You know, I’m convinced that us Southerners are some pretty ingenious folks. Give us some corn meal and some hot grease and we can turn anything into a delicious bite. Take green tomatoes for example.
Now I’m not sure how we first started frying green tomatoes, but the truth is that they’re pretty unpleasant before you fry them up. But oh, once you do… perfection.
Top them with a creamy sauce like a comeback sauce or this here remoulade, and you’ve got a match made in heaven.
You’re likely to find these in restaurants across the South as appetizers in the fancier places and as sides at your favorite greasy spoon or meat-and-three joint.
Regardless of where they’re listed on the menu, chances are I’m ordering them. I just find all the fun and interesting variations irresistible.
And they’re pretty easy to make at home, too. The ingredient list might seem a little long at first, but they’re not difficult at all. Here are a few of my tips…
When choosing green tomatoes, pick ones that are firm, but not rock hard. You want them to give a little when squeezed gently. Even if they’re starting to turn a little yellow, they’ll be just fine. Sometimes I even prefer them to have a little yellowness to them for a bit of a milder flavor.
The other thing I like to do is salt my green tomatoes slices before I fry them. This works to pull out a little extra moisture resulting in a crispier coating and one that doesn’t get as soggy as quickly once they’re out of the hot oil.
It’s also super important to have your oil at the right temperature. If it’s not hot enough, it’ll result in oily/greasy tomatoes. Oil that’s too hot will obviously burn and could taste bitter. Either way, a fry thermometer or even an infrared thermometer is your best friend here.
Recipe Card
Fried Green Tomatoes with Remoulade
Ingredients
For the remoulade:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons Creole or spicy brown mustard
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
- 1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning
For the fried green tomatoes:
- 3 large green tomatoes
- salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
For the remoulade:
- In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, ketchup, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, horseradish, and Creole seasoning. Stir well to combine. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.
For the fried green tomatoes:
- Thinly slice the tomatoes, and lightly salt each side. Place in a colander in the sink and allow the salt to draw some of the moisture out for about 10 minutes.
- In a medium bowl whisk the egg and buttermilk together. In another shallow bowl combine the corn- meal, flour, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. In a deep skillet or Dutch oven, pour about 1 inch of oil into the bottom. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until the oil reaches about 350°F.
- Blot the tomatoes with paper towels to remove the excess moisture. Dip the tomatoes in the egg wash, and then dredge them in the cornmeal mixture, pressing lightly to coat them. Fry in the hot oil for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with the remoulade sauce.
Please note:
Nutritional values provided are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
I am a true southern girl! So I have certainly have had my share of fried green tomatoes and I can say that these are ABSOLUTELY the best.. I did let my tomatoes marinate in the buttermilk for a couple of hours. I also added a little hot sauce to my marinade because I like a little kick to EVERY THING. I also dredged my tomatoes twice to get a nice thick crispy, crunchy bite! I have your cook book and I absolutely love it! Down to earth recipes, easy to find ingredients, heart felt stories… just pure love in every single recipe!!!
Tonya, thank you so much!
Stacy, where can I get your cook book(s). How many do you have. I am requesting them as a mothers day/birthday gift. Thanks.
Hi Ellie! Wow! Thank you so much! The book is available at most online book retailers and in stores at Books-a-Million and a few others. It’s just the one right now. I sure do appreciate the support! This might be helpful: https://southernbite.com/southern-bite-cookbook-150-irresistible-dishes-4-generations-familys-kitchen/
Just made these tonight. Turned out really good. Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome! Glad y’all enjoyed them!!
Hi Stacey! I made these for the first time ever tonight. I’ve only ever had fried green tomatoes in restaurants when we visited the south (my son goes to school at University of South Carolina). They were outstanding! I made your remoulade sauce to accompany the tomatoes, to which I added a dash of truffle oil. This dish really hit the spot tonight! I do have a lot of the sauce left over; is there anything else I can serve it with?
Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
So glad to hear that they turned out great for you! As for the leftover sauce, it goes great on just about anything fried – french fries, chicken fingers, you can even made a shrimp salad and use the remoulade as the dressing.
The tomatoes and sauce turned out perfect. These will be in regular rotation at our house. Thanks for an accurate, easy recipe. I will be buying your cookbook asap.
So glad it turned out great for you!
Wilted lettuce salad with hot bacon dressing is amazing! We can hardly wait for our leaf lettuce to come up in the spring and grow tall enough so we can harvest it for salad. While certainly not the most healthful salad one can make it’s a special treat at our home for a few weeks in the summer.
Sounds delicious!
Do you have a recipe for wilted lettuce? I ate that 40 year’s ago and loved it.
I don’t have a recipe quite like that. Was it something like this? https://www.thespruceeats.com/sandys-wilted-lettuce-with-hot-bacon-dressing-3061232
These look just like my Mom’s. I know she never used buttermilk but I”m good with it. Fried green tomatoes, fresh green beans with new potatoes, carrots and onions, fresh corn on the cob, and wilted lettuce was the last meal my Mother made for me before she became too ill to cook. It was my favorite meal – no meat, just all these fresh veggies. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I have tomato plants in the garden-can’t wait to try this recipe.
I love those summer meals that are all veggies! Hope you enjoy these!
Wow! I love fried green tomatoes! Mom would fry up a lot of them and we would eat them all! 5 kids….she had to cook a lot! The best times we had usually happened around that dinner table! So many memories….Thank you for Remy ding me of those times!
Such sweet memories! Thanks for sharing, Linda!