We all love Fried Green Tomatoes here in Central Kentucky! Not only does our soil raise fantastic race horses, the tomatoes here are like nowhere else!!!!
SOME RECIPES FOR FRIED GREEN TOMATOES
MY FAVORITE RECIPE is the one used by my late mother, Josephine Morris Deaton of Jackson, Ky. Sister-in-law, Angela Jett Deaton, makes them this way all summer long.
Slice the green tomatoes into ¼ inch slices and place on a tray or sheet of waxed paper. Mix equal parts of white corn meal and plain flour. Sprinkle salt, black pepper and a little white sugar on the tray of tomatoes. When liquid is drawn out of the tomatoes (about 30 minutes), dredge them in the flour/cornmeal mixture and fry them in hot oil till nicely browned on both sides. Sprinkle a little more sugar over them, just as they are beginning to fry. You may drain on paper towels to absorb any excess oil.
THE FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS appear in The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery. Edited by Linda Page and Eliot Wigginton.
Lola Cannon: “Pick tomatoes before they start showing any sign of ripening. Slice tomatoes. Roll in a mixture of flour or meal and salt and pepper and fry in hot fat. Brown on both sides.”
Bertha Waldroop: “Use green tomatoes before they show any sign of ripening. Wash and slice just as you would for tomato sandwiches. Roll the slices in cornmeal and flour or a mixture of the two. Heat grease in a frying pan and put the slices in. Salt and pepper them. Then turn them over to brown on the other side. When browned, remove and drain on brown paper or paper towels and serve.”
RECIPE OF Sinnie H.Watts from What’s Cooking in Kentucky by Irene Hayes.
Slice desired amount of green tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a small amount of sugar. Roll in corn meal. Fry in hot bacon drippings until golden brown. Remove tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Add flour and milk to grease to make tomato gravy.
RECIPE OF Barbara Highley, Orange Beach, Alabama.
1 egg, beaten 1/4 c. all purpose flour 1/2 t. sugar
1/2 c. milk 1 t. salt 4 medium tomatoes
1/2 c. cornmeal 1/2 t. pepper 3 to 4 T. hot vegetable oil
Combine egg & milk, set aside. Combine dry ingredients. Dip tomatoes in egg mixture then dredge in flour mixture.
Heat 3 T. oil in large skillet over medium heat. Arrange single layer of tomatoes in skillet and cook until golden brown on each side. Continue cooking, adding more oil for each batch. I drain mine on paper towels before serving.
Recipes collected by Jim Deaton, Lexington, Ky., Sept. 2000
Marilyn, Owner & Chef