Eggplant Help

[Roll_Bones]

I plan to make eggplant Parmesano in the next few days/weeks.
It is very difficult to find good firm eggplant in my area. I have promised a good friend that I will prepare it for her.
Last night I hit the jackpot and found some beautiful, firm and relatively small eggplants. Best I have seen in months.
So I bought a few, as I will never know when I will see this quality again. So, to my question.

I plan on salting and draining the slices first. Then dry the slices well and proceed with the traditional flour - egg wash - bread crumbs.
My plan is to freeze in single layers, then transfer to freezer bags. This method has worked very well for me with things like butterflied shrimp, pork or chicken cutlets.
I have read somewhere to fry the eggplants first before freezing. I believe this to not be a good idea. So what do you guys think?
Any ideas regarding my plan?
Oh....The last time I made this dish, the skin was rather hard, and a knife was needed at the table. I make stacks, not the casserole style. I have always left the skin on. But I am considering peeling them before slicing. I could fry a couple slices with and without skin to see how they will be.
Thanks in Advance.

 

[Jade Emperor]

I wouldn’t peel. I prefer that texture.
Also, I wouldn’t crumb before the freezer.
Exactly right to salt, dry thoroughly (I use a tea towel) and then freeze if necessary.
I would ensure that you have plenty of oil, nice and hot. Oven very hot too.
From frozen, quickly batter your slices, fry until just golden, and transfer to the oven tray with a little dusting of salt. Add your cheese and tomato mixture.
You will need to be careful not to have too much oil in your pan, because the chill on the eggplant will make the oil “excited”.
Eggplant Parmigiana is a very lovely dish and it will make your guests happy!

 

[caseydog]

I wish I could offer some helpful commentary, but the only thing I do with eggplant is walk past it in the grocery store.

I may be wrong about this, but I have a feeling that Ore-Ida par fries their frozen potato products.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

I agree with casey on this one. I would not freeze them completely raw.
Prepare and partial cook your eggplant slices. Freeze as soon as cool in a single layer. But as soon as they are frozen, get them into bags and take out as much air as possible. Don't use a vacuum sealer as that will squish them beyond recognition. Then when ready resume your recipe, cook the slices from frozen.
If your eggplants are very young and fresh, the skin should be tender and nice. They do help to hold the shape of the slices.
If unsure, you could peel one plant and not the other and alternate the slices when put together.

 

[Jade Emperor]

Yeah, the freezer is not working for me either, but I guess if it’s really required, then I would absolutely say no to crumbs before hand.

 

[dragnlaw]

Boy oh boy, poor you @Roll_Bones , more conflicting advice here.
Because I, on the other hand, feel you should do the crumbs before freezing. I think that when you finish cooking them they will firm back up in the oven or pan.
I might add here that when you do freeze them put paper between the layers, preferable parchment but wax will do seeing as they are not going to be in there for very long.

I have a feeling I have done frozen eggplant before - honestly don't remember. But if I did, they were probably cooked all the way and were frozen bnecause they were leftovers. Not a planned thing.
Got me curious now and as I love eggplant I'm going to have to try it. Plain fried breaded eggplant slices is one of my top favourites. Crispy on the outside, yummy gooey on the inside. Perfect.

 

[Jade Emperor]

@dragnlaw - it’s very important that we all have different views. We all cook differently. I’m sure that your beautiful food tastes different to mine.

 

[dcSaute]

I always peel the eggplant. that's just me....
given the very high water content, I suspect freezing them will create a mushy texture...?

 

[dragnlaw]

@Jade Emperor just as I am sure you are a far more consistently better cook than I. I just slap things together with a vague idea of following a reccipe and they never turn out the same.

 

[Meryl]

I've never frozen raw eggplant slices before, left-over Parmigiana yes. I would fry them first, after coating them with flour and beaten eggs.

 

[Roll_Bones]

Boy oh boy, poor you @Roll_Bones , more conflicting advice here.
Because I, on the other hand, feel you should do the crumbs before freezing. I think that when you finish cooking them they will firm back up in the oven or pan.
I might add here that when you do freeze them put paper between the layers, preferable parchment but wax will do seeing as they are not going to be in there for very long.

I have a feeling I have done frozen eggplant before - honestly don't remember. But if I did, they were probably cooked all the way and were frozen bnecause they were leftovers. Not a planned thing.
Got me curious now and as I love eggplant I'm going to have to try it. Plain fried breaded eggplant slices is one of my top favourites. Crispy on the outside, yummy gooey on the inside. Perfect.

The reason I asked is really due to the very good results when employing the traditional breading technique with shrimp and other cuts like thin boneless pork loin or chicken. I seem to always have a bag of frozen breaded shrimp ready to drop in the fryer.
I often bread and freeze, and they are always great. As good as the day I breaded them. But these are proteins, I guess you would call them.
Eggplant is a different animal.
I also love eggplant. And since there is no consensus, I will proceed with my original thought. Bread them, freeze them in single layers and into a freezer bag separated with paper.
Since this method works very well with the other things, I cannot see why it would not work in this regard.
Thanks.
Oh...I like the skin as well. But the last time it was too tough. I think I can test/cook/fry one first. But maybe I just remove partially the skin. Make it look like a zebra. Stripes.

 

[dragnlaw]

But maybe I just remove partially the skin. Make it look like a zebra. Stripes.

Excellent idea! Won't be a solid piece to cut through. Good on you thinking of that.

do you think you have a time frame for when you will be cooking?

 

[Jade Emperor]

Somewhat off topic maybe, but eggplant is not very good down here this year.

 

[caseydog]

Boy oh boy, poor you @Roll_Bones , more conflicting advice here.
Because I, on the other hand, feel you should do the crumbs before freezing. I think that when you finish cooking them they will firm back up in the oven or pan.
I might add here that when you do freeze them put paper between the layers, preferable parchment but wax will do seeing as they are not going to be in there for very long.

I have a feeling I have done frozen eggplant before - honestly don't remember. But if I did, they were probably cooked all the way and were frozen bnecause they were leftovers. Not a planned thing.
Got me curious now and as I love eggplant I'm going to have to try it. Plain fried breaded eggplant slices is one of my top favourites. Crispy on the outside, yummy gooey on the inside. Perfect.

You can buy frozen chicken fried steak in stores here (they taste terrible), and I would have expected the breading to crack and fall off, but there is probably some kind of chemical used to make it stick. I don't know if the same applies to eggplant.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

I didn't notice a lot of eggplant in the markets up here this year either. Some very early in the season which surprised me but certainly not a lot.

 

[caseydog]

The reason I asked is really due to the very good results when employing the traditional breading technique with shrimp and other cuts like thin boneless pork loin or chicken. I seem to always have a bag of frozen breaded shrimp ready to drop in the fryer.
I often bread and freeze, and they are always great. As good as the day I breaded them. But these are proteins, I guess you would call them.
Eggplant is a different animal.
I also love eggplant. And since there is no consensus, I will proceed with my original thought. Bread them, freeze them in single layers and into a freezer bag separated with paper.
Since this method works very well with the other things, I cannot see why it would not work in this regard.
Thanks.
Oh...I like the skin as well. But the last time it was too tough. I think I can test/cook/fry one first. But maybe I just remove partially the skin. Make it look like a zebra. Stripes.

Now that I think of it, I love fried okra, and the breaded okra I buy in the store always works better than what I make from scratch at home. The homemade stuff loses a lot of breading in the deep fryer, but the frozen stuff doesn't.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

You can buy frozen chicken fried steak in stores here (they taste terrible), and I would have expected the breading to crack and fall off, but there is probably some kind of chemical used to make it stick. I don't know if the same applies to eggplant.

CD

I bought some battered and frozen onion rings just recently. Have done a couple of little batches and the batter sticks a lot more than it does on some things.
When I bought frozen battered fish - it mostly would stick. I don't know what their secret is either.

 

[caseydog]

I've never frozen raw eggplant slices before, left-over Parmigiana yes. I would fry them first, after coating them with flour and beaten eggs.

I don't have any first hand experience with eggplant to go on, but I think you are probably right about that, based on my experience with taters and fried okra.

CD

 

[caseydog]

I don't know what their secret is either.

I have a feeling we are better off not knowing.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

homemade stuff loses a lot of breading in the deep fryer

If you refridgerate after dipping for about 10 (or more if you can), then when ready to fry redip and fry. See if that works.

10 minutes!