By Katie Hoffman
Oh, the crispy goodness of a fried green tomato! They’re a bit of trouble, but worth it—and green tomatoes are still available on our list this week. So is some mighty fine cornmeal! (Click on the links to find them.)
Here’s how to get some great results.
PREP YOUR STATION:
Slice your green tomatoes about ¼” thick. Put this plate on the far right of your “assembly line.”
Season some all-purpose flour with fine-grained salt and pepper. You can even add a little bit of granulated garlic or garlic powder for some pizzazz! Put this on a plate or small platter. Put it to the left of the tomatoes.
To the left of the seasoned flour, put some buttermilk in a shallow bowl for dipping.
To the left of that, put some coarsely-ground cornmeal on a plate or small platter.
Put your skillet on the stove to warm up, with a good splash of vegetable oil in it. Keep the heat at medium or below (depending on your stove) to prevent burning.
Put some butter near the stove so that you can put a little bit in with the vegetable oil once you begin to fry the coated tomatoes. The butter helps them brown.
START THE FRYING!
Once your skillet is ready (the oil should be shimmery and moving), you can begin.
Dredge a piece of tomato in the dry seasoned flour, coating well and tapping to remove the excess.
Dip it in the buttermilk, then coat it with the cornmeal.
Put a tiny bit of butter in the oil, then put your tomato on the skillet.
Let the tomato slices get crispy and brown on the bottom, then carefully flip them over with a spatula. Once they are brown on both sides, set them on a paper-towel-lined plate to drain as the others cook. You can keep this in the oven to make sure they stay warm and crisp until you’re ready to serve!
Eat them as is, top them with remoulade, or use them to top burgers. You can even make BLTs with crispy fried green tomatoes instead of the usual red ones.
Happy cooking!
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