Crouton’s Fried Okra
I bought some catfish at the market yesterday and saw they had fresh okra in the produce section. Hmmm, I thought, fried okra to go with the fried catfish? Sounds southern!
Crouton's Fried Okra
Ingredients
- Fresh okra
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- cayenne pepper to taste
- salt to taste
- 2 eggs beaten with a little milk or buttermilk
- vegetable oil for cooking
Directions
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the milk. In another large bowl blend the flour, cornmeal, cayenne, and salt. Cut the okra in half-inch sections, place in the egg/milk mixture, then dredge in the cornmeal mixture. Fill a large frying pan with about a quarter-inch of oil, then heat it up to medium or high medium. Fry the okra in a single layer, turning after about three minutes, for six minutes total. Use a slotted spoon to remove and drain the okra, then place it in a serving dish. I used a paper towel (as shown) to soak up the rest of the oil.
Notes
Fried okra is the perfect side to go with fried catfish. If cooking two fried items at once gives you the guilts, serve them with a third, non-fried side (dirty rice is great with okra and catfish).
I know a lot of folks are leery of okra and the dreaded slime factor. Deep frying is a great way to cut the sliminess of okra. Personally I wouldn’t eat okra any other way … unless it’s the little pickled ones that come in jars, which I could eat all day!
