Our okra crop has been terrific again this summer. I can barely keep it harvested before more pods are ready to be cut.
We eat a lot of fried okra in the summer months and I freeze a lot to cook in the winter months.
How I freeze okra
Wash pods and let dry overnight.
Slice pods to preferred thickness for frying.
Mix sliced pods with preferred breading. I use cornmeal, a small amount of flour, salt and pepper.
Spread breaded okra out on a sheet pan and pop in the freezer until frozen through.
Place frozen okra in freezer bags.
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Freezing the pieces individually makes it super easy to pour out just the amount you need for a pan of fried okra. I pour the okra straight out of the bag into the hot frying pan.
Tipper
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Tipper,
I prefer to freeze my okra straight from the garden…When ready to fry I rinse under medium warm water, dry and slice…I was taught this way by a lady that made her own butter, gardened and was a catfish goo roo…She had forgot more about putting up produce than I can remember…LOL I miss her and all she taught me about gardening, canning, freezing, growing violets and gloxinias…
Thanks Tipper,
I didnt use to like orka but i love it now. Dont like picking it.
I usually just take it straight from the garden and put into freezer bags. When I’m ready to use it, take it out of the freezer, wash it in warm water to let it thaw just enough that it can be sliced. It’s easier to slice when still a little frozen. Very easy and tastes just as fresh as when it was cut. Also love to cook it whole on the grill. Coat with oil and salt and put whole pods on grill. I typically plant Burgundy okra. Even the large pods are very tender.
I like okra – fried boiled pickled and raw. Due to health issues I couldn’t have a garden this year. Thins are looking better for some gardening next year
Tipper,
I like okra, I just seldom ever fix it. When I do, I buy that froze stuff at Ingles, the only grocery store in our town. It’s in a 1 or 2 lb. bag and I stick it in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator. It”s already breaded, so I don’t have to do much, just lightly salt and pepper to taste.
I have a vizio TV that I bought at Wal-Marts last Saturday, with the help of a Cop and his boy. It’s a 43″ and it shore is bigger and lighter than that ole bulky thing I had. Last night I let the Cat in and that blooming thing (I blame her, cause she prowls at night), she musta stepped on the remote, and this morning when I wanted to see Fox and Friends, it was Haywire. I worked on this thing for about an hour, then quit. Later, I turned the TV back on and it was fixed. A rat ain’t got a chance! …Ken
I know what you mean (about that darn cat) I think she got a big snicker out of it!
I’m curious as to how you get the breading to stay on…i’ve tried doing it just like you said several years and when i go to get out of the bags the breading just falls off…any hints?
Becky-Thanks for the comment! Hmmm I’m not sure, I don’t do anything special just toss the cut okra around in the breading. I use a fine cornmeal, maybe that’s the difference?
I cut up my okra and put it in a freezer bag with a generous amount of cornmeal, salt and pepper. I shake it in the bag until it is well coated then squeeze all the air I can out of the bag and lay it out flat in the freezer. When I take it out I shake off whatever cornmeal will fall off then put it in hot grease. It has just enough cornmeal to make a breading and still save all the okra taste.
My okra did poorly this year, I think because there was so much rain the pods were rotting even as they started to form. Also I think didn’t thin them as much as I should have – live and learn!
Tipper,
For my part, I have found that using salted cornmeal ruins the taste and makes the Okra tough…so I use plain unsalted cornmeal and salt/pepper when cooking…However, it could be I stored mine too long in the freezer…We love fried Okra..to add to it I sometimes chop a potato, onion and maybe a lonely zucchini roll in meal and fry together…Uses up that extra zucchini, etc…I have added a small chopped Gypsy or Marconi pepper as well….
Thanks for this post,
I’m getting hungry…
I have grown Okra year-round here in Hawaii. I have had plants continually produce for a year. Hibiscus is the state flower of Hawaii. The Okra plant is a close cousin to the Hibiscus.
Don’t remember if I have mentioned–our okra was planted late and some was beginning to produce in the last few weeks. Some creature is stripping the plants & leaving nothing but the stalk!! No okra for us!! Fresh okra here is way too expensive for me and it usually is not actually fresh!
That seems easy enough, Tipper. I didn’t know you could freeze okra for frying. I bet going from the freezer straight into the hot oil helps too. I like fried okra but just don’t seem to cook it any more for some reason. I guess the frying of it for one person just doesn’t seem worth the effort.
Okra is good any way its cooked, and possibly one of my very favorite vegetables. I only cook it for myself, because nobody else likes it. It is not popular at all in the area, and I had wondered why. Possibly many never developed a taste, because it does not grow well in WV with the cool nights. Apparently, somebody enjoys it because it can be bought frozen, and the local K & W has fried okra regularly. Maybe it is one of those vegetables that grows on you. Great that you had a bumper crop, Tipper, and this makes me wonder if one could freeze green tomatoes in much the same way.
I learned to love okra after living in New Orleans for awhile, and still cook a popular dish called Chicken Gumbo. I lived there just long enough for it to feel like home, and left a little piece of my heart there along with a life long friend.