Fried Green Tomatoes

Posted byNoriePosted inRecipe, Side dishes, VegetablesTags:,

These green tomatoes are unripe tomatoes and not the green variety. I think sometimes you can find them at the stores but only seldom and seasonal but make sure what you are buying are unripe.

I started my garden very early in spring this year.  The tomato plants made fruits early and were already becoming large and prolific but I just can’t be patient for them to turn pink.  I look at them more than once a day and stare at them and maybe I can see a tinge of pink but there aren’t. 

I just could not wait anymore so I decided, with my eyes closed, I cut off the very bottom cluster of the still very green tomatoes.  I was going to cook fried catfish that evening so I thought to fry some of those tomatoes to go with the catfish.  I never had fried green tomatoes before so I didn’t know what to expect and felt that if we didn’t like it I just wasted some precious tomatoes. 

It turned out so good that I may not wait for the other tomatoes to ripen and just fry them.  I didn’t fry all the tomatoes so I pickled the rest the next day.  Again, I never made them or had them before but it was another pleasant surprise.  See Pickled Green Tomatoes.

You will need three bowls or containers.  One for the egg wash, another for flour and the other for the cornmeal and flour or breadcrumbs. 

These measurements are for 2 large tomatoes.  You can double them if you have more.

  • Wash the green tomatoes and cut them in discs about 1/4” thick.  Beat an egg in a bowl with about 4 tablespoons milk or buttermilk.  (I did not have buttermilk but I have Ranch Seasoning so I added 1 tsp. in the milk. It contains buttermilk.) But it’s optional.
  • In another bowl put about ½ cup of flour for dredging.
  • In the third bowl, put ¼ cup flour and ¼ cup cornmeal, ½ tsp. salt and pepper.  You may replace the above with ½ cup breadcrumbs. 

Dredge each tomato disc in the flour shaking off excess then dip it in the egg wash.  Dredge it in the cornmeal mix or breadcrumbs and deep fry in med-hot oil until brown on both sides.  Drain them on a wire rack over a tray. 

They were absolutely awesome.  I should have fried more but I wasn’t sure what to expect.  My husband ate almost all by himself and said it was nostalgic and remembered his childhood since he is a “country boy” and grew up in the country.

I may not have red-ripe tomatoes to harvest anymore, but it’s ok.