My mother makes the world's best fried okra. Crunchy, salty, peppery goodness. Better than Piccadilly. Better than Cracker Barrel. etc. Theirs' are gummy globs compared to hers. So I share it with you today given that okra is so abundant this time of year locally.
But before I do that, let's first go over some common sense so that my conscious is clear. I fry okra outside on the gas grill side burner. (I do this so my house doesn't smell like fried food.) So frying with oil + gas flames = that you must pay 100% attention. If children are on the loose, just don't fry nor leave hot oil in any sort of reach or knock over capacity when finished frying. And don't fry unless you can be 100% focused on that dish...having 10 other things going simultaneously is asking for either a ruined dish or much worse. Okay, so now that I can sleep tonight, let's proceed.
Fried Okra (makes 3 - 4 servings)
1 quart of okra (at Farmer's Markets they sell it in the quart size...four-ish cups)
1/2 c (or so) of white corn meal
generous salt & pepper
Wesson Vegetable Oil
Cast Iron Skillet
Wash okra and then cut off the "caps." Slice about 1/4 " thick and place in bowl. Salt generously while tossing. Then add cornmeal and pepper and toss to coat. Discard any loose corn meal that doesn't stick to the okra.
Put side burner on high heat and place dry cast iron skillet on there to heat it up till smoking. Then carefully add about 1/2 an inch of oil. The oil should start to bubble quite quickly because the pan is so hot. But to ensure it's ready for frying, toss one of the little slices of okra in the hot oil. If it sizzles vigorously, it's ready for the rest. If not, wait till it does.
Put okra in the hot oil to cover the bottom of the pan (I had to do the above qty. in two batches.)
When it starts to look like this, give it a few flips.
When it starts to look like this, it's ready to remove with a slotted spoon.
Put on paper towels and then put in a new clean bowl when ready to serve. Salt generously again to taste.
Crunchy, salty, peppery goodness indeed!
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