FRIED GREEN TOMATOES
- Sliced green tomatoes
- Cornmeal
- Egg
- Milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cooking oil
Mix cornmeal, salt, and pepper together in a shallow dish and set aside. Mix egg with milk in a second shallow dish. Heat oil to medium high. Dredge tomato slices in liquid and then in the cornmeal mix and fry in hot oil until golden brown on each side. Drain and serve immediately.
TIP: Be sure oil is piping hot before putting the tomato slices in it.
—Celebrating Southern Appalachian Food written by Jim Casada and Tipper Pressley
Matt and I pulled the remaining green tomatoes from our vines a few days ago. Matt loves fried green tomatoes so he was excited about picking them.
When I was staying with Granny recently she asked me to fry her some. I made them like the recipe above, that’s the only way I’ve ever made them.
I should have asked Granny for directions. She said she liked to chop them up and then scramble them around in the pan as they fried. She ate the ones I made but her appetite isn’t good and I wish I had made them the way she wanted. Hopefully she’ll let me try again with the ones Matt and I picked.
In the fall of the year when Granny and Pap picked the last of their green tomatoes before a frost she wrapped each tomato in newspaper and put them in a box under the bed. They ripened slowly like that and allowed them to enjoy fresh tomatoes from the garden for a bit longer.
Last night’s video: The Last of the Summer Garden & It Gets Rowdy At Our House.
Tipper
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A big Praise to GOD our Father, My son saw the heart doctor today and his heart is healthy.
We used to do that with our tomatoes every year at my In-Laws. We had boxes under every bed. The tomatoes lasted all winter and spring. Our bedrooms were very cool. We kept the doors closed at night and the only heat was the wood stove in the dining room. We love fried green tomatoes. I’ve been doing them like Granny said for a couple of yrs now. You can cook more and faster. I’ve battered/dobbed many bowls full of green tomatoes and spread them out on cookie sheets to freeze. I ended up with several quart bags full for the freezer. You just cook them from frozen in hot oil like you do fresh. Sweet Granny is in my prayers continuously , may she be comforted. All of Wilson Hollow is in my prayers. I pray for everyone everywhere. I love Y’all.
Tipper,
I love your blog. I always look forward to learning something new or reminiscing about the old days. My family never cooked fried green tomatoes. A few years ago I tried them and was hooked. I always dredge them in seasoned flour. I plan to try your cornmeal recipe as I just harvested a mess of green tomatoes today.
My grandmother used to pick the green tomatoes and pickle them. Her green tomato pickles were sour and spicy hot from the red pepper pod she added. I remember her relish tray at Christmas always included green tomato pickles. Great memories!
Sending up prayers for Granny.
In the summer, when mama had all us kids home to feed lunch to, she would sometimes raid the garden, and make mashed potatoes and fried green tomatoes. I thought that was the most delicious lunch ever. She always just dipped them in flour seasoned with salt and pepper and then fried in hot oil. I have mixed cornmeal and flour when making them myself, but we never made a batter. Hubby loves them too. I hope granny is able to enjoy some of the ones you picked
I like fried green tomatoes ok, but even more my family has always liked fried ripe tomatoes.
We salt & pepper slices of ripe tomatoes or chunks, then dredge in mixture of seasoned breadcrumbs & cornmeal then fry in peanut oil.
Delicious served hot on buttered white bread!
I coat my green tomatoes with cornmeal just like I do my okry. No batter. Sometimes I fry them together.
I like to wash my smaller green tomatoes and place them on the sunny sill of my kitchen winder to ripen.
Fried green tomatoes is one of my favorites..I use the same recipe you do! I’m canning tomatoes today!
Continued prayers.
My mom always used flour instead of cornmeal! I use a combination when making fried green tomatoes. They are good any way you make them!
It a chilly morning in Georgia.
Enjoy this beautiful day!
I had never heard of wrapping tomatoes before! I always learn something new when I read your blog! Peace, comfort and prayers to Granny.
My granny used to cut them up small and mash them up really well in the skillet as they fried. She’d put cornmeal in as they cooked to get brown, then served them up in a bowl. That is how I’ve started making them. They aren’t pretty like the fried slices, but they taste so good!
I like fried green tomatoes. I mix them with squash or a few pods of okra. I don’t like fried turnips though. Many years ago my wife called me and asked what I wanted for supper. I told her to cook up some of the turnips and have green beans and mashed potatoes. I got home to find she had sliced, breaded and fried the turnips. I ate them and said, “Let’s don’t try that recipe again any time soon.”
That’s my ‘go to’ response for anything my taste buds baulk at.
I have never had FGT, I guess I should give them a try.
As always, praying for Granny.
I love fried green tomatoes. Growing up, Mama fried them when they were almost ripe. Years ago, we still had lots of green tomatoes that fall, so I picked them and wrapped them in newspaper and put them in a box. We had fresh tomatoes at Christmas.
My green tomatoes are still growing on a few plants I didn’t pull, but I’m afraid they have done their thing as the cold weather looks to be here for a while. I fry them just like you do, and Mom fried hers the way Granny does. I flash-froze some green tomatoes that will taste mighty good this winter.
Cynthia, I was going to suggest the same. I was introduced to this practice about 15 years ago and was amazed. Stored in the storm-pit/cellar ( a cool dark spot) a tomato wrapped in newspaper can give you a delicious-ripe homegrown tomato to eat on Christmas Day plus!
I’ll bet chopped green tomatoes a la Granny would go right good with fried okra–50-50–if you had both on hand at the same time.
I love fried green tomatoes any way you slice them! Still praying for Granny and all of you .
Fried Green tomatoes is actually the only way I don’t like tomatoes and I LOVE tomatoes. Thank you for the wonderful suggestion of how granny wrapped her precious unripe tomatoes and they would ripen-that lady is a wealth of wonderful knowledge! Granny is always in my prayers for health and well being. Your whole family just seems wonderful and you’re all blessed to have each other so close!!! I’d like to make chow chow and maybe some day I will if I can. Anyway, that’s what I’d do with some green tomatoes if I had some. Yall enjoy yourselves and those fried green tomatoes! It’s looking sparse and meager til next summer on fresh garden fare! Lord bless you all and keep you this day! Happy Birthday to your son, Randy!!! Children are the greatest blessing! Hello Chester if you read this.
My parents loved fried green tomatoes. My mother made them as described above. I was encouraged to try them, and I did but I didn’t care for them, to me they were too bitter. Over the years I tried fried green tomatoes because I thought my taste in foods changed but no, they didn’t appeal to me at all.
Sometimes the “secret’s in the sauce” as they say. I didn’t care for them either until I had them prepared sitting on top of a marina sauce with some cheese melted on top. Since then I’ve used different dips but now I like them plain. But I mix some flour in with the cornmeal and usually just fix if I have extra.
I forgot to mention, one year when I had some late green tomatoes, I wrapped them in newspaper and put them in a box in the closet. They did keep and I was eating homegrown tomatoes during the winter months. To me, they were no better than grocery store tomatoes, they did not have that vine ripe taste.
Somehow I never got attached to fried green tomatoes. Nothing against them and I like them OK but we never had them growing up, not sure why. I do think somebody ought to make a fried green tomato burger and I’m sure somebody in the South does have one. I have a few small tomatoes to pick which I just give away to those who do like them. I read recently that tomatoes that show any hint of turning will finish ripening indoors but solid green ones will not. I’m accepting that as true unless proved otherwise.
Good morning y’all! I love fried green tomatoes! I fix them the way you do, however a few years ago I saw where Brenda Gnatt (?) chopped them up to fry. So I tried that way & then went back to sliced. My Grandma Eva Mae used to always fix them & top w/a little sugar. I put up 7 quart bags to get me through the winter. I’ve seen where some people can them but I cannot seem to wrap my head around how that would work without making the tomato to soft. Y’all have a blessed day & extry Prayers for Granny!
I don’t know that they’re as popular here in the Midwest as they are in the South, but my mom loved them. Her father was raised in Knoxville TN. I didn’t know to ask her if it was a throw back to his childhood, and she’s been gone since 2001 and I can’t ask her now. I have very fond memories of her and I trying to find the “perfect” recipe a few years before she passed. We still have a few green ones in the garden; I may just make a batch in her honor!
One of my all time favorites! A good fried green mater is a wonderful at the end of the garden season. Makes me think of my late Momma and my late Granny.
Fall blessings from Ohio!
I need to pick all my green tomatoes on my last plant that was a late starter. It’s a Carolina Gold yellow tomato. My beef steak and big boy red tomatoes only produced enough for us to eat on each week during the summer, so I didn’t can any this year. I had found a single Carolina Gold yellow tomato plant at a side market while traveling back from our family reunion back in June. I planted it in the only place I had open, which was in the raised bed that I had my cabbage in. That bed doesn’t get as much sunlight as the others, but enough to keep things growing without getting scorched by all the direct sun. I think planting it in that bed delayed the tomato plant from producing so quick. However, once our red tomato plants stopped producing in September, mainly because of the extreme heat, we had delicious yellow tomatoes to enjoy. Even now in mid October we have been eating yellow tomatoes. I told my husband we are past our frost date and that yellow tomato plant is completely loaded with green tomatoes, but we need to harvest them because the frost is coming. I’ll make some fried green tomatoes, but I’m also hoping to make some green tomato salsa Verde. I made it several years back when I had an over abundance of green tomatoes from a recipe I found on line. It was delicious! I’m excited to make it again this year, but I’m still going to fry up some green tomatoes first. Thanks for sharing your recipe and sharing how Granny cuts them up to fry them. I’ll try that too.
My mama never made fried green tomatoes. I’ve had them a couple of times in restaurants and wondered what all the fuss was about. Maybe they’d be better cooked Granny’s way. Wishing her peace and comfort.
My daddy would wrap the last of the green tomatoes in newspaper and set them on the window sill. We’d get a few more decent tomatoes into November that way– still better than grocery store ones.
People either like FGT or not. Think about your mom and yall a lot.
Like most everyone, I love a good homegrown tomato. Sadly, they’re gone for the year, but fried green tomatoes are a welcome treat. A few days ago, a local grocery store had nice large green tomatoes for sale. I haven’t seen that very often around here. I may have to get a few from the store and fry them up since y’all kinda flung a craving on me.
I am one of the few that do not like fried green tomatoes, to me the tomatoes have a bitter taste. I have even tried eating some cooked by others but still didn’t like them. When we cooked them we used a recipe similar to his recipe. I dearly love fried okree or squash breaded in corneal.
It has turned pretty cold this morning after getting just enough drizzling rain yesterday to wet the top of the ground. I turned my heat on last night, it and some covers feel good this morning. I have been thinking 40 years ago this morning I was called at work and told to head to the Anderson, SC Hospital, my wife was on her way, our son, James, was born today. What a blessing he has been to my family.
I put green tomatoes in a brown paper sack last year and they ripened really quick! FGT is somewhat of a delicacy at some of our nicer restaurants!!! Who would have thought!
Randy, today is my mother’s birthday!! I usually made her an apple cake. So glad you enjoyed your family celebration yesterday!!! Also our younger son’s middle name is James.
I love fried green tomatoes. I’ve never had them but the way you made them, I believe I’d like them like Granny wanted, I’ll have to try.