Fried Okra





Ingredients

• 2 lbs fresh okra - cut into rounds
• 1 egg
• ½ cup buttermilk
• ½ cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ⅕ tsp pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

• Wash okra thoroughly and cut into rounds at your desired thickness
• In a large bowl, combine egg and buttermilk and scramble
• In a second large bowl, combine dry ingredients
• Pour an appropriate amount of oil into deep fryer and preheat to 350 F
• Soak okra in buttermilk mixture and toss into flour mixture
• Using a fork or slotted spoon, remove okra from egg mixture and dunk into flour mixture, being sure to separate any clumps that my form. Make sure the okra is thoroughly covered to make for even frying.
• Place okra into deep fryer in small batches, making sure any pieces that have clumped together are separated
• Fry until golden brown
• Remove and place on paper towels or on a wire rack
• Add additional salt if desired
• Serve immediately

Cheesy Okra Fritters








Ingredients

• 1 cup Canola Oil
• ½ cups Flour
• 2 cups Okra, Coarsely Chopped
• ½ Small Onion, Diced
• ¼ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
• 1 Egg
• ¼ cups Buttermilk
• 1 cup Shredded Cheese
• Salt And Pepper

Preparation

• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, okra, onion and cayenne and toss to coat.
• In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg and buttermilk until thoroughly combined. Add the buttermilk mixture to the okra, stirring to combine. Add the cheese and stir again until fully incorporated. Salt and pepper conservatively.
• Working in batches, drop batter in small mounds into the oil (a small ice cream scoop works well). Using a spatula, gently press each mound until slightly flattened. Fry the fritters until golden, about 4 minutes per side, flipping once. (If they’re browning too quickly, adjust the heat.)
• Drain the fritters on paper towels or newspaper, sprinkle with kosher salt and serve warm.

Blooming onion dipping sauce
INGREDIENTS:

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 2 teaspoons ketchup
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
• ⅛ teaspoon dried oregano
• Dash ground black pepper
• Dash cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS:

• In a small bowl, stir together all of the ingredients until completely combined.
• Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Leftover dipping sauce can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week.

This is so interesting because I just made some breaded and frozen okra last night for dinner and it was really good and looked just like your picture. We only started eating okra 3 years ago so I am still learning.

Last year I had lots of okra so I decided to bread and freeze some. Honestly, I could not tell the difference from freshly picked and fried okra. I will do this again next year and I also copied your fritter recipe to try next year. It looks good.

Another thing that I made for the freezer using okra was stewed tomatoes with okra. It really tastes good during the winter when fresh veggies are in short supply. I just stew some tomatoes with onions and celery and let the okra do the thickening. I freeze it in canning jars.

I've got a bunch of cut up okra in the freezer and this fritter recipe looks really good. Thanks!

Yes, that okra fritter sounds and looks very good! I may try it and use a touch of Old Bay seasoning instead of the cayenne

If you guys make these, please post some feedback.

Here was a suggestion on the cheese from Gerardo over at Tomatoville.

Get your hands on Quesos Oaxaca (think Mozzarella, but with more mojo), Manchego (the MX style, Spain version different), and Chihuahua (this will be your cheddar), and then you'll have a true Mexican three cheese combo. I guarantee your fritters will zing.

It'll have to wait until summer is full on us here so I can use fresh okra, home grown. It does sound good, though, enough to tempt me to get some store okra, frozen, but home grown is so good. And those suggestions about cheeses sound tasty, too.