I grew up eating a lot of okra. My dad is from Arkansas, and okra is quite popular in our family. It was almost always prepared the same way: into a frying pan with oil, cornmeal, salt and pepper. No dredging, just into the pan. And it came out crunchy good. I loved it. So, I was a little skeptical when I ran across this recipe for southern fried okra. It uses flour instead of cornmeal. I was thinking there might not be as much crunch as I remembered from all those times make okra. Well, I have to say my skepticism was completely unwarranted.
Gone In Seconds
This southern fried okra came out absolutely fantastic. Light, crunchy, delicious. I served it as a side, but it was better than fried pickles so I’d not hesitate to serve it as an appetizer (with a nice southwestern dipping sauce, perhaps).
If I’m cooking for a crowd, I’ll break out my big deep fryer. But, if it’s just the two of us, I’ll fire up my Fry Daddy fryer. It’s the perfect size for both of us. It fries everything perfectly. And as an added bonus, it doesn’t use a lot of oil, which saves me money.
I get out my big deep fryer when it’s time to fry a large batch of food. It comes to temperature quickly and it maintains that temperature perfectly. It has a built-in oil filter and storage unit so I can re-use the oil several times.
I also love my okra grilled. Just brush them with a bit of oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss them onto the grill until done!
Southern Fried Okra
Ingredients
- 1 pound okra ends cut off, sliced into 1/2″ rounds
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon Cajun seasoning spicy!
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup whole milk
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- In a pie plate, combine the flour and seasoning.
- In another pie plate, whisk the egg with the milk.
- Heat 1″ of oil in a Dutch oven or cast iron skillet to 375 F.
- Working in batches, place okra into the egg mixture and stir to coat well.
- Shake off excess batter and place okra in flour mixture. Toss to coat well.
- Shake off excess flour and add okra to oil. Do not overcrowd.
- Let cook until golden brown on one side. Flip and cook until browned on the other side.
- Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and continue cooking remaining okra.
- Serve warm.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
