callmaker60
Senior Cook
Is there a best time to pick green tomatoes to make fried green tomatoes?
Couple of times I've made FGT's they were too sour to eat. I wonder what I did wrong?
My MIL is asking for "fried green tomatoes" and today she will get them.
I don't like corn meal very much, but I do have Progresso Italian style bread crumbs and i do have some peccorrino Romano.
I will fry thought Katie.
Do you salt and pepper them before breading? Any other ingredients needed or suggested?
Katie your recipe sounds like I would like it. So thats what i will use.
Thanks.
Oh. When i bread things, I usually put them in the freezer in single layers with wax paper in between.
Is this okay? Or is the fridge better?
The semi frozen breaded items seem to stay together better and keep well as i make the whole batch. I will save them this way to if we cannot eat all of it.
What about sprinkling a little sugar on then with the salt & pepper before coating them? Just a suggestion as I've never eaten fried green tomatoes. Now I know what they are I must try them. Always wondered what they were after seeing the film.Couple of times I've made FGT's they were too sour to eat. I wonder what I did wrong?
Okay, here's what I do and I have never had a failure and the plate is always empty.
I dip them in beaten egg, then in the Italian bread crumbs. Place the breaded slices onto waxed paper-lined cookie sheet with a layer of waxed paper between layers of tomatoes if I'm cooking a large quantity. I just put them in the refrigerator.
Fry them in about 1/4-inch of shimmering hot oil until each side is about bronze. Before I lift them out of the oil I salt them, then turn the salted side down onto a wire rack and salt the unsalted other side. Serve, sprinkled with shredded cheese, if desired, and enjoy.
I like them leftover cold and sometimes use them as the tomato part of a BLT.
Generally, I eschew commercially prepared seasoning mixes for fried foods. However, I have found that a good seafood breader mix works very well on most fried veggies, such as squash and green tomatoes. I 'spect that most seafood breader mixes are very similar. We prefer House - Autry brand, but that is because it is made in NC. Your mileage may vary.
I made mine well before I saw your post. So, thank you very much.
I sliced, then lightly salted the tomatoes. I put them on paper towels to drain for about an hour in the fridge.
I then dabbed them again with paper towels to get as much water away as possible. Then very light S&P.
I used the traditional breading technique. Flour, then egg wash, then bread crumbs.
I mixed bread crumbs with Romano. About 1/3rd Romano.
Fried as you described and got rave reviews from MIL, wife and GD.
Will make again.
Your method is interesting but, to me, you could easily eliminate some of the steps. As far as it has been my experience there is no real need to salt them prior to breading. You will also save some time by not having to refrigerate them and pat them dry. Freshly sliced green tomatoes are generally dry enough without removing any moisture.
I've used flour in my breading but prefer to have a lighter coat of crunch and only dip the slices once in egg wash and once in bread crumbs. I refrigerate the breaded slices for at least 20 minutes before frying. This step allows the gluten in the bread crumbs to "hold hands," which is largely why the breading doesn't break off or fall off the tomatoes during the frying process.
I have included cheese in the breading but not everyone here likes the cheese "in" the slices, rather they prefer to sprinkle a bit on top while they are still hot.
One thing that is the biggest help to me when I bread and fry anything is my handy little pigtail turner, which eliminates the yucky "breading fingers" and allows me to evenly and thoroughly coat the food items. Love it to turn the tomato slices as they cook, too.
As far as salting the fried tomatoes, I follow Alton Brown's guidance and salt them as soon as they are done and still hot. This way the salt melts into the food and seasons it nicely.
Just my feedback and experience.
Great advice as usual.
I had never made them before and just went with what I know.
They were time consuming and added more work to my dinner than I needed. I also made mashed potato's, butter beans and biscuits to go along with my deep fried chicken livers.
So, it was a Sunday dinner on weds night.
I like the pig tail flipper idea. I use a fork and like to push down on the food item to make sure its coated real good.
While messy, its far from "yucky"!
I have no issue using my hands to mix anything. So a little breading sticking to my fingers is common.
But I do like the idea for flipping. I hate to disturb breaded items and ruin their appearance.
The reason I put cheese in the breading mixture was two fold. To help make a sturdier breaded product and for taste.
I did not get any complaints on mine. But for sure will take your advice and not put so much work into them next time.
Thanks again!
Reading all the posts I see that I am nt doing anything different than what has been describe, flour or no flour affects the breading not the taste. And my problem was always the taste. I've tried few different types of tomatoes, and have done it at the different time during growing season, still they are either very tart or even bitter.