Southern Fried Okra

There are a few things more Southern than Fried Okra, it's a staple down here and offered as a side dish in most country cookin' restaurants. They are battered and fried to a golden brown, served with gobs of ketchup. I didn't even know what whole okra looked like when I was younger, as far as I could tell they were shaped like marbles and then fried.

Here my friend is the lovely veggie called Okra. Some people like to eat them like this, but they have a bit of fuzz on them and can be slimy on the inside, I just don't think I could eat Okra like this. And I admit that I didn't try either. I couldn't wait to fry these babies!

I got these in my CSA, and the first thing I did was rinse them in the sink.

The breading on the Okra was a combination of stone ground corn meal (or this corn bread mix I found in the back of my pantry)

along with a heavy sprinkling of Tony Chachere's Ceole Seasoning.

I sliced off the tip of the Okra along with the top stem and then cut into one inch pieces.

Toss the Okra in an EGG WASH (not pictures) then into the dry cornmeal.

Heat a deep pot of oil to 350 degrees, use a thermometer to watch the temperature between batches. And then simply drop the battered okra into the oil.

Remove with a slotted spoon.

Place on a paper towel to drain. But don't wait too long, these little cutties taste best fresh from the fryer.

I served these with lots of ketchup and I "spiked" it with a teaspoon of tabasco to give a surprise kick.