Fried Green Tomatos and...

[madmax]

...stuffed jalapenos with cream cheese and sharp cheddar.

[wsdstan]

Oh boy, fried green tomatoes.  Not a dish you run into up in these parts but after I saw the movie we found a recipe and made some.  Great stuff. Need to make some again.

You have a recipe you could share or is one as good as the other?

[madmax]

I used Zatarain's Shrimp Fry.  Sliced green tomatoes.  Dredge in flour.  Egg and milk dunk.  Dredge in Zatarain's.  Fry a few minutes a side.  Sprinkle of Panko on top.  I like them plain as well as with Ranch.

[wolfy]

That sounds REALLY good, but even a green tomato is a scarce commodity in this neck of the woods.  It felt like November here today.....pissant rain off & on, a steady 30 mph wind with gusts up to 45 and it only into the upper 40s for a high temperature.  No bike riding today, either.

[wsdstan]

Thanks Tony.  I will try that when we get some green tomatoes. 

Weather here was rain.  About 3/4" I think.  We were eating lunch over near Sturgis and it got to snowing big time.  Low visibility and a lot of snow.  It was snowing hard until we were about ten miles north of the Interstate then just hard rain.  My bike hasn't been out of the shop for a couple of weeks.

[OutdoorEnvy]

both look excellent!  I'm due for some fried green tamaters...

[Pete Bog]

For your consideration, fried in butter as opposed to bacon grease or other type of oil seems to have a very positive influence on the final product. Last years tomato harvest was non existent. (wife got a new hip and I don't garden) The reaction at the farmers market to a request for green tomatoes was funny. Took us three weeks of waiting for a special order, but we got some. Summer's not complete until a mess or two of FGT has been consumed.

[madmax]

For your consideration, fried in butter as opposed to bacon grease or other type of oil seems to have a very positive influence on the final product. Last years tomato harvest was non existent. (wife got a new hip and I don't garden) The reaction at the farmers market to a request for green tomatoes was funny. Took us three weeks of waiting for a special order, but we got some. Summer's not complete until a mess or two of FGT has been consumed.

I'll have to try butter.  Do you use clarified butter?

[Pete Bog]

Not clarified, just regular 'ol salted butter to keep the tomatoes from sticking to the pan. The buttery taste is transferred into the dredged coating, and that's not a bad thing. We just use milk to get the tomato slices wet and then flop 'em into the flour. A little salt and pepper after it hits the pan. Fry until the coating is crispy, flip 'em and another sprinkle of salt and pepper. When that side gets a little crispy, serve and eat 'em while they're hot. We use a Medium to Medium-low heat setting. Like many things in cooking, getting it right is little bit of an art form. It'll take a few tries to get it just the way you like it. You use a lot of green tomatoes this way but don't get to far ahead or the first ones will start to cool before you get to eating them. Get 'em while they're hot is best.

[hayshaker]

started eating those as a kid I think ma may have got the recipie from
areatha the lady upstairs, she was from Harlan,co Kentucky.

[Pete Bog]

     Another summer gone and a few more plates of FGT are gone too. Max, your question on clarified butter threw me for a bit until I found that clarified butter can handle higher temperatures. That must be why we cook 'em on a lower setting so as not to burn or scorch the butter. The wife tells me I need to be using a cast iron frying pan too. She claims nothing else works as good. She's a knowledgeable cook. By comparison, I'm a campfire idiot with a sharp stick when it comes to cooking.
     I spent a week at the Western Minnesota Stream Threshers Reunion in Rolag, Mn. this summer and cooked up a mess for myself one evening. I used a Coleman camp stove (propane) on low heat and a cast iron pan. They turned out alright. I got distracted and burned one batch. They do require my undivided attention. A better cook may not have that problem. Clarified butter may open up a larger range of temperatures too, making the job a little easier. 
     Hayshaker, did you get to try any other foods or recipes from the lady upstairs?

[hayshaker]

yes I did fried squirrel and southern fried chicken, and real moonshine that Cletus her son swipped from his dads stash. it took your breath away really.

[Pete Bog]

When I lived in Virginia Beach, we had a family friend bring a couple quarts of home brew moonshine back from West Virginia. He wanted to share a part of his heritage with the neighborhood. It smelled like corn silage and probably tasted like it too. Hard to tell because it burned intensely from the moment it touched your lips. I'm convince that it was not a good example of a top notch moonshine. The tales of a smooth tasting, pleasing to the palate moonshine certainly didn't apply to this sample. It burned like 190 proof Everclear and smelled atrocious.

So what did you think of the squirrel? Have you tried fixing any for yourself?