Periodically, I jump back to old recipes and update them with new photos and sometimes add a few extra tips for perfecting the dish. This post brought back such sweet memories of taking Jack to his first day at a new preschool. It’s hard to believe he’s about to start the 6th grade now! Get ready for a blast from the past. ~queue time warp sound effect~
Those of you who have been following Southern Bite for a little while know what a big ol’ softie I am – especially when it comes to my little boy. Well, last week he started a new preschool and to say the least, it was traumatic. But things are getting better and today was the first day that they got to go swimming at the new place.
We decked him out in his Elmo swimming trunks and swim shirt this morning (they go swimming first thing in the morning) and we be-bopped our way to school. As we’re walking in, there wasn’t the usual “Daddy, I want to hold you.” He just walked right in without any thought, walked into his classroom, turned to me and said, “Bye, Dad!” Y’all I just about lost it. Bye, Dad!???!?!?! I quickly turned and walked out.
Part of me wanted to snatch that little thing up and firmly instruct him that my name was not “Dad” but “Daddy.” I’m pretty sure I’m not ready for this.
This weekend he was taking his first trip down a slip n’ slide and eating his first homemade grape popsicle, next thing he’ll be wanting to borrow the car. I keep telling myself that he’s only two, but he seems to be growing up so fast. Everyday brings a new word, a new sentence, a new question. Some afternoons he even looks different from when I dropped him off that morning. The way time is flying, I’m afraid I’ll blink and he’ll be graduating from high school.
I’ll make it. Y’all will just have to have patience with me while I whine. Just get comfortable, I’m sure there’s more whining to come.
When folks talk about Fried Okra here in the South, there are really two ways of preparing it.
One is the method where each piece of okra is individually coated in a seasoned flour/cornmeal mixture and deep fried to golden perfection. This is the version you see most often in restaurants. The other method is the skillet method where the okra is stir fried and you end up with more of a hash-like texture. This is probably the version you remember from your mom or grandma’s kitchen. And it’s the one we’re making today.
A few things to keep in mind…
When choosing fresh okra, opt for smaller pods that are bright green without tons of dark spots. The smaller pods are more tender. The bigger they get, the more tough and fibrous they become. Dark spots appear on okra that’s older, so avoid that if you can.
Yes, you can use frozen, thawed cut okra for this as well. It’s not my favorite, but it works just fine during the winter months when you can’t get fresh.
Cast iron holds heat well and it can be easy to burn this okra so be sure to adjust the heat as necessary.
There’s no real need to do this, but I often mash mine up a bit as it finishes cooking to produce more of a hash-like texture. It’s just a matter of personal preference.
Recipe Card
Old School Skillet Fried Okra
Ingredients
- 1 lb okra (about 4 cups, cut)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3/4 cup corn meal
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- Wash and cut okra in about half inch pieces, discarding the tip and stem ends. Then rinse cut okra under cool water.
- In a large bowl, add salt, pepper, and corn meal to damp okra. Toss lightly to coat.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat and add vegetable oil.
- Once oil is heated, carefully add okra including meal remaining in the bottom of the bowl. Stir frequently until the okra is browned and cooked through (about 20 minutes) - being cautious not to burn it. I also like to mash mine up a bit to get that hash-like consistency.
I can’t read the recipe, popup’s keep blocking me from seeing the recipe. So frustrating!
Once you click the “x”, they should not pop-up anymore.
I think no matter what part of the south we’re all from, we can all relate. I am from South Texas and grew up eating okra any way it could be made. we grew up with a large garden, and we canned and froze a lot of stuff. We shared our bounty also. Still to this day, I could sit there and eat the whole pan full. It’s almost the same as frying bacon, soon as you take a strip out from the skillet you cannot wait to eat it! Even today, it’s hard for okra to even make it inside the house, because as soon as those pods are big enough to pick, I’m eating them raw, like I said okra is good anyway you can get it! Y’all enjoy your weekend and make sure you have some good okra to go along with it!
You’re the second person the mention eating it raw and I’ve honestly never heard of that! I’ve GOT to try it!
Yes it’s just amazing! Definitely go far the smaller ones because they are more tender, even though I’ve picked some larger ones that were on the verge and ate them anyway. ☺️
I’ve got to try it! 🙂
Love your recipe!
About 70 or so years ago, my beloved aunt grew a wonderful garden every summer, which meant she had plenty of great vegetables and okra. The 6 cousins would get together and when lunch time came, my aunt had prepared a wonderful recipe of onions, tomatoes, okra and one pound of hamburger. She simmered it on the stove top and served it over a bowl of hot rice. I had always had fried okra, so her recipe served over hot rice was quite different for me. At first, I picked out all of the okra and put it to the side to eat separately, but then I saw the other cousins eating theirs over the rice and eating it with a spoon, so I joined in. I was hooked on my aunt’s recipe.
Stacey, recently I heard on a TV cooking show that you can marinate slices of okra in buttermilk, then batter and fry it. Have you heard about that or tried it?
That sounds absolutely amazing! Now my mouth is watering! Yes, I’ve got another recipe for okra coming up next week that is close to what you’ve mentioned here.
See all of these posts are 3 years or older… I just stumbled onto your site and “shore nuff” love the OKRA comments. My mom always pre-boiled her full stemmed okra, battered with cornmeal-flour mix and fried in deep grease (preferred bacon grease, if on hand). She recently passed without writing anything down so imagine a full bag of fresh okra and 4 adult gals unsure of how MOM did it! (I’ll try your directions but with whole okra…not bites.
I love whole fried okra too!
My great granny would make it the same way like that. She would take the smaller pods and lightly batter and fry them in bacon grease as well. Those were the good all days!
Yum!
I cannot wait to make this!!! I have just stumbled across your site and I love it!!!!!
Welcome! Enjoy!
I just made some fried okra! I make mine like Winnie Mom makes hers. No breading just some grease to fry it in and some salt and peppe! YUMMY!
No matter how you do it, It’s just good! 🙂
We like Okra in our house. My husband likes some put in with his peas while they are cooking.
He likes me to cook like his Momma did–a little olive oil and butter (she used bacon grease) in the pan then put the cut up Okra in and keep turning until lightly browned and not slimy adding salt & pepper to taste. That’s it. No flour or cornmeal.
Sounds delish! I love it in peas and beans, too! I even put some in greens as well.
If you are running short on your okra supply, you can also throw in some cut green onions to the mix!
Yum! 🙂