/2 cup buttermilk for firmer texture)
- ½ cup whole milk (can substitute here)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornmeal
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ cup bread crumbs (not Panko)
- 2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Oil for frying (I use avocado oil, but you can also use canola)
- Maldon salt (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Slice green tomatoes 1/2-inch thick.
Place flour on one plate, and on another, mix the cornmeal, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. Whisk eggs and milk together in a separate bowl.
Now dip the tomato slices: first into the flour to coat, on both sides. Then, into the milk and egg mixture. Finally, place into the breadcrumb mixture.
Heat cooking oil in a deep skillet, over medium heat. Make sure the oil gets hot (375 deg Fahrenheit, if you can measure it), otherwise, the tomatoes won’t come out crisp.
Place tomatoes into hot oil, leaving space in between. Fry until golden crisp on one side, and then flip until golden crips on the other.
Transfer your green fried tomatoes to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and fry remaining tomatoes in the same fashion.
Place on a wire rack and sprinkle with Maldon salt, if you have. Or just use kosher salt, to taste.
Serve these while hot, and serve with sriracha mayo, ranch sauce, tabasco, or a homemade sauce (I found these 4 sauce ideas that can help you create a delicious sauce)
