Fried Green Tomatoes
I'm embarrassed to admit this, but before I came to work at Southern Living, I had never tasted a fried green tomato. Call me deprived, even ignorant, but for some reason I had never found the gumption to sample this traditional Southern favorite. To my narrow way
of thinking, tomatoes ought to be red and fresh, not green and fried.
That all changed one day at tasting. Test Kitchens professional Vanessa McNeil was frying a mess
of tomatoes, pulling them out of the skillet in batches just as the Foods staff arrived to sample
the day's recipes. "Y'all please eat these right away," she said. "I want you to taste them while
they're still hot." They were golden and crisp, with a pleasingly rugged exterior. Unlike the evenly
applied coatings found in prebreaded frozen products, this crust had character. Some of us started
munching on the inviting medallions before we made it back to the table and even turned back for
seconds before we sat down. The combination of fried cornmeal and flour encasing hot, tart, juicy
tomato was exquisite.
I was hooked. I vowed to learn what it takes to make a great fried green tomato. So I obtained
the fine recipe you see here, then asked Vanessa for some pointers. It seems she has frying down to
an art.
"I use a cast-iron skillet at home, but have found that any good, heavy skillet works fine," she
says. "Actually, an electric skillet is great--it keeps an even heat, so the tomatoes all cook
nicely."
Vanessa also recommends using firm tomatoes and frying them in fairly shallow oil, about 1/4- to
1/2-inch deep. "You don't want to cover the tomatoes with grease," she says. "And keep the
temperature at 360° to 375°. If you like, you can add about three tablespoons bacon grease for more
flavor." Salt the fried tomatoes as they drain, and serve them hot. "They retain their heat for a
while, so let them cool just a little before you eat them," Vanessa adds. "After that, all you need
is a fork."
Thanks to Vanessa and my other colleagues, I'm now in the know about fried green tomatoes. Try
this recipe, and you will be too.
Served Hot
Novelist Fannie Flagg modeled her book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café after Birmingham's Irondale Cafe, which her great-aunt operated for nearly 40 years. Owner Jim Dolan says his crew cooks about 135 pounds of fried green tomatoes a day. The book and movie helped the dish's popularity-visitors come from all over the country to sample this Southern specialty.
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