Recipes in this post
I remember when the wonderful movie Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe came out in 1991, and I wanted to try fried green tomatoes. It was not until 1993 that I was able to get a hold of green tomatoes to make the dish, and again in 2009.
When I was at the corner store, there was a big box of beef steak sized beautiful green tomatoes. I bought two, and I’m going back for more. Those tomatoes were wonderful!
I seem to remember something in the movie about the tomatoes being fried in bacon grease. Very few of the recipes on the Internet today use bacon fat – I assume that is because it’s not the most healthy fat in the world. That’s okay, Fried Green Tomatoes are not an every day food, and they really need that bacon flavor. If you don’t save your bacon fat like I do, you could fry some bacon for breakfast and save the bacon for later.
If you want to make vegetarian fried green tomatoes, but still have that Southern bacon flavor, then you can sprinkle some Grandma Maud’s Southern Seasoning on your tomatoes just after your slice them.
The other trick to making tasty tomatoes is to put the seasoning in the egg wash. I used Zatarain’s New Orleans Traditional Creole Seasoning because it has great flavor, and it’s well, Southern, just like the recipe.
Fried Green Tomatoes with Basil Garlic Mayonnaise
Ingredients
Tomatoes
- 2 large Green Tomatoes
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup corn meal
- 2 tablespoons Bacon fat
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
Mayonnaise
- 1 cup Mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1/4 teaspoon White Pepper
- 2 Garlic cloves
Instructions
Tomatoes
- Slice the tomatoes in 1/2 to 1/4 inch slices. Get three shallow bowls, or rimmed plates. In one bowl, mix the egg, milk and seasoning. In the other bowls, put the flour and corn meal separately. Dredge each slice in the flour, then dip in the egg wash, and finally dredge in the corn meal. Let stand and dry at least 20 minutes.
- When the tomatoes have dried, heat the fats in a skillet. Put three or four slices in the fat, and fry until golden on one side, then flip carefully using a spatula and fork on the other side. Fry until golden then remove to paper towels to absorb any left over fat.
Mayonnaise
- Put the mayonnaise, garlic gloves and spices in a small food processor and process until you have a nice sauce. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Variations
If you want to make this vegetarian, sprinkle some Grandma Maud’s Southern Seasoning on the tomatoes after you slice them. You get the taste of smoked bacon without the meat.
You can make a wonderful Fried Green Tomato California Sandwich using a Kaiser roll, thick bacon and avocado.
Preparation time: 30 minute(s)
Cooking time: 10 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
Culinary tradition: USA (Southern)
My rating
Copyright © The Good Plate – Adrienne Boswell.
Recipe by Adrienne Boswell.
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