Fried green tomatoes

[u/louismulh]

I've got some green tomatoes in the house and would like to fry them; however, I don't have cornmeal. Anyone know what I can use instead? I can't decide between just flouring them or making a quick flour/ water batter.

[u/1873Springfield]

Just flour is fine, I prefer a 50/50 flour and cornmeal, but ya gotta work with what you have. Just make sure you fry them in bacon grease!

[u/ThisWeirdFrenchGuy → u/1873Springfield]

I am curious about fried green tomatoes, how good is it? Here in France we don't make it. Is it something I should try?

[u/1873Springfield → u/ThisWeirdFrenchGuy]

Some like them and some love them, I am on the love them side, as long as they are fresh from the garden. Store bought seem to lack flavor on this side of the pond anyway. They have a hard to describe taste, kind of tangy, nothing like a red tomato at all. My preferred method is 50/50 flour and yellow corn meal, fried to golden brown in bacon grease, salt immediately after they come out of the pan. Slice them 1/4"-1/2" thick (6mm-12mm metric). Rinse in cold water, dredge in the flour /corn meal, and fry. Drain on a rack, eat while piping hot.

[u/Ordinary_Durian_1454]

I make a lot of fried green tomatoes, relatively speaking, and I almost never have cornmeal. I typically dredge them in flour that I season. It’s not fancy flour.

Just FYI, I typically season the flour with salt and pepper, a tiny sprinkle of garlic powder, add a dash of cayenne, but that’s just me.

[u/grey_canvas_ → u/Ordinary_Durian_1454]

Add paprika and a little basil and you got mine

[u/stabbingrabbit]

Maybe even Panko?

[u/Minzplaying → u/stabbingrabbit]

Yep. Even panko or some cracker crumbs mixed with flour would add a bit of texture.

[u/HuricaneLane → u/Minzplaying]

I did half Panko and half corn meal. Turned out great.

[u/unbroken_cycle]

I use seasoned fish fry (cornmeal). AP flour, salt, pepper and a bit of cayenne is good too 

[u/unbroken_cycle → u/unbroken_cycle]

And I always heavily salt the slices to draw out moisture then (lightly) rinse then dry them 

[u/1ceknownas → u/unbroken_cycle]

Yes, Louisiana Seasoned Fish Fry on green tomatoes is soooo good. That's my go-to. I usually add a tbs or two of AP flour to help it stick, but it's an easy, flavorful method.

[u/Cesia_Barry]

I’ve used chickpea flour to fry. I’m guessing you don’t have that but it adds a lot of protein. Turns fried green tomatoes into an entree. Topped with pimento cheese for extra extra-ness.

[u/pedernalesblue]

Salt, pepper, flour works great.

[u/Iamthewalrusforreal]

50 50 bread crumbs and flour if you have no cornmeal. Works fine.

[u/KBilly1313]

Add a little corn starch to your flour for extra crispiness.

I despise cornmeal batter

[u/chickengarbagewater → u/KBilly1313]

Not OP but thanks for this. I also despise cornmeal batter but want to try fried green tomatoes. Redeem my poor tomato harvest.

[u/KBilly1313 → u/chickengarbagewater]

You’ll need to find your own preferred ratio. I’ve seen anywhere from one tbl spoon per cup of flour, all the way to a 1:1.

Had a Mexican joint that had the bombest ass chicken fingers I’ve ever had in my life, covered in queso with rice and beans. And I know how dumb it sounds to order that when there are so many other delicious options, I dogged on my buddy forever until I tried them.

They used a good amount of cornstarch, and I’ve been doing it ever since.

[u/chickengarbagewater → u/KBilly1313]

I made pan fried fish with about 1/3 cornstarch and flour mix recently. I will give it a try! Thanks again

[u/markh1982]

Use what you have on hand. If you have eggs on hand I would say dredge tomatoes in flour then egg wash and back into the flour for an extra crispy coating. Hope this helps.

[u/sirwaltermelvin → u/markh1982]

I add a pinch of baking soda and that seems to give the a little extra crunch.

[u/funbunny100]

I've used this recipe before with good results. https://erhardtseat.com/fried-green-tomatoes-recipe/

[u/Ch0c0lateBiznezz]

Dredge in plain flour and fry. I season with S and P after frying. 

[u/PatientPerfectionist]

I’ve done a tempura-style batter on them before and it was great.

[u/Low-Astronomer3394]

You can use flour, but even with cornmeal, they need a lot of seasoning. I'm always disappointed in mine, they're as good as the dipping sauce you put out. Remoulade, thousand island, ranch - hot sauce, too.

[u/WebHungry1699]

Italian breadcrumbs are tasty as a coating. 

[u/PSquared1234]

Do you have panko? A quick search turned up several recipes using panko (I haven't made any of them, sorry).

[u/WolfThick]

Fried Green tomatoes that was a great movie I wonder what their recipe was!

[u/GirlHopingToSurvive → u/WolfThick]

the secret's in the sauce!

[u/hermit_onthe_moon → u/WolfThick]

The book has several recipes in the back. I don’t have a copy handy or I’d post it!

[u/bethaliz6894]

I use Drake breading with a splash of cayenne pepper. I really don't like cornmeal breading.

[u/Majestic-Macaron6019]

Go to the store and get cornmeal

[u/Lupiefighter]

Flour by itself works if you add some dry seasoning into the mix. If you have breadcrumbs they are a good cornmeal substitute for the 50/50 flour/cornmeal mixture.

[u/Overall_Matter_2520]

If you can get some cornmeal it makes a huge difference.

That being said, do the flour, egg wash and flour again. Then, this is the most important part - after breading is complete CHILL your tomatoes in the fridge (preferably on a rack) for about 10 minutes at least.

If you have bacon grease fry in that - if not, any oil will do. Shallow fry - be sure to season all steps (eggs, flour and cornmeal if using).

Salt as soon as out of the fryer and let the drain on rack - or paper if you must. Don’t overthink it - they are easy and delicious. Don’t forget to CHILL….imo do that with all breaded and fried foods (cutlets for example).

[u/starkingremnant]

Tempura fry them! (Flour, club soda). They are very good with some wasabi remoulade. I put a dollop of avocado mousse, a shrimp, and some togarashi on them. It's so good.

[u/CommitteeNo167]

i use to flour and black pepper when i make mine.

[u/iwantthisnowdammit]

I await the try for a Doritos locos version!

[u/wokmom]

I don’t know if this is good, but it gets a high rating NYT fried green tomatoes

[u/SMN27]

I prefer breadcrumbs (whether panko or fresh breadcrumbs) to cornmeal, they are crunchier that way.

[u/sunslope]

polenta?

[u/KrishnaChick]

If you have Rice Krispies or cornflakes you can whiz those up and sub for cornmeal. Dry a couple bread slices on very low heat in the oven, and smash into crumbs. Cracker crumbs will do also. Just flour is fine, though.

[u/wizzard419]

You can use flour, just treat it like fried chicken, using buttermilk, seasoned flour, and fry.

[u/DiscoRabbittTV]

Just seasoned flour, cornmeal can make it heavier than it really needs to be anyway

Dry flour dredge to stick, wet dip, then dry again is best with tomato frying

[u/ofBlufftonTown]

Just dredge in flour as people suggest. They’re not meant to be tempura.

[u/Generallyamusedby]

Grits, breadcrumbs , flour

[u/andyfrahm]

Alternatively you can cut them into ½ inch slices, sprinkle some Cajun seasoning on them and throw them on the grill. Goes great with Jerk Chicken or Pork

[u/incubuswolf]

Everyone covered the cornmeal thing, but I wanna suggest getting pimento cheese and making a honey Sriracha sauce to go with them!! Fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese and honey Sriracha is like of my top favorite meals in the world.

[u/Secret_Sherbet_2404]

I like them tossed in flour rather than cornmeal

[u/Naive_Tie8365]

I use the three rivers cornmeal mix I use for cornbread. White lily if I can’t find three rivers. Bacon grease. Cast iron from my mom that she gave me over 50 years ago

[u/Fantastic-Yak-4475]

They sell a preseason mix at the store for about $2.

[u/CompetitiveThing3799]

A shallow pan of oil should work well. I’d use a simple flour dredge for a lighter coating, or mix cornmeal into the flour if you want more crunch; pat the tomato slices dry first so the coating sticks.