Fried Okra

It took a 'little' longer to make the fried okra

than I had originally hoped, but now I have

had time to get it done and I

got some good pictures to boot!

Here's the end product:

Mmm.  Mmmm.  Good!!!

For any of you who are not familiar with okra,

I thought you might like to see how I cook it.

So...read on!!!

I cook okra just the way my mother taught me!

You can start with the okra fresh or frozen.
I don't dethaw it when it is frozen.  I just
go straight from the freezer to coating it,
to frying it.  This procedure doesn't
give the okra time to turn slimy.

For this much okra, I use a scant 1/2cup of 

white flour and 1/2 to1tsp of pepper and salt

(adjust to taste, of course!).

Then I find a container with a tight lid

and shake the okra with the 

flour mixture.

After I get the oil heated in the skillet,

 I pop the coated okra into the skillet and

cover it with a screen to prevent 

the oil from splattering.

Lately, my eldest son has been helping me with 

the frying.  He does a better job than I do!

The secret to frying okra is to not turn it too often.

Don't turn it until it starts to smell really good and

you think it might be burning.  This is actually a

GOOD sign with okra.  When the okra is done,

you should have a mixture of green, brown, and black.

The burnt black okra is actually the tastiest to me.

It is crunchy and has a great flavor.

It needs to be offset with the less done

pieces however because it does have

a strong flavor and the other levels

of 'doneness' give the dish a balanced

taste that is OH SO YUMMY!

A cast iron skillet works best.  I find that

a teflon skillet will not fry okra to a crunchy state

and the okra can be slimy.  

I'm not really a fan of slimy okra.

The other main way I use okra is to throw it into a

stew with lots of other veggies to add variety and flavor.

What favorite okra recipes do you use?

I want to know since I now have a freezer full

with more okra coming from the garden 

all the time.  The Lord has blessed with

a BOUNTY!