Monday, July 22, 2013

Fried Green Tomato BLT & A Learning

We’d bought a few green tomatoes a couple of weeks ago and decided to turn them into a green tomato BLT using a recipe I found on line.  The recipe called for a buttermilk/egg dunk then into seasoned breading.  Earlier in the day I had fried up a bunch of Benton’s bacon for this meal and for our Independence Day cookout.

Bev made a sauce by adding some ricotta cheese (for thickness), garlic hot sauce, and chili sauce to ranch dressing.

I set up the breading station on the grill hood, fried the tomatoes in canola oil, and drained on paper towels.


While I cooked the maters, Bev got everything else ready for the sandwich composed of a large bun, the doctored ranch dressing, a little thin sliced red onion, lettuce, and then the green tomatoes.

I thought the sandwich was plenty good but not blow me away and after eating a fried tomato by itself, I was disappointed for two reasons.  First the tomato wasn’t tangy enough which is likely due to the time in the fridge and beginning to ripen just a little – the ones growing in my garden will resolve that.  The second was the seasoning on the tomato, as it just wasn’t enough and never is when I season the breading.  So I need to find a better way such as seasoning the egg wash or seasoning the tomato after the egg wash.
 
The positive for the breading – the combination of flour, cornmeal, and Panko was tasty and had a nice crispiness.

Do you have a seasoning/breading method that works well for you?

Photos best if enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

7/3/2013 meal date

16 comments:

  1. We loved fried green tomatoes for breakfast. Ours are a very plain version with no sauce. Here's what I do. I salt our tomatoes on both sides, dip the tomatoes in an egg wash, then I mix up a combination of all-purpose flour, yellow cornmeal, a shake or two of ground red pepper and a pinch of sugar and combine the mixture well. Coat the tomatoes that have been dipped in the egg wash on both sides in the seasoned flour/cornmeal mix, then onto wax paper to sit while we heat a little canola oil in a pan and shallow fry the tomatoes in the oil.

    They are not heavily breaded as some versions and we don't use a sauce because we serve them for breakfast. A sprinkle of salt before you serve them and you're good to go. Great with fried eggs and bacon. Yum, yum.
    Sam

    Also, I find that the greener they are, the crisper they are. I don't mind if they have a tiny bit of pink. It just makes them a little softer than the green ones. Also sometimes I skip the egg wash for a lighter and less "breaded" tomato. I hope I didn't make too many mistakes. It's still early in the morning...

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  2. I've only made fried green tomatoes once, last year. I thought they were delicious. I have no idea if I saved my process in my database and don't remember where I found the instructions.. I'm sorry to hear the sandwich was lack luster, as I thought it was a great idea. And I read Sam's comment above. Love the idea of having them for breakfast. Yesterday, our Farmer's Market had boxes and boxes of almost ripe tomatoes for sale. They could have brought us some green ones for the past couple of weeks.... You never see green tomatoes for sale here.

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  3. Fantastic idea! As much as I love BLT's I have never made them with fried green tomatoes! I don't see a lot of green tomatoes around here, so that could be more of the reason than anything else. Either way.. must find some and make these soon!
    My go too coating always has panko in it.. it just leaves it crispier than anything else. Plus, frying in a little bacon grease always helps kick up the flavor a bit!

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  4. Not being a cook I have never fixed green tomatoes in anything. Jim did find some wonderful red tomatoes at the farmers market and he had a BLT for lunch the other day. Just a little mayo for him.

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  5. Your sandwich looks delicious, Larry. I have never fried green tomatoes and have a little difficulty trying to imagine what they taste like. If something is coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried there is a very good chance I would love it.

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  6. What a great idea! I only have made fried red tomatoes. I really need to try fried green tomatoes and in a sandwich too!

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  7. I've never had a fried green tomato, but I did read the book and watch the movie! ;-)

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  8. Love fried green tomatoes and make and eat them all the time. Here is the link to my recipe on my blog, as well as the recipe for my Creole poboy spread. Hope you give them a try.

    http://cajundelights.blogspot.com/2011/06/fried-green-tomato-poboys-sweet-potato.html

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  9. To bad that the taste was disappointing because the idea sounds terrific. Whenever I bread and fry, I always season the wash, the flour and the crumbs. I use lots of garlic and onion powder, salt, pepper and sometimes add a little cayenne pepper.

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  10. I'm ashamed to say that I don't think I've ever made friend green tomatoes!

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  11. I just discovered fried green tomatoes. I realized what I had been missing. The Neeley's recipe via Food Network, were the bomb!

    Velva

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  12. Larry, Keep on trying...and when you're satisfied with your recipe, give us a call and we'll come over for a couple of those beautiful looking Fried Green Tomato BLT's with Benton's Bacon! Hungry now...! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  13. I've only had Fried Green Tomatoes once or twice in my life --and I do like them.. Bet the sandwich is good.... I even love plain ole' BLT's....

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  14. I made some fried green tomatoes that we loved. Here's a link to the recipe if doing more research: http://www.savingdessert.com/2012/07/garden-to-table-fried-green-tomatoes.html
    Unfortunately salt plays a key role in boosting the flavor. Must have salt!

    However I love the idea of the BLT with FGTs - absolutely brilliant!

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  15. I'm just not that into fried green tomatoes, but it is an interesting twist on a great classic sandwich!

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  16. I haven't cooked green tomatoes but with chicken and pork, I usually season the meat lightly, the flour heavier, and the eggwash. Then just as it finishes, I season lightly again with seasoned salt or Drapers AP rub.

    Trevor was eating catfish at Texas Roadhouse yesterday and complained that they didn't season the catfish at all, only the breading.

    Almost every show or recipe I see only talks of seasoning the flour but I agree with you, that doesn't do good enough.

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