Anyone have a great fried okra recipe?

[jmoore]

I've got a pile in the kitchen that I'm gonna cook this weekend (my first ever okra!). I found plenty of recipes online but I'd rather have first hand experience if I can get it.

Bring it!

[LindsayArthurRTR]

I like to cut it up into 1/4 inch discs. Salt and pepper it. put a cupful or so of cornmeal mix into a gallon bag. Add the okra discs and shake em til they are coated. Let em sit in the bag for couple minutes while you get your pan ready. I have my grandmother's cast iron pans, so I use them, as the are slicker than any nonstick I've ever seen.

I cover the bottom of the pan with about 1/4 inch of vegetable oil, or the same about of lard or crisco. Turn the heat to medium high. while the pan heats up the oil spoon in a couple TBSP of AP flour and shake one more time (this should be done right before you fry).

When the oil looks shimmery on top, place the entire contents of the bag into the pot even if there is still soe loose cornmeal and flour. Continue to cook and flip utill all okra pieces are crispy and browned sufficiently.

I don't have any measurements on these kinds of recipes cause I learned them by watching my nanny cook them. We just kinda eyeballed it

I have been ignoring my okra for a few days, but this reminds me why I grew it in the first place. Yummy!

[hit or miss]

I cut the okra into discs and soak it in a milk and egg mixture for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile I mix up a batch of cornmeal and flour, about 1/3 flour and 2/3's cornmeal. Mix in a copious amount of Tony C's creole seasoning, or whatever your tastebuds allow and dredge the okra in the mixture. Fry the okra in a pot with enough oil to float the okra in. Mmmm! I like mine pretty crispy!

[gumbo2176]

I've got a pile in the kitchen that I'm gonna cook this weekend (my first ever okra!). I found plenty of recipes online but I'd rather have first hand experience if I can get it.

Bring it!

Here's one to try if you get tired of fried okra. Take several pods of okra, arrange them alternately stem end up, stem end down next to each other and run a skewer through the upper portion and lower portion making the whole thing look like a raft. Clip off the ends of the wooden skewers to about 1 inch protruding to help prevent burning. Brush on some olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and a bit of cracked pepper and grill the whole thing over a medium flame for about 7-10 min. per side. The okra will take on grill marks and the seams of the okra may tend to split a bit when done and it will soften up a bit. This is delicious and a great alternative to frying.

[LindsayArthurRTR]

That's sounds yummy too:()

[gumbo2176]

[quote="jmoore"]I've got a pile in the kitchen that I'm gonna cook this weekend (my first ever okra!). I found plenty of recipes online but I'd rather have first hand experience if I can get it.

jmoore, besides frying, grilling and steaming okra, I also smother it down to use in gumbos, soups or to eat just like it is. It is real simple to do but it does take about 3-4 hrs. of stove top time to complete-------but so worth it.

I have a pot of okra smothering down on my stove as I type this. I picked 67 pods this morning, washed them and cut them in 1/2' thick discs and set aside. Recipe as follows"

2 onions minced
1 bell pepper minced
2 ribs celery minced
6-8 toes garlic chopped fine
1-28 oz. and 1-14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
2 tbsp. oil
salt
pepper
1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce

In a large enough pot put in the oil and heat on high. Add onions, bell pepper and celery. Cook for 5 min. then add the garlic and cook 5 minutes more. Next add the diced tomatoes, worcestershire sauce, okra and begin adding some salt and pepper. Lower the fire and cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hrs. stirring often. As it cooks, the okra will break down and most of the slime you see in the beginning will disappear. Test for seasoning when finished and adjust to your liking.

I freeze this in quart bags and use it in some of my gumbos and it is especially good in veg. beef soup since it will thicken it up a good bit and add more flavor to it.

Just like when I cook my gumbos, I use a heat diffuser under the pot to help things cook more evenly and not scorch. This dish starts off real thick.

[jmoore]

Great recipes all! Keep 'em coming.

I didn't have a chance to check this thread before I made my batch and found a Paula Deen recipe. She's always a good place to start with for this type of thing.

Her's was 2/3 flour and 1/3 corn meal with some cayenne, salt, pepper and garlic powder. I didn't have cayenne so I subbed chili powder and Max's Mix. Fried them up in our cast iron skillet and they were fantastic. I'm a sucker for fried okra. If it's on the menu, I order it. My mom and grandmother used to make it and this batch reminded me of it. There are more pods coming so looks like I get to do round two in the not too distant future.

I'm really glad I planted okra this year. I think it's going to be on my permanent grow list going forward.

[Gary350]

The trick to cooking good okra is make sure your oil is very hot and it stays hot. I use a 12" cast iron skillet with about 1/2" of oil. Turn on the stove burner and let the oil get hot while you prepare the okra.

Cut okra in pieces about 1/4 to 1/2" long. The longer pieces soak up less oil so I like to cut 1/2" long pieces.

Mix 1/3 cup butter milk with 1/3 cut water dip the okra in the milk mixture stir well then drain off the liquid. You can reuse the liquid for another batch of okra.

Mix 1 cup flour, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper. Dump in the okra stir well sift through your fingers and stir some more. Break apart pieces that are stuck together. Dump into a colander to sift out all the excess flour. You can reuse the flour for another batch of okra.

When the oil begins to smoke dump in just enough okra to cover the bottom of the skillet. Still well so it cooks on both sides and becomes golden brown and crispy.

Scoop the okra out and let the oil drain. Put okra on a paper towel to soak up more oil. Serve hot.

If you like corn meal you can do a mix of 1/4 CM to 3/4 F or 1/3 CM to 2/3 F what every you like. I don't use much corn meal in my okra if I use any at all, mix 5% corn meal in 95% flour is pretty good. You can add corn starch to the flour to keep it from burning and soaking up oil about 1/4 cup corn starch mixed with 1 cup of flour works pretty good.

[jmoore]

Round two of fried okra was Sunday night. I kept an eye on the oil temp and this batch was better than the last. I ate a giant plate of it.

My okra is producing like crazy so I've got at least a few more batches to hone my skills on. I should probably try some grilling next time to keep my cholesterol down. All this frying is not good for me. But DANG it tastes good.

My wife hates it, btw. "It's too slimey." More for me

[Sunrise_Anne]

My favorite okra is fried whole -- baby okra -- after being coated with a mixture of salt, pepper, flour, and cornstarch.

Cut off just enough of the top to keep the pod sealed (makes the finished product moist and tasty). Then shake in a plastic bag with the flour mixture to coat the entire pod. Agree about the hot oil, and you don't need much. I like enough oil to cover about half of the pod so I need to turn it only once to brown it. They cook quickly, so I've found that browning them golden also cooks them inside just right.

It is one of our tastiest vegetables!

[WinglessAngel]

You could also try oven frying the okra instead as well for less oil content in the veggies...try using okra instead of zukes using my oven fried zuchinni recipe I posted in here