Fried Green Tomato's

[jvs]

Soon it will be time for one of my all time favorite dishes...

Fried Green Tomato's.

Besides making Green Tomato Relish, slicing the green tomato's and dipping them in raw egg, flour, egg again and then in Italian Bread Crumbs, fryng them is a good way of getting rid of the green ones after the frost.

[superdown]

not to hijack your thread but i have a couple of questions i have some tomato plants that sprung up in my yard. now that i am  an amateur gardener their are some groups? of tomato's that are getting big do i wait for them to get completely red or do i let them ripen on the window sill or pick as each one ripens . thanks ,justin

[jvs]

Letting them ripen on the vine, and picking them as they get ripe is one reason people like to grow tomato's at home.  Deep red tomato's that just came off the vine are the best there is.   

Pick them prior to ripening only when it is absolutely necessary.  Like at the end of the season when frost is near.  Picking them earlier actually saves little time.  It will take just as long to ripen whether they are on or off the vine, but I believe they get tastier if left on the vine. 

At the end of the growing season, when a danger of frost is near, is about the only time I pick green ones.  Leaving them on the window sill is one option.  Keeping them in a brown paper bag until ripe is another.  And making green tomato relish is another.

If you get overrun with red tomato's,  You can make homemade salsa, sauce, or ketchup, or crush them and throw them in soup.   I have even frozen ripe tomato's whole and used them in soups during the winter. 

[Ranger J]

My mother loves fried green tomatoes but I never could develop a taste for them.  Another recipe I had but lost over the years and wished I had again was making jam out of diced green tomatoes, raspberry  jello and??  I can remember it was pretty good but can't remember what all went into it.  Green tomatoes make excellent relish.

RJ

[Graybeard]

Love them fried green maters but have to admit I like them even better when they are just beginning to take on a blush of color from starting to ripen. Man them things are so good that if you put them on top of your head your tongue would slap your brains out trying to get to them. 

[superdown]

Thanks for all the good ideas ummm my mom made some fried green tomatoes a few weeks ago anyone have a favorite recipe they are willing to share? They were okay but they weren't what i expected. I would also like to know if you guys know how to keep basil through the winter???


Thanks
Justin

[Ranger J]

The best way I know is to dry it or make it into pesto and freeze it.  I had some pesto on spaghetti last knight and it was great.  If you are talking about overwintering live plants it is almost imposable to do in the parts of the country where it frosts as they are a really tender plant.  We have the third picking of basil calling to us from the garden right now.  It is one of the few things that has done well this season and one of the few things that the squirrels haven't eaten.
RJ

[jvs]

Thanks for all the good ideas ummm my mom made some fried green tomatoes a few weeks ago anyone have a favorite recipe they are willing to share? They were okay but they weren't what i expected.
Thanks
Justin

Slice the tomato in 1/4 to 3/8" slices.

Beat a couple of eggs in a small bowl.

Have two more bowls, one with flour and one with Bread Crumbs

Dip the tomato slices in egg

Then coat with flour

Dip in egg again and coat with bread crumbs (I like Italian Bread Crumbs)

Have a pan big enough for a most of the slices and put enough cooking oil to cover the bottom

You need enough heat to completely cook the green tomato, without burning the coating

Remove the tomato's when they are soft and the coating is golden brown.  Let cool a few minutes.

Add more oil when needed

[superdown]

That sounds like a good recipe. Do you eat them with just salt & pepper or some other toppings or sauces? justin

[jvs]

A little pepper is ok on the ones with Italian Bread Crumbs, but if you do use Italian Crumbs, it already has a variety of spices and dried cheeses mixed in. 

Plain Bread Crumbs can take a little salt and pepper or what ever else you like.  No sauces, but if that's what you like, you can try it.  I never had em with sauce on.

If anyone wants the recipe for Green Tomato Relish, I'll dig it out over the weekend and post it.

These recipes are what your grandparents used in an effort to use everything without wasting anything.  And there were times they were glad to have it.

[gypsyman]

My son just got a fishing video from the library yesterday. The narrator was showing how to pan fry fish with a 50/50 mix of flour and Bisquick. Since the garden is winding down, just put my last 9qts. of salsa up last week, think I'll try that mixture in the next day or so. Still have a few 'mater's out there. Can't wait for all of them to ripen up on the window sill!! gypsyman